Madison Square Garden Network
| MSG | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | October 15, 1969 |
| Owned by | MSG Networks Inc. (: MSGN) |
| Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Slogan | United We Watch |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide (primarily serves the New York City metropolitan area) |
| Headquarters | Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001 |
| Formerly called | Madison Square Garden Network (1978–1991) MSG Network (1991–2006) |
| Replaced |
Empire Sports Network (Western New York only) |
| Sister channel(s) | MSG Plus, MSG Western New York, MSG 2, MSG Plus 2, MSG Deportes, MSG Deportes 2 |
| Website | www |
|
Availability
(some events may air on overflow feed MSG 2 due to event conflicts) |
|
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 634 (HD/SD) MSG 2: 635-3 (HD/SD) MSG Western New York (Buffalo Sabres games only): 635-1 (HD/SD) |
| Dish Network | TBA |
| Cable | |
| Available on select U.S. cable systems | Consult your local cable provider for channel availability |
| Verizon FiOS | 77 or 78 (SD) 577 or 578 (HD) MSG 2: (New York City) 579 (HD) 79 (SD) |
MSG is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Networks, Inc.—a spin-off of The Madison Square Garden Company (itself a spin-off of local cable provider Cablevision).
Primarily serving the Mid-Atlantic United States, its programming focuses on events featuring and other programs about New York City sports teams. The channel is named after the Madison Square Garden sports and entertainment venue in Midtown Manhattan.
What would become MSG debuted on October 15, 1969, with an NHL hockey game between the New York Rangers and the Minnesota North Stars. As a result, it became the first regional sports network in North America, and one of the first of its kind in the world. The channel, which at the time did not even have a name, was carried by Manhattan Cable Television under a one-year, 125-event deal that was signed in May 1969. At the time, the cable provider, which had televised New York Knickerbockers (currently known as the New York Knicks) and Rangers post-season games the previous spring for a $25,000 rights fee, had only 13,000 subscribers.Madison Square Garden renewed the deal with what was now Sterling Manhattan Cable Television in the fall of 1970, in a five-year deal at an estimated rights fee of $1–1.5 million. Charles Dolan, who later headed MSG and Cablevision, was the president of Sterling Manhattan at the time.
Games held at Madison Square Garden later appeared on premium cable network Home Box Office (HBO) during the network's early years. On September 22, 1977 the current channel debuted as UA-Columbia/MSG and was later sold to Gulf+Western, along with its namesake sports arena; the company would rename itself to Paramount Communications (after sister companies Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television) in 1989. By 1978, the first mentions of the "temporarily named" Madison Square Garden Network appeared in print advertising.
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Wikipedia