Spectrum Sports (Florida)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2012) |
Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | St. Petersburg and Orlando, Florida |
Headquarters | Orlando, Florida |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Charter Communications |
History | |
Launched | 2004 |
Replaced | Bright House Networks 47 |
Closed | December 16, 2017 |
Replaced by | Bay News 9 News 13 |
Former names | Catch 47 (2004–2008) Bright House Sports Network (2008-2016) |
Links | |
Website | Bay News 9 website News 13 website |
Spectrum Sports (formerly known as Bright House Sports Network) was an American
History
The channel was originally established in the Tampa Bay area in 2004, as Catch 47 (named after its cable channel slot). In September 2008, Corporate VP Elliott Wiser and General Manager Paul Kosuth relaunched the channel as Bright House Sports Network. The Network's carriage was expanded to Bright House's Central Florida systems. In 2012, the channel won sole rights to air all post season high school games. Bright House was acquired by Charter in May 2016, along with Time Warner Cable, and on November 15, 2016, Bright House Sports Network was renamed as Spectrum Sports, as Bright House on the same day became Spectrum.
In 2009, ESPN Inc. acquired a 27% stake in the channel and spun off its stake to Bright House in 2010.
As part of a company-wide restructuring, the channel is slated to be discontinued by the end of 2017.[2] It signed off earlier than expected on December 16, 2017.
Programming
Programs featured on Spectrum Sports include Spectrum Sports Sport Stories, a monthly show covering local stories and interviews, Prep Sports Showcase, and "The Sunday Night Fish Fry," which includes Average Angler Adventures.
The channel airs local high school sports in the "Game of the Week" series, covering
Spectrum Sports provides select coverage of the
In addition, Spectrum Sports airs nationwide sports programs from sources such as
Prior to 2010, the channel aired Press Box, Xtra Point, Lightning Strikes, The Baysball Show and Beef 'O' Brady's High School Scoreboard. The Toyota Sports Connection, a nightly show focusing on local professional and college teams, ran from 1997 to 2011. Bright House Sports Network also broadcast most home games and occasional road games of the
Programming on other channels
On March 25, 2007,
Versus rebroadcast
On May 7, 2007,
ESPN2 airing
ESPN2 re-aired Catch 47's coverage of a game between the Tampa Bay Storm and the New York Dragons on June 7, 2007.
Other services
Spectrum Sports On Demand
Spectrum Sports On Demand, which is carried on channel 520, carries ESPN Local including select University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, and University of Miami football and basketball games. Coverage showcasing local high school bands, cheerleading squads, and dance teams airs weekly. Specials featured on the video on demand service also include Red Bull Flugtag, Tampa dragon boat races, and Clearwater and Orlando speed boat races.
References
- ^ Bright House Sports Network Archived August 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jones, Tom (30 July 2017). "Tom Jones' TV Two Cents: Big changes at Spectrum Sports ... compelling Rays weekend". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
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