Sinclair Launches Sports Network

The soon new owner of KATV/Channel 7/Little Rock has announcedit has launched a sports network.  Sinclair Broadcast Group says it will launch The American Sports Network just in time for the college football season.  Below is part of the news release:

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.announced today that it has launched the American Sports Network ("ASN"), a collegiate sports initiative to be broadcast on a number of Sinclair's broadcast television stations, and has entered into comprehensive sports rights agreements with a number of distinguished NCAA Division I conferences including Conference USA, the Colonial Athletic Association, Big South Conference, Southern Conference, and Patriot League.  The initiative will be led by Doron Gorshein, Chief Operating Officer of Sinclair Networks, a division of Sinclair, who joined the Company in January 2014.  The announcement was made by David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair. 
Under these agreements, Sinclair will premiere an extensive slate of live, local sporting events, including football, basketball, soccer, and other sports with the opening of this year's college football season.  The initial launch will include over 50 universities and colleges.  These local, live, exclusive games will be broadcast in different regions of the country, including where the conferences are located.  Sinclair's broadcast stations will either be carrying the games and original content as part of the primary program line-up (generally on the Company's CW and MyNet affiliates) or as part of second channels (sub-channels of the primary station's signal), complimented by access and distribution on digital platforms.  Subject, among other things, to successfully securing carriage agreements with distributors in the future, the Company's plans may include potential development of new cable networks and digital platforms focused on these new content initiatives.  In addition, other television broadcasters have expressed an interest in distributing the games in their markets.  Additional content and distribution elements will include programming that showcases the colleges, students, and student-athletes, focusing on their aspirations and achievements.

"Broadcasters serve and are closely connected to their communities, of which the colleges and universities are an integral part," commented Sinclair Networks COO, Doron Gorshein.  "We believe there is significant value and consumer appeal for live sporting events from these important institutions, and we can offer expanded distribution through our broadcast platforms, as well as on potential new platforms, deepening our connection to our communities.  We're proud to be working with the Conferences on this initiative, which combines compelling local sports and related content, with enhanced localism, diversity, and positive social purpose."