In a message dated 2/19/03 5:00:59 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:53:04 -0500
> From: Alexis Wollstadt <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Television coverage of college hockey
>
> The following message &link are from the USCHO message board...thought =
> it might be of interest to college hockey fans who may not be aware of =
> this yet!
>
> http://www.uscollegehockey.com/vb/showthread.php?s=3D&threadid=3D22271
>
> "College Sports Television (CSTV) is a brand new sports channel that =
> launches on Sunday with some women's hoops game, but I've read that they =
> will be showing lots of live College Hockey and also a weekly highlights =
> and news show about Hockey!!=20
>
As the first television network dedicated solely to college sports, CSTV
will feature thousands of hours of original and exclusive programming - from
live games and record-breaking performances to classic rivalries and
championship moments. Network programming will be anchored by noteworthy
intercollegiate competition in those sports with large, loyal and passionate
audiences such as football, basketball, hockey, wrestling, baseball,
lacrosse, track and field, swimming and diving, and volleyball.
In all, CSTV will provide coverage of 25 different men’s and women’s
intercollegiate sports.
As part of CSTV’s commitment to deliver the best of the best of college
sports, CSTV has programming deals with the following Conferences and
Universities:
Conferences Sport Agreements [hockey only]
<A HREF="http://www.ccha.com/">Central Collegiate Hockey Association</A> Men’s: Regular Season, Playoffs and
Conference Championships of CCHA (excludes the semi-finals and finals of
Conference Championships)
<A HREF="http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/">Ivy League </A> Men’s: Ice Hockey,
<A HREF="http://www.maacsports.com/">Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference</A> Men’s: Ice Hockey
Nat Ewell, Inisde College Hockey
<<The idea of a televised national college hockey game of the week has always
had a chorus of support in the sport’s community, as loud and clear as a
great anthem singer.Finally, there’s somebody willing to listen.“Among the
early phone calls and emails we’ve received over the last eight months, we’
ve gotten the most interest, by some margin, in hockey,” said Chris
Bevilacqua, co-founder and executive vice president of College Sports
Television, a much-anticipated network set to debut in the next three
months.Thanks in no small part to that support, Bevilacqua and his colleagues
envision college hockey coverage that goes beyond just a game of the week. He’
s thinking of a national magazine show, on-site reporters at events like the
Frozen Four, and in-depth, Olympic-style profiles of the players and
coaches.That’s typical of the grand planning that has gone into CSTV, which
includes a street-level broadcast center in Manhattan and agreements with 27
college athletic conference, including the CCHA.The six college hockey
commissioners aren’t among those who have signed a deal for CSTV, however,
which leads to the first of several legitimate questions. Will that deal
happen? And if it does, where can we find CSTV?Bevilacqua’s not concerned. “
I have spent a lot of time with the six commissioners who represent the teams
across the country, and as you might imagine there’s widespread support for
additional coverage,” he said. “They all want that to happen – why wouldn’t
they? The only league that we’ve put together a long-term package with is the
CCHA, but we’ve spent a fair amount of time discussing possibilities as a
group. We’re talking about creating a consistent, national, best-of-the-best
package that would cover the entire 25 weeks of the season.”Bevilacqua hopes
for a magazine show to work in tandem with the game of the week package, and
says that the network would cover the Frozen Four as a news event, even
though ESPN has the rights to the games. That would follow the lead of the
Golf Channel, which, Bevilacqua says, enjoys its highest ratings during the
Masters even though CBS covers the tournament.As for finding the programming
on your dial – or satellite – CSTV hopes to gain support during a six-week “
Countdown to CSTV” leading up to its official launch on April 7. The network
will offer free access to its signal to cable and satellite providers for
select events during that time, with the hope that viewers like what they see
and ask their providers to sign up for the network in April. There are no
college hockey broadcasts currently planned for that six-week period, but
adding a few might prove helpful in persuading cable and satellite companies.
The network has already heard first-hand the voice of college hockey fans,
and they want more coverage.
>>
|