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American Sports Network

Type	Ad hoctelevision network/syndication service
Country	United States
Broadcast area	Regional (available on television stations in several markets, as well as selectregional sports networks)
Affiliates	List of affiliates
Headquarters	West Palm Beach, Florida[1]
Ownership
Owner	Sinclair Broadcast Group
Parent	Sinclair Networks LLC[2]
Key people	Doron Gorshein (COO, Sinclair Networks)
History
Founded	July 17, 2014 (2014-07-17)
Launched	August 30, 2014 (2014-08-30)
Closed	August 21, 2017 (2017-08-21) (2 years, 356 days)
Replaced by	Stadium
Links
Website	americansportsnet.com

American Sports Network (ASN) was a sports brand owned by the U.S.television station ownerSinclair Broadcast Group through its Sinclair Networks subsidiary.^[2] Formed in July 2014, the multicast network component of ASN producedbroadcasts of sporting events that were aired primarily across stations owned by Sinclair (in particular,The CW andMyNetworkTV stations owned and/or operated by the company, or, in some markets, on adigital subchannel of a Sinclair station), andsyndicated to non-Sinclair stations andregional sports networks.

The multicast network component of ASN primarily dealt incollege sports fromNCAA Division Iconferences, including livefootball andbasketball games from theAtlantic 10 Conference,Big South Conference,Colonial Athletic Association,Conference USA,Horizon League,Ivy League,Mid-American Conference,Ohio Valley Conference,Patriot League,Southern Conference,Southland Conference, andWestern Athletic Conference, as well as a limited number of professional sports events. In 2015, ASN acquired regional rights toReal Salt Lake andD.C. United ofMajor League Soccer, with games aired on Sinclair stations in the teams' market area, as well as television rights to the newly establishedArizona Bowl.

In 2017, Sinclair announced that it would fold the multicast network component of ASN into a new joint venture withSilver Chalice calledStadium, which would combine ASN's broadcast distribution platforms with content from Silver Chalice's digital outlets120 Sports andCampus Insiders. ASN-branded multicast programming continued on-air until September 6, when the network formally transitioned on-air to Stadium.^[3]

Sinclair Broadcast Group formally announced the launch of the American Sports Network on July 17, 2014; the service was led by Doron Gorshein, who joined the company in January 2014 in the role ofchief operating officer of Sinclair Networks. ASN carried live broadcasts of mainly collegiate sporting events, along with ancillary programming focusing on colleges, their students and student-athletes. ASN's content aired primarily on Sinclair-owned-or-operated affiliates ofThe CW andMyNetworkTV or on secondarydigital subchannels of other stations run by the company (some of which had carried content from competingsyndicated sports distributorsESPN Regional Television andRaycom Sports until ASN's launch), the latter especially the case for its stations that have primary affiliations with one of theBig Four networks (ABC,NBC,CBS andFox) which would not pre-empt the higher-tier sports coverage provided by their network partners. Sinclair opened ASN up for distribution by other broadcast outlets interested in carrying the service's content, and announced plans to expand ASN onto digital platforms.^[4][5][6]

ASN planned to initially broadcastcollege football,men's andwomen's college basketball, women's college soccer, andcollege baseball events, beginning with the2014 NCAA Division I FBS andFCS football seasons. Prior to the service's formal launch, Sinclair reached broadcast rights agreements with fiveNCAA Division I conferences, includingConference USA,^[7] theColonial Athletic Association,Big South Conference,Southern Conference,^[8] and thePatriot League.^[9]

ASN's first broadcasts took place on August 30, 2014, featuring two football games involving Conference USA teams (Old Dominion University vs.Hampton University andFlorida International University hostingBethune-Cookman University).^[10]

In September 2014, Sinclair reached a two-year deal with theInternational Motor Sports Association to syndicate broadcasts of thePorsche GT3 Cup Challenge series through ASN beginning that year, with a renewal option that could be exercised in 2016. Its first race broadcast on September 13, 2014, was shown on Sinclair stations in at least 36 markets, marking the first non-college sporting event to be syndicated by ASN.^[11]

On September 29, 2014, Sinclair announced a multi-year deal with theWestern Athletic Conference to broadcast its games through ASN – marking the sixth conference to partner with the service. Sinclair also announced that it had reached syndication deals with stations in 67 markets where the company does not have a station in its portfolio to carry ASN's programming, expanding its total potential audience to 83 million viewers.^[12][13]

On October 16, 2014, Jonathan B. LeCrone announced theHorizon League had entered into a deal with the American Sports Network to broadcast select games; subsequently on November 10, ASN entered into a broadcast contract with theOhio Valley Conference.^[14]

On December 2, 2014, ASN entered into the collegiateice hockey field through an agreement that gave it the rights to air sixPenn StateNittany Lions home games.^[15] ASN later added two other men's ice hockey contests from theBig Ten Conference, featuring theWisconsin Badgers andOhio State Buckeyes.^[16]

On January 23, 2015, Sinclair announced that it had acquired regional television rights toReal Salt Lake ofMajor League Soccer beginning in the2015 season, with ASN handling production of the telecasts.KMYU andKUTV aired the games locally, and they were syndicated to Sinclair stations inLas Vegas andReno, Nevada as well as inBoise, Idaho. Stations in Arizona and New Mexico were able to bid for the local rights to telecast the matches in their markets.^[17]

On May 19, 2015, ASN announced that it had reached an agreement withMinor League Baseball (MiLB) to televise a weekly game during the 2015 season. ASN aired a weekly game live from different individual leagues on Sunday nights, and also aired the all-star games for theFlorida State League and theMidwest League.^[2]

On June 24, 2015, the Southland Conference announced that ASN would televise select matches from their conference beginning with the 2015 fall football season. The ASN package replaced the Southland Conference TV Network syndication package.^[18]

In September 2015, ASN reached a deal with theMid-American Conference, sub-licensed throughESPN, to broadcast selected games. In the 2015–16 academic season, ASN was scheduled to broadcast 10 football games, 10 men's basketball games, and 5 women's basketball games.^[19] ASN also reached deals with the NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, including theBig Ten,ECAC Hockey,Hockey East,National Collegiate Hockey Conference, and theWestern Collegiate Hockey Association, to broadcast games as part of a Friday night package.^[20]

In November 2015, it was announced that ASN had acquired broadcast rights to the inauguralArizona Bowl.^[21]

On December 18, 2015,D.C. United of Major League Soccer announced that Sinclair had acquired rights to the team. ASN-produced coverage was aired byNews Channel 8 andWJLA-TV.^[22] Matches were also syndicated to digital subchannels ofWUTBBaltimore,WRLHRichmond,WTVZNorfolk, andWSETRoanoke.^[23]

On January 8, 2016, Sinclair announced a dedicated American Sports Network channel, offered as an affiliation fordigital subchannels of stations in Baltimore, Charleston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Greensboro, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Portland, and Raleigh-Durham. The service launched on January 11, 2016.^[24]

On April 13, 2017, Sinclair officially announced that the multicast network component of ASN would be re-launched later in the year as part of a joint venture withSilver Chalice (owner ofCampus Insiders) and its online sports video service120 Sports, later revealed to beStadium. The service was set to target both broadcast and digital platforms, with the linear service utilizing the syndication and broadcast network built out for ASN, and 120 Sports providing original studio and long-form programming to the venture.^[25][26][27] On June 1, 2017, it was reported that Stadium would officially launch around late-July 2017.^[28] After a soft launch in July 2017, the service officially launched on August 24, with ASN's over-the-air network formally joining Stadium on September 6.^[3][29]

Stadium's studio programming is produced fromChicago; Sinclair's West Palm Beach CBS affiliateWPEC-TV shared facilities with ASN, and retained the set as a secondary studio, using it for its newscasts while its main studio was being renovated,^[30] and originating Sinclair sister stationWGFL's newscasts until 2023.^[31]

• A-10 Spotlight^[32]
• C-USA Showcase^[33]
• Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge^[11]
• Real Salt Lake soccer:^[17] Announcers includeDavid James &Brian Dunseth^[34]
• Minor League Baseball Sunday Showcase: Announcers for the games included formerMajor League Baseball playersBrian McRae,Keith Moreland andDave Armstrong.^[2]
• The Dance League on ASN (syndicated) with MillenniumDancesport^[35]
• local high school sports^[2]
  • Thursday Night Lights
  • Friday Night Rivals
• AMA Pro Flat Track Motorcycle Racing (syndicated) AMA Pro Racing^[35]
• D.C. United soccer
• ARCA Racing Series (9 races for 2016, 5 of them were aired live)^[36]
• All Star Sprint Cars (6 tape-delayed races for 2016)^[37]
• ROH Rewindprofessional wrestling^[38]

During the 2014–15 season, ASN televised live events from the following NCAA Division I conferences:

League	Football	Men's basketball	Women's basketball	Men's ice hockey	Men's soccer	Women's soccer	Baseball	Softball	Women's volleyball	Men's lacrosse	Women's lacrosse
Atlantic 10 Conference[39]
Big South Conference
Big Ten Conference
Colonial Athletic Association[40]
Conference USA
Horizon League
Ivy League[41]
Ohio Valley Conference
Patriot League
Southern Conference
Western Athletic Conference

During the 2015–16 season, ASN televised live events from the following NCAA Division I conferences:

League	Football	Men's basketball	Women's basketball	Men's ice hockey	Women's ice hockey	Men's soccer	Women's soccer	Baseball	Softball	Women's volleyball	Men's lacrosse	Women's lacrosse
American Athletic Conference[42]
Atlantic 10 Conference[43]
Big South Conference[44]
Big Ten Conference[45]
Colonial Athletic Association[46]
Conference USA[47]
ECAC Hockey[48]
Hockey East[49]
Horizon League[50]
Ivy League[51]
Mid-American Conference[19]
National Collegiate Hockey Conference[52]
Ohio Valley Conference[53]
Patriot League[54]
Southern Conference[55]
Southland Conference[56]
Western Athletic Conference[57]
Western Collegiate Hockey Association[48]

ASN also acquired the D2 Game of the Week rights and televisedNCAA Division II football and men's and women's basketball on their network during 2015–16. The D2 package was formerly onCBS Sports Network. ASN also acquired the rights to air theArizona Bowlcollege footballbowl game.

During the 2016-17 season, ASN televised live events from the following NCAA Division I conferences:

League	Football	Men's basketball	Women's basketball	Men's ice hockey	Women's ice hockey	Men's soccer	Women's soccer	Women's volleyball	Baseball	Softball	Men's lacrosse	Women's lacrosse	Beach volleyball
American Athletic Conference[58]
Atlantic Hockey[59]
ASUN Conference[60]
Atlantic 10 Conference[61]
Big South Conference[62]
Big Ten Conference[63]
Colonial Athletic Association[64]
Conference USA[65]
ECAC Hockey[48]
Hockey East[66]
Horizon League[67]
Ivy League[68]
Mid-American Conference[69]
National Collegiate Hockey Conference[70]
Ohio Valley Conference[71]
Patriot League[72]
Southern Conference[73]
Southland Conference[74]
Sunbelt Conference[75]
Western Athletic Conference[76]
Western Collegiate Hockey Association[77]

In addition to the above conferences, ASN acquired the rights toUniversity of MassachusettsMinutemenfootball games for the 2016 season,^[78] and retained the rights to air theArizona Bowlcollege footballbowl game. ASN also had the rights to the D2 Game of the Week and televisedNCAA Division II football and men's and women's basketball on their network during 2016-17.^[79]

American Sports Network telecasts were aired primarily on stations owned or managed bySinclair Broadcast Group; this included stations operated by the firm underlocal marketing agreements or similar pacts, which itself included stations owned by companies such asCunningham Broadcasting,Deerfield Media, andHoward Stirk Holdings among others.^[4] These telecasts were not always scheduled to appear on a station's maindigital subchannel nor on a fixed single station where Sinclair owned and/or managed more than one station. In addition to the Sinclair stations, ASN's events (andStadium after that), were also syndicated to other broadcasters.^{[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88]}

• Altitude Sports and Entertainment
• Comcast SportsNet Chicago
• Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
• Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
• Cox Sports Television
• Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
• NBC Sports Bay Area
• New England Sports Network
• Root Sports Southwest^[89]
• Spectrum Sports (Texas)
• YurView California
• American Forces Network

• ESPN Regional Television, a similar operation previously run byESPN
• Raycom Sports, a similar operation run byRaycom Media
• Southland Conference Television Network
• Sports Network

• Official website

• Television channels and stations established in 2014
• Television channels and stations disestablished in 2017
• Lists of American television network affiliates
• College sports television syndicators
• Sports television networks in the United States
• Defunct television networks in the United States
• Sinclair Broadcast Group
• Simulcasts
• American Conference (NCAA)
• Atlantic 10 Conference
• Television production companies based in Florida

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