CNN/Sports Illustrated (CNN/SI) was a 24-hour sports newsnetwork. Created whenTime Warner merged itsCNN andSports Illustrated brands, it launched on December 12, 1996.[1]
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Turner Broadcasting System |
| Sister channels | CNN CNN Headline News TNT TBS Superstation Turner South Turner Classic Movies Cartoon Network Boomerang CNNfn |
| History | |
| Launched | December 12, 1996; 28 years ago (1996-12-12) |
| Closed | May 15, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-05-15) |
| Replaced by | NBA TV (on many cable systems) |
Other news networks like ESPNews provided 30-minute blocks of news and highlights in a similar fashion toCNN Headline News at the time, but CNN/SI was live daily from 7am to 2am.[2] Its purpose was to provide the most comprehensive sports news service on television, bringing in-depth sports news from around the world, and integrating the internet and television.[3]
Closure
editCNN/SI's closure had been attributed to competition with other all-sports news networks and sports newscasts which started around the same time, such asESPNews andFox Sports Net'sNational Sports Report. Though CNN/SI aired exclusive content, such as the tape of formerIndiana University coachBob Knight choking playerNeil Reed, the channel reached only 20 million homes, not adequate enough to receive a rating byNielsen Media Research, which reduced sponsorship. ESPNews, in contrast, benefited from being bundled withESPN (86.5 million homes). The news channel parent CNN did not have the same influence with cable operators for its all-sports news channel. CNN's cancellation of their flagship sports program,Sports Tonight (which had already been retooled to compete withSportsCenter) after theSeptember 11 attacks contributed to the closure of CNN/SI, as it lost all connections to their mother network.[4]
Near its closure,Sports Tonight was exclusive to CNN/SI. CNN/SI addedNASCAR qualifying,[5]Wimbledon matches,[6]National Lacrosse League matches,[7] and televised the now-defunctWomen's United Soccer Association[8]
CNN/SI shut down on May 15, 2002.[9][10] On many cable systems, CNN/SI was replaced byNBA TV. NBA TV, which launched in1999, eventually evolved into a joint venture between Time Warner and the NBA that officially launched on October 28, 2008.
Following the network's closure, its international sports programWorld Sport continues to air, and since 2002 has been produced byCNN International.[11]
CNN itself would not produce another regular sportscast until 2024, when a new CNN-produced newscast,TNT Sports Tonight, debuted onTruTV as part of a plan to increase sports programming on that network.[12]
Website
edit
The CNN/SI name was maintained forSports Illustrated's online presence at cnnsi.com. In January 2013, CNN acquiredBleacher Report and after Time Warner's spin-off of their publishing assets intoTime Inc. (and subsequently sale toMeredith Corporation and later, toIAC'sDotdash), they dropped all use of theSports Illustrated name.[13]
Programming
edit- Sports Tonight (1996–2001) hosted by various anchors[14]
- NFL Preview hosted byBob Lorenz with analystsTrev Alberts,Irving Fryar and Peter King[14]
- College Football Preview hosted by Bob Lorenz with analyst Trev Alberts andIvan Maisel[14]
- This Week in the NBA hosted byAndre Aldridge andKevin Loughery[14]
- Sports Illustrated Golf Plus hosted by Bob Fiscella and Phil Jones[14]
- World Sport hosted by various anchors[14]
- Page One hosted byLaura Okmin[14]
- NASCAR Plus hosted by Johnny Phelps[14]
- Sports Illustrated - Cover to Cover[14]
- Trev Alberts' Full Tilt[14]
- The Sporting Life withJim Huber[15]
References
edit- ^Kent, Milton (December 12, 1996)."CNN/SI pairing channels energy into sports information battle".The Baltimore Sun. MediaWatch.Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. RetrievedAugust 20, 2014.
- ^"New York Magazine".New York Media, LLC. December 23, 1996.
CNN/SI will not rely on a "wheel" of repeating news segments and highlights. Rather, it promises a nineteen-hour "stream" of news reported fresh throughout the day, starting from 7 AM.
- ^"CNN 20: CNN/SI Debuts, December 12, 1996". CNN.com. December 12, 2000. RetrievedAugust 20, 2014.
- ^Diamond Joe (January 24, 2013)."Rachel Nichols' New Quarters Are At CNN, Turner Sports".SportsRants.com. Archived fromthe original on July 1, 2016. RetrievedJune 6, 2016.
- ^Glick, Shav (August 10, 2001)."Long Is Closing In on His F-1 Dream".Los Angeles Times. Archived fromthe original on February 3, 2015. RetrievedFebruary 3, 2015.
- ^"Nick Charles to Host CNN/Sports Illustrated's Exclusive Prime Time Wimbledon Coverage".BW SportsWire.Business Wire. June 21, 2000. RetrievedJune 6, 2016 – viaTheFreeLibrary.com.
- ^"National Lacrosse League Tabs CNN/Sports Illustrated As National Broadcast Partner" (Press release).National Lacrosse League. August 20, 2001. RetrievedJune 6, 2016.
- ^"WUSA: TNT and CNNSI to show 22 games".Soccer America. February 20, 2001. RetrievedJune 6, 2016.
- ^Kaplan, Paul (April 6, 2002)."CNN/Sports Illustrated Channel to Go Off Air in May".Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Highbeam Research. Archived fromthe original on September 21, 2014. RetrievedAugust 20, 2014.
- ^Wilkerson, David B. (April 6, 2002)."AOL: CNN/SI to shut down May 15".MarketWatch. RetrievedAugust 20, 2014.
- ^Welsh, James (May 9, 2002)."CNNI sports unaffected by CNN/SI shutdown".Digital Spy. RetrievedAugust 20, 2014.
- ^Steinberg, Brian (March 7, 2024)."Warner Bros. Discovery to Overhaul TruTV With Sports; Sets Nightly Block for Games and More (EXCLUSIVE)".Variety. RetrievedApril 3, 2024.
- ^Thielman, Sam (January 30, 2013)."CNN's Bleacher Report Programming Launches Saturday".Adweek. RetrievedAugust 20, 2014.
- ^abcdefghij"The Channel". CNNSI.com. November 9, 2001. Archived fromthe original on November 10, 2001. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2017.
- ^"THE SPORTING LIFE WITH JIM HUBER".CNNSI.com. Archived fromthe original on August 16, 2000. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2017.
External links
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