 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Eastern and CentralPennsylvania Northern and CentralDelaware Southern andCentralNew Jersey |
| Network | NBC Sports Regional Networks |
| Headquarters | Xfinity Mobile Arena,Philadelphia |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English Spanish (via SAP) |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBC Sports Group (75%) Philadelphia Phillies (25%)[1] |
| Sister channels | Cable: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus Broadcast: WCAU/Philadelphia WWSI/Mount Laurel Streaming: Peacock |
| History | |
| Launched | October 1, 1997; 28 years ago (1997-10-01) |
| Replaced | PRISM (1976–1997) SportsChannel Philadelphia (1990–1997) |
| Former names | Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (1997–2017) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability (some events may air on NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, which serves as a overflow feed during event conflicts) | |
| Streaming media | |
| Peacock | peacocktv (U.S. internet subscribers in eligible area only; requires add-on to subscription to access content) |
| YouTubeTV | Internet Protocol television |
| Hulu Live | Internet Protocol television |
| FuboTV | Internet Protocol television |
NBC Sports Philadelphia (NBCSP) is an Americanregional sports network owned by theNBC Sports Group unit ofNBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by locally basedcable television providerComcast (and owns a controlling 75% interest), and thePhiladelphia Phillies (which owns the remaining 25%). It is the flagship owned-and-operated outlet ofNBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in thePhiladelphia metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports-related news, discussion and entertainment programming.
NBC Sports Philadelphia is available on cable,fiber optic, and streaming television providers throughout thePhiladelphia metropolitan area, which includes southeasternPennsylvania,southern New Jersey, and most ofDelaware. The network is also available on IPTV providers in those areas as well as throughout the entire state of Pennsylvania.
Beginning in 2025, NBC Sports Philadelphia has been available via sister streaming servicePeacock as an add-on feature.
The network maintains main studios and offices located inside theXfinity Mobile Arena in theSouth Philadelphia Sports Complex.
The network traces its history to March 19, 1996, when Comcast acquired a 66 percent stake inSpectacor, the parent company of thePhiladelphia Flyers,The Spectrum and the then-recently completedCoreStates Center, for $240 million and the assumption of a collective $170 million in debt.Ed Snider, the previous majority owner of Spectacor, stayed on as the managing partner and chairman of the renamed Comcast Spectacor. On the day the deal closed, Comcast Spectacor immediately purchased a 66% interest in thePhiladelphia 76ers.[2][3]
Immediately after the purchase was announced, speculation arose as to whether Comcast would let at least some of Spectacor's television contracts withpremium cable networkPRISM and existing regional sports networkSportsChannel Philadelphia (both owned byRainbow Media) run out, and create a sports network of its own, displacing both existing networks from Comcast and other cable providers in Southeastern Pennsylvania (Comcast, however, had reached a ten-year agreement with Rainbow to continue carriage of PRISM and SportsChannel, as well as the company's other networks in the fall of 1995); buy the existing networks; or reach a complex deal with Rainbow to have both networks retain the broadcast rights to the 76ers and Flyers.[4][5]
Within days of the purchase, Comcast indicated that it was considering launching a new regional sports network, and approached the Philadelphia Phillies about entering into a broadcast deal.[2] PRISM and SportsChannel Philadelphia's joint contract to carry most of the Flyers'NHL games was set to end that fall, while the Phillies' contract ended after the1997 season, leaving them both open to enter negotiations with Comcast Spectacor.
After short-lived discussions between Rainbow Media and Comcast about the latter possibly becoming a part-owner in PRISM and SportsChannel Philadelphia,[6] on April 25, 1996, Comcast Spectacor formally announced plans to create a new Philadelphia-centric sports network, which would carry both the Flyers and Sixers; it also signed a deal with the Phillies, giving the new network rights to most of their Major League Baseball games.[7][8] The deal strained relations between Rainbow and Comcast Spectacor somewhat; Rainbow offered a lower bid for the Flyers telecast rights during negotiations for a one-year extension of its contract. Disagreements between the Flyers and Rainbow Media over the amount the team would receive for the 1996–97 season contract led the Flyers to announce plans in late September that it would assume production responsibilities for its home game broadcasts and sell the local rights to its game telecasts to individual cable providers as a backup plan if deal did not come to fruition.[9] Rainbow and Comcast Spectacor finally reached a one-year, $5 million contract extension to keep its locally televised games on PRISM and SportsChannel on October 4, 1996, the day before itsseason home opener.[10]
On July 21, 1997, Comcast acquired the local television rights to broadcast the 76ers'NBA games on the newComcast SportsNet Philadelphia, with the team choosing to opt out of its contract with PRISM and SportsChannel that was set to run until the1999–2000 season.[11] After much uncertainty, which included plans for PRISM and SportsChannel to become affiliates ofFox Sports Net (afterNews Corporation andLiberty Media purchased 40% of the sports assets owned by Rainbow parentCablevision on June 30, 1997[12][13]), Comcast then reached agreements with Liberty and Rainbow Media to replace PRISM with the Liberty-owned premium movie channelStarz! (which at the time, was starting to expand its carriage outside of systems operated by its then co-ownerTele-Communications, Inc.).[14][15]
Reports indicated that Comcast SportsNet initially would charge a per subscriber rate of $1.50 a month (representatives for Comcast Spectacor stated the rate was closer to the range of $1.20 to $1.35) to participating cable providers, described as "one of the most expensive – if not the most expensive" basic cable channel in the United States (a distinction that was eventually assumed by the nationally distributedESPN); SportsChannel Philadelphia, by comparison, charged providers that carried the network between 25¢ and 35¢ a month per subscriber. The company's demand that CSN Philadelphia be offered as a basic cable service resulted in complaints by some local providers (including Wade Cable, Lower Bucks Cablevision and Harron Communications) because of the higher per subscriber rate; however, Jack Williams, who was appointed as the original president of CSN Philadelphia, said that the company would "not accept any arrangement other than running SportsNet as a basic channel."[16] By September 1997, CSN had secured cable coverage reaching approximately 1.5 million households (or 60% of the network's regional territory).[17]
Williams promised that the network would carry more local programming than other regional sports networks, with an estimated seven to eight hours of live sports, and various news and discussion programs (including a four-hour morning sports news program, and news and interview program in the late afternoon).[11][18]
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia launched on October 1, 1997, replacing SportsChannel Philadelphia on local cable systems within the Philadelphia metropolitan area;[19][20] with the launch, Comcast SportsNet became the Philadelphia affiliate of Fox Sports Net.[21] Comcast expanded the Comcast SportsNet brand to other markets over the next several years, through the purchases of Fox Sports regional networks inSan Francisco andBoston as well as the launches of new channels in markets such asChicago,Houston andnorthern California.
With Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, Comcast SportsNet was also integrated into the newNBC Sports Group unit, culminating with the addition of thepeacock logo and an updated graphics package to mirror that of its parent network. The updated graphics were implemented on CSN's live game coverage and all studio shows, with the exception ofSportsNet Central. In September 2012, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and its sister Comcast SportsNet outlets ceased carrying Fox Sports Networks-supplied programming, after failing to reach an agreement to continue carrying FSN's nationally distributed programs.[22] On January 2, 2014, as part of an agreement reached on a 25-year broadcasting contract with the team (with the network paying the team $100 million in rights fees each season through 2041, totaling around $2.5 billion), the Philadelphia Phillies acquired a 25% equity stake in Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.[1]
Comcast rebranded the network asNBC Sports Philadelphia on October 2, 2017, as part of a larger rebranding of the Comcast SportsNet networks under the NBC Sports brand.[23]
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NBC Sports Philadelphia holds the regional television rights to the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers,[11] NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, and the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.[7] In addition to live game telecasts, the network carriespre-game andpost-game shows under thePregame Live andPostgame Live banners that bookend 76ers (Sixers Pregame Live andSixers Postgame Live), Phillies (Phillies Pregame Live andPhillies Postgame Live), Flyers (Flyers Pregame Live andFlyers Postgame Live) telecasts. Since 2010, the network has also produced the Phillies'Opening Day game and other select Phillies regular season games for NBC-owned-and-operated sister stationWCAU (channel 10). Although it does not hold the regional rights toNFL games involving thePhiladelphia Eagles, the network produces pre-game and post-game shows before and after every Eagles game (Eagles Pregame Live andEagles Postgame Live).
The network formerly broadcast selectMajor League Soccer matches involving thePhiladelphia Union until 2023, when the entire league switched toMLS Season Pass for all regular season match broadcasts. The network also served as the broadcaster forAmerican Hockey League games involving thePhiladelphia Phantoms (an affiliate team of the Flyers) until the team relocated toGlens Falls, New York as theAdirondack Phantoms in 2009. It also carried indoor soccer matches involving thePhiladelphia KiXX from 1998 until theNational Professional Soccer League folded in 2001; as well asNational Lacrosse League games featuring thePhiladelphia Wings until that team relocated toUncasville, Connecticut as theNew England Black Wolves in 2014.
NBC Sports Philadelphia also maintains the television rights to thePhiladelphia Big 5, carrying select games of the annualBig 5 Classic tournament. It also broadcasts numerous men's and women's college sporting events sanctioned by theAtlantic 10 Conference, theIvy League, and theCoastal Athletic Association. Beginning in 2022, NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcastscollege football and men's and women'scollege basketball home games forMonmouth University. Until Comcast SportsNet discontinued its relationship with its competing RSN in September 2012, the network also carried collegiate sports events fromConference USA, thePac-12 Conference and theBig 12 Conference, as well as primetime Major League Baseball games on Thursdays distributed by Fox Sports Networks.
Talk
Eagles
NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus (NBCSP+), is a full-time channel that also serves as an overflow network in case two local games are scheduled to air simultaneously on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The network was previously known as theComcast Network.
Beginning in 2025, NBC Sports Philadelphia has been available via sister streaming servicePeacock as an add-on feature.
Unlike most other cable networks, NBC Sports Philadelphia is distributed only viamicrowave andfiber optic relays. Comcast inherited the terrestrial infrastructure that it uses to transmit the network from PRISM at the time that network shut down. Since NBC Sports Philadelphia did not uplink its signal to anycommunications satellites, Comcast was able to avoid a regulation outlined by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) that requires most television channels to be offered todirect broadcast satellite providers; thisloophole, known as the "terrestrial exception", was implemented by the FCC in 1992 to encourage investments in local programming by cable providers. As a result of its limited availability, satellite providersDirecTV,Dish Network and the now-defunctPrimeStar experienced a far slower rate of subscriber penetration into the Philadelphia market compared to other American cities.[25] Craig Moffett, a senior analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. L.L.C., estimated the number of potential customers lost due to the loophole at 450,000.[26]
This issue resulted in DirecTV filing an FCC complaint against Comcast on September 23, 1997, claiming that it used unfair monopolistic control to keep CSN Philadelphia from being made available via satellite (in contrast, DirecTV had carried SportsChannel Philadelphia prior to its shutdown).[27][28] Three days later on September 26, Comcast spokesperson Joe Waz issued a statement defending the move, stating that it was "about competition" and that Comcast SportsNet could help cable television "distinguish itself from satellite rivals." Waz also accused DirecTV of unfairness in wanting to "profit" from carrying the channel despite having "invested zero in improving the quality of programming available to greater Philadelphia".[29]
On January 20, 2010, the FCC Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to close the "terrestrial exception" loophole.[30] Lawyers for DirecTV and Dish Network had attempted to show that Comcast, the dominant cable provider in the Philadelphia market, acted in restraint of trade by not uplinking Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia to satellite. Comcast did not appeal the decision, allowing DirecTV and Dish to immediately enter into carriage negotiations to add the network. Both providers formally asked permission from Comcast to carry CSN Philadelphia on June 25, 2010.[31] One month later on July 28, it was reported that Comcast had entered into discussions with DirecTV and Dish Network for carriage of CSN Philadelphia.[32] Two days later, after accusing Comcast of refusing to negotiate ingood faith, Dish Network stated it would file a complaint with the FCC.[33][34] TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the FCC's original ruling on June 10, 2011.[35] Despite this ruling, Comcast has yet to offer CSN Philadelphia on competing satellite providers. Partly due to this, satellite penetration remains far lower in Philadelphia than in other major cities.
Cable providers other than Comcast within NBC Sports Philadelphia's designated market territory do have access to the network. However, on December 4, 2006, Comcast reached a deal withVerizon FiOS to carry CSN Philadelphia on its systems in eastern Pennsylvania,Delaware and southernNew Jersey.[36][37]
In 1998, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia almost became available in Comcast's New York City service area on systems in southernMiddlesex County (in the municipalities ofPlainsboro,South Brunswick,Monroe,Cranbury,Jamesburg,Helmetta,Spotswood andEast Brunswick), as a replacement for PRISM. However, days before it was set to be added, the NBA issued a cease and desist order against Comcast, blocking the distribution of Philadelphia 76ers games in Middlesex County; this was despite the fact that the league allowedNew York Knicks andNew Jersey Nets games televised byMSG Network andFox Sports New York to be shown on both Comcast and TKR (now Cablevision) inMercer County, which is part of the Philadelphia market. Comcast opted not to carry CSN Philadelphia, unwilling to distribute the network if it had toblack out 76ers game telecasts. Despite this, NBC Sports Philadelphia is carried byComcast Xfinity andVerizon FiOS inOcean County (within their New York service areas),Cablevision inMonmouth County (within itsAllentown service area), Comcast inLambertville and byService Electric inPhillipsburg, New Jersey.
Phillies games were previously unavailable throughMLB Extra Innings on major satellite providers. MLB Extra Innings began transmitting the CSN Philadelphia feed for some games beginning in 2007 on both cable and satellite; theout-of-market sports package began showing both feeds of most games in 2008, at which time all of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia's Phillies telecasts became available to all subscribers. In 2010, Phillies telecasts produced by CSN Philadelphia forMyNetworkTV affiliateWPHL-TV (channel 17) were also broadcast on Extra Innings. Due to blackout restrictions imposed by Major League Baseball, residents within the Philadelphia area, the eastern half of Pennsylvania and most of New Jersey and Delaware cannot view these games via the MLB Extra Innings package.
Because of the network's distribution exclusively in thePhiladelphia area,ESPN must reach agreements withABCowned-and-operated stationWPVI-TV (channel 6) – owned by ESPN's majority ownerThe Walt Disney Company – to provide the network recordings of any sporting events involving teams whose game broadcasts are shown on NBC Sports Philadelphia to include in highlight packages seen onSportscenter,NBA Fastbreak andBaseball Tonight. These highlight excerpts were originally distributed in480i standard definition until 2012, when CSN began distributing to ESPN (via WPVI) in720p high definition.
As a consequence, national sports broadcasts have typically chosen to broadcast clips from the HD "away" feed and avoid the CSN "home" Philadelphia broadcast feed. However,MLB Network (which also has operational control ofNHL Network) andNBA TV have full access to NBC Sports Philadelphia's HD feed since, as the rights holder, the network must provide full-quality video to the properties of each league for their internet and cable operations, while Comcast provides full high-definition access to NBC Sports Philadelphia to NHL Network, which carries NHL games nationwide.
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