Sportsman Channel To Supply Outdoor Fare For ESPN International

Programmer To Serve As Sole Supplier Of Genre Fare For Network's Outdoor Block

Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 11/4/2011 9:05:00 AM

Sportsman Channel has reached an agreement to furnish ESPN International with original content for its outdoor programming block.
Beginning in November, Sportsman Channel will provide 52 hours, encompassing 104 episodes, of original programming to ESPN International, which reaches more than 7.4 million households in 78 nations and territories in Africa, the Middleast, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Sportsman Channel series to air on ESPN International include Dropped: Project Alaska, Beau Knows Outdoors, Fly Fishing the World with Conway Bowman, Breaking the Surface and Florida Sportsman, among others.

"This agreement with ESPN International dramatically expands Sportsman's brand, content, and reach to outdoor enthusiasts throughout the world," said Gavin Harvey, CEO of Sportsman Channel, in a statement. "We are looking forward to sharing our content with viewers of ESPN International's top-quality family of networks."

Stateside, Sportsman Channel counts some 27 million subscribers.

For its part, ESPN has retreated from the field and stream category, swapping its weekend morning blocks for College GameDay, SportsCenter and Barclays Premier League soccer, among other fare.