For many large cable operators, the production of local sports programming sits very low on the priority list. But for smaller outfits like Bright House Networks, Ohio News Now (ONN) and Service Electric Cable TV 2, local sports programming — from high school football to arena football — is deemed a gateway to drive viewership while significantly boosting ad revenue.
CATCH 47
One of the most impressive success stories is Tampa Bay, Fla.’s Bright House Networks, whose Catch 47 channel made the decision to carry local sports coverage 24/7 in January 2006. Previously, Catch 47 was a local origination channel, producing local fishing shows, a weekly program about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers professional football team and some high school football and basketball.
“It was intermixed with other programming,” said Bright House group vice president of news programming Elliott Wiser, who took the reigns of Catch 47 in 2004. “Research said fishing, high school football and baseball and the Buccaneers show were very popular. People in Tampa Bay felt there was a void in local sports coverage, so we made the decision to focus on sports.”
Catch 47 soon added EPSN news overnight and signed a deal with America One, which provides syndicated fare to a number of regional sports outlets like Madison Square Garden Network.
“It’s not about throwing something on the air and hoping someone will watch it,” said Wiser. “You have to do something that’s a little different, local and is high quality. Catch 47 production is at the network level. We hear that consistently from the people we work with.”
Catch 47 recently secured a carriage deal with arena football champions Tampa Bay Storm. The partnership allows Catch 47 and Bright House Networks to televise up to 10 games during the 2007 season.
“The Tampa Bay Storm saw our network grow and made the discussion easier for us and for them,” Wiser said. “They are one of the top franchises in arena football, so it’s an important deal for Catch 47 and Bright House Networks.”
As part of the five-year agreement, Catch 47 will broadcast all Storm regular season home games, as well as the Storm’s road game at Orlando, provided that these games are not picked up by an Arena Football League national television partner. Catch 47 will also broadcast additional road games during the course of the contract.
Catch 47’s other planned programming includes Bay’s Ball, a weekly baseball show co-hosted by former all-star first baseman Fred McGriff; the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament; and Tampa Yankees and Clearwater Threshers minor league baseball games. Bay Sports With Dick Crippen is a half-hour weekly “best of” wrap-up that is also available on demand, “similar to what HBO does with Real Sports,” Wiser said.
“Some of the fishing segments also wind up on demand. Fishing and boating is just huge,” Wiser added. Every night at 7 p.m., Catch 47 airs a one hour fishing block of locally produced shows.
“It’s still early but the ratings have been phenomenal,” Dixon said. “The fishing shows have legs and are the main reason why we decided to go 24 hours in the first place.”
Catch 47’s lineup has attracted national as well as local advertisers, like Subway, which sponsors Bucs Extra Point, to Tampa area restaurant chain Beef O’Brady’s, which sponsors High School Scoreboard.
OHIO NEWS NOW
While Catch 47’s local sports coverage can be targeted to include fishing and other Tampa Bay staples, “local” takes on an entirely different meaning for ONN, which passes nearly 1.6 million homes in 83 of Ohio’s 88 counties reaching all 12 Ohio designated market areas.
“We try to create affinities with viewers,” ONN director of programming Jason Phiester said. “The fact that people follow football at the high school level and track the progress of players as they move on to colleges like Ohio State means there’s a natural interest in this area.”
While ONN is a full-service network, local sports is a very big revenue producer and provides a lot of opportunity for awareness among viewers, according to Phiester. “It pleases the cable operators because they know that’s what their customers want to see.”
Thanks to its slate of local sports fare, ONN over the past two years has seen double- and triple-digit ad revenue and viewership growth, Phiester said.
Last year, ONN started a service that delivers sports scores to customers via text messaging. “We also encourage viewers to submit video coverage of games that we might include on air,” Phiester said. “We are empowering people to be data gatherers. At the high school level, people are very passionate to make sure their school is represented.”
To help facilitate fan input, ONN works with third-party Web site JJHuddle.com to moderate content and blogs. The Web site’s moderator and founder, JJ Huddle, is also a show host for ONN and a visible figure at high school football and basketball games.
In addition, “Local On Demand” contains ONN’s most popular programming, available on Time Warner’s Local on Demand channel. Viewers can use the channel to get instant access to current and classic programs, such as Ohio High School Athletic Association championship games and other local sports. Other ONN sports programming includes:
- Buckeye Blitz, which features the Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel in Tuesday afternoon media conferences and includes one-on-one interviews with players.
- The Jim Tressel Call-In Show, a weekly, half-hour forum where viewers get to talk to the Buckeyes head coach.
- High School GameDay, a twice weekly highlights showcase for the high school football circuit.
SERVICE ELECTRIC
Service Electric Cable TV serves over 285,000 subscribers located in approximately 350 communities in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania and Northwestern New Jersey in three operating regions.
In an effort to upsell subscribers, Service Electric entered into a 10-year agreement with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, dubbed the IronPigs Television Network, to commence in April 2008 at the Lehigh County stadium under construction in Allentown, Pa. Under terms of the deal, Service Electric will carry all 72 IronPigs home games.
The deal would likely make the IronPigs the first minor league baseball team ever to have its entire 72-game home schedule televised.
The deal also provides for Service Electric to be the team’s “Official Communications Provider,” offering all phone, high-speed Internet and cable television services inside the new ballpark.
“Service Electric will have various sales opportunities within the ballpark for potential customers to sample high-speed Internet, digital phone service, [digital video recorder] boxes, high-definition TV and other products that we may be offering,” Service Electric general manager Andy Himmelwright said. “Our marketing department has been working on strategies for this aspect.”
The IronPigs will start play in April of 2008 as a Triple-A International League affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Himmelwright said Service Electric plans to use the ballgames as marketing tools to offer tickets and hospitality areas to customers as an incentive to subscribe to various services.
In addition, Service Electric may carry other Triple A games this summer to entice viewers.
“We are exploring the possibilities of broadcasting some of the games this summer from nearby teams to show our subscribers just what they might expect to see in 2008 in the Lehigh Valley,” he added.
Himmelwright said local sports programming is a main driver behind the recent surge in subscriber growth, citing the addition of minor league baseball to its strong sports lineup.
“We started a daily sports show that showcases everything from pee-wee to professional sports that take place within our market,” said Himmelwright. “As more sports franchises move into our area, we pursue them so we can maintain the highest quality and quantity of sports programming for our subscribers.”
