Sportsnet

Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty service. Established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet by a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media, the network has since been majority-owned (and as of 2004, owned outright) by Rogers, as CTV parent Bell Globemedia was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN.

The Sportsnet license comprises four 24-hour programming services; Sportsnet was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a category A service, operating as a group of regional sports networks offering programming tailored to each feed's region (in contrast to TSN, which was licensed at the time to operate as a national sports service, and could only offer limited regional opt-outs). Since 2011, the service has operated under deregulated category C licensing, which allows Sportsnet to operate multiple feeds with no restrictions on alternate programming. In each region, only the local Sportsnet channel is available on analogue cable, but all four channels are available nationally via digital cable (subject to blackouts for some out-of-market teams).

Sportsnet One

Sportsnet One (stylized Sportsnet ONE or SN ONE) is a Canadian English language Category C digital cable and satellite specialty channel that is owned by Rogers Media; it operates as a national sports channel complementing the Sportsnet group of regional sports networks. In addition to the national feed, the service operates a number of additional part-time "companion channels" which carry programming restricted to the local broadcast territories of the teams involved, such that the main feed remains available nationwide.

According to Rogers, Sportsnet One is available in 6.1 million Canadian homes.

History

Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in March 2010 under the name Rogers' Mainstream Sports Specialty Service, it was launched at 12:00 p.m. ET on August 14, 2010 as Rogers Sportsnet One in standard definition and high definition. The service was renamed Sportsnet One on October 3, 2011 as part of the rebranding of Rogers Media's Sportsnet-branded channels.