CSN Philadelphia
Encyclopedia
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (CSN Philadelphia) is a regional sports network
that is the charter member of Comcast SportsNet
. It primarily serves the Philadelphia metro area, but its reach extends to cover Southeastern Pennsylvania, all of South Jersey
, and most of Delaware
.
CSN Philadelphia is owned by NBCUniversal and was the first Comcast SportsNet channel. It is the cable home of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers
, NHL's Philadelphia Flyers
, MLB's Philadelphia Phillies
, and MLS
's Philadelphia Union. The network also covers local college sports games, including the Philadelphia Big Five
, the Atlantic 10, and the Colonial Athletic Association
.
CSN Philadelphia debuted on October 1, 1997, replacing the PRISM Network and SportsChannel in the Philadelphia area.
CSN Philadelphia's studios and offices are located inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. CSN Philadelphia also has a small studio inside Citizens Bank Park
, which is used sporadically during the baseball season.
In addition, Comcast owns the Comcast Network
, which on occasion will air Phillies games in the Philadelphia metro area when a Flyers or 76ers game airs on CSN Philadelphia. Some Flyers and 76ers games are also aired by Comcast Network, while WPHL-TV
carries some Phillies games.
and fiber optics. The infrastructure Comcast uses for this was left over from the now defunct PRISM Network. Since CSN Philadelphia does not uplink its signal to any satellite, Comcast was able to avoid an FCC
regulation that requires most television channels to be offered to direct broadcast satellite
(DBS) companies (known as the "terrestrial loophole"). As a result of limited availability, DBS providers DirecTV and Dish Network realized far slower penetration into the Philadelphia market.
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.
On January 20, 2010, the FCC voted 4-1 to close the terrestrial loophole. Lawyers for DirecTV and Dish Network had attempted to show that Comcast Corporation, who owns both CSN Philadelphia along with most of the cable systems in the Philadelphia market, acted in restraint of trade because it did not uplink CSN Philadelphia to satellite. Comcast does not plan to appeal the decision, so DirecTV and Dish can negotiate immediately to add the channel to their lineups. Both providers formally asked for access to the channel on June 25, 2010. On July 28, 2010, it was reported that Comcast is in talks with DirecTV
and Dish Network
for carriage of CSN Philadelphia. Two days later, after accusing Comcast of refusing to negotiate in good faith, Dish Network said it will file a complaint with the FCC. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the original FCC's ruling on June 10, 2011.
systems.
In 1998 Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia almost became available to New York DMA Comcast subscribers in southern Middlesex County in the municipalities of Plainsboro, South Brunswick, Monroe, Cranbury, Jamesburg, Helmetta, Spotswood, and East Brunswick, who previously had access to PRISM. But days before it was set to be added the National Basketball Association
stepped in with a cease and desist order to block the distribution of Philadelphia 76ers games in Middlesex County in spite of the fact that the NBA allowed New York Knicks
and New Jersey Nets
games to be aired in a part of the Philadelphia DMA (Mercer County) on MSG Network
and Fox Sports New York
. Unwilling to distribute the channel with the NBA basketball games blacked out, Comcast backed down. Despite this, CSN Philadelphia is available to New York DMA Comcast and Verizon FiOS
subscribers in Ocean County.
. Beginning in 2007, both the cable and satellite version of MLB Extra Innings began to use the CSN Philadelphia feed for some games and in 2008, when MLB Extra Innings began showing both feeds of most games, all Phillies games shown on CSN Philadelphia became available to all subscribers. In 2010, Phillies games on WPHL
(which are produced by CSN Philadelphia) were also shown on Extra Innings. Residents in the Philadelphia area cannot view these games due to blackout restrictions.
must contract with local ABC station/sister operation WPVI-TV
to provide them recordings of CSN Philadelphia for Sportscenter
, NBA Fastbreak
and Baseball Tonight
highlight packages, which are only provided in 480i
SD video as a consequence. However MLB Network
and NBA TV
have full access to the HD feed of CSN Philadelphia since the network must as the rights holder provide full-quality video to the properties of each league for their internet and cable operations, while Comcast provides full HD access to CSN Philadelphia to sister operations Versus
and NHL Network, which both carry NHL games nationally, as Versus's headquarters are also in Philadelphia.
high definition
simulcast of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia including live sports and series. CSN Philadelphia shows all Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Union and Philadelphia 76ers games in HD. Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia also broadcasts their live studio shows in high definition, such as Daily News Live, SportsNite, and Post Game Live shows.
Regional sports network
In the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate...
that is the charter member of Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
. It primarily serves the Philadelphia metro area, but its reach extends to cover Southeastern Pennsylvania, all of South Jersey
South Jersey
South Jersey comprises the southern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation is a colloquial one, reflecting not only geographical but perceived cultural differences from the northern part of the state, with no official...
, and most of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
.
CSN Philadelphia is owned by NBCUniversal and was the first Comcast SportsNet channel. It is the cable home of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
, NHL's Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, MLB's Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, and MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
's Philadelphia Union. The network also covers local college sports games, including the Philadelphia Big Five
Philadelphia Big 5
The Philadelphia Big 5 is an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It is not a conference; indeed the five schools that are members of the Big 5 are members of three separate conferences: the Atlantic 10, the Big East, and the Ivy League.The five...
, the Atlantic 10, and the Colonial Athletic Association
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...
.
CSN Philadelphia debuted on October 1, 1997, replacing the PRISM Network and SportsChannel in the Philadelphia area.
CSN Philadelphia's studios and offices are located inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. CSN Philadelphia also has a small studio inside Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...
, which is used sporadically during the baseball season.
In addition, Comcast owns the Comcast Network
Comcast Network
Comcast Network is a cable television station that is shown mostly in parts of Comcast Cable services in the Eastern part of the US. Viewed in four states and 20 television markets from New Jersey to Virginia on Comcast cable systems. The main focus of the network is Philadelphia although they...
, which on occasion will air Phillies games in the Philadelphia metro area when a Flyers or 76ers game airs on CSN Philadelphia. Some Flyers and 76ers games are also aired by Comcast Network, while WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV, channel 17, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by the Tribune Company and currently affiliated with the News Corporation-owned MyNetworkTV television network. This makes it the largest non-O&O station of the network...
carries some Phillies games.
Current
- Michael BarkannMichael BarkannMichael Barkann is an award winning sports host, anchor and reporter for Comcast SportsNet.-Education:...
(August 1997) - John Boruk (July 2006)
- Ron BurkeRon Burke (sportscaster)American sportscaster Ronald "Ron" Burke is an anchor/reporter and television personality for NBA TV and Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia. He joined the all-sports regional cable network in September 1997 and after a one-year hiatus in 2000, he returned to CSN in January 2002. Burke, who was...
(August 1997–1999, January 2002) - Amy Fadool (January 2009)
- Leslie Gudel (August 1997)
- Derrick Gunn (August 1997)
- Marshall Harris (March 2008)
- Neil HartmanNeil HartmanNeil Hartman is an award-winning sports personality for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.Hartman was honored by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association as the state's Sportscaster of the Year in 2000. Hartman's career spans over 30 years...
(August 1997) - Lisa Hillary (September 2010)
- Dei Lynam (August 1997)
- Gregg MurphyGregg MurphyGregg Murphy is a sports journalist and was part of CN8's sports coverage. He hosted Out of Bounds, an hour-long sports program, airing at 7 p.m. weeknights, that examines the nation's biggest sports stories...
(December 2008)
Former
- Phil Andrews (August 2005 - March 2008)
- Pat Boyle
- Pete Christy (August 1997 - September 2002)
- Lance Crawford (2000–2008)
- Scott HansonScott HansonScott Richard Hanson is an American television anchor and reporter for NFL Network. He is currently the host of the NFL RedZone channel which offers live, whip around coverage of every NFL game on Sunday afternoons....
(2000–2002) - Al Meltzer (August 1997 - 2001)
- Mike Rodgers (2002–2004)
- Erick Weber (2006)
- Matt YallofMatt YallofMatt Yallof is an American sportscaster for MLB Network, where he debuted June 3, 2009 as an update analyst.Previously, he was the lead host of the New York Mets pre- and post-game show as well as a fill-in host for The WheelHouse and Geico SportsNite on SportsNet New York...
(2000–2006)
News
- SportsRiseSportsRise (CSN-P)SportsRise is a daily morning sports news program on Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. The program repeats every 30 minutes from 6:00AM to 11:00AM on weekdays and from 7:00AM to 10:00AM on weekends.-External links:*...
- Daily News Live
- SportsNiteSportsNite (CSN-P)SportsNite is a daily primetime sports news program on Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. It airs every day at 6:00PM and 10:00PM.-Awards:*1999 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Nominee, OUTSTANDING SPORTS NEWSCAST...
- 'net IMPACT'net IMPACTnet IMPACT is a 30-minute monthly sports program. It is a collaboration of the eight Comcast Sportsnet stations.- Awards :* 2007 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Nominee, MAGAZINE PROGRAM OR SPECIAL - ‘net Impact: Premier Show...
FSN on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
CSN Philadelphia carries FSN programming in lieu of an FSN affiliate. This offers the regions access to a variety of college sports, notably Pac-10 basketball on various nights, plus Big 12 and Pac-10 football on Saturdays during their respective seasons. This arrangement is to secure national coverage for its collegiate lineup of games.Satellite carriage controversy
Unlike most other cable networks, CSN Philadelphia is distributed only via microwaveMicrowave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
and fiber optics. The infrastructure Comcast uses for this was left over from the now defunct PRISM Network. Since CSN Philadelphia does not uplink its signal to any satellite, Comcast was able to avoid an FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
regulation that requires most television channels to be offered to direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
(DBS) companies (known as the "terrestrial loophole"). As a result of limited availability, DBS providers DirecTV and Dish Network realized far slower penetration into the Philadelphia market.
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.
On January 20, 2010, the FCC voted 4-1 to close the terrestrial loophole. Lawyers for DirecTV and Dish Network had attempted to show that Comcast Corporation, who owns both CSN Philadelphia along with most of the cable systems in the Philadelphia market, acted in restraint of trade because it did not uplink CSN Philadelphia to satellite. Comcast does not plan to appeal the decision, so DirecTV and Dish can negotiate immediately to add the channel to their lineups. Both providers formally asked for access to the channel on June 25, 2010. On July 28, 2010, it was reported that Comcast is in talks with DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
for carriage of CSN Philadelphia. Two days later, after accusing Comcast of refusing to negotiate in good faith, Dish Network said it will file a complaint with the FCC. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the original FCC's ruling on June 10, 2011.
Cable
Cable companies other than Comcast within the designated CSN Philadelphia market do have access to the channel. In December 2006, Comcast even made a deal to place CSN Philadelphia on Verizon's competing FiOSFíos
Fíos is one of 17 parishes in Parres, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain....
systems.
In 1998 Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia almost became available to New York DMA Comcast subscribers in southern Middlesex County in the municipalities of Plainsboro, South Brunswick, Monroe, Cranbury, Jamesburg, Helmetta, Spotswood, and East Brunswick, who previously had access to PRISM. But days before it was set to be added the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
stepped in with a cease and desist order to block the distribution of Philadelphia 76ers games in Middlesex County in spite of the fact that the NBA allowed New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
games to be aired in a part of the Philadelphia DMA (Mercer County) on MSG Network
MSG Network
The MSG Network, now shortened to simply MSG, is a regional cable television and radio network serving the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is focused on New York City sports teams...
and Fox Sports New York
MSG Plus
MSG Plus is a regional sports network in the New York City metropolitan area, whose reach expands to cover the entire state of New York, Northern New Jersey, Southwestern Connecticut, and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The network was rebranded on March 10, 2008.Like its sister network, MSG, it is...
. Unwilling to distribute the channel with the NBA basketball games blacked out, Comcast backed down. Despite this, CSN Philadelphia is available to New York DMA Comcast and Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
subscribers in Ocean County.
Phillies games
Phillies games used to be unavailable on the satellite version of MLB Extra InningsMLB Extra Innings
MLB Extra Innings is an Out-of-Market Sports Package distributed in North America by satellite provider DirecTV since 1996 and by most cable providers since 2001. The package allows its subscribers to see up to 80 out-of-market Major League Baseball games a week using local over the air stations...
. Beginning in 2007, both the cable and satellite version of MLB Extra Innings began to use the CSN Philadelphia feed for some games and in 2008, when MLB Extra Innings began showing both feeds of most games, all Phillies games shown on CSN Philadelphia became available to all subscribers. In 2010, Phillies games on WPHL
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV, channel 17, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by the Tribune Company and currently affiliated with the News Corporation-owned MyNetworkTV television network. This makes it the largest non-O&O station of the network...
(which are produced by CSN Philadelphia) were also shown on Extra Innings. Residents in the Philadelphia area cannot view these games due to blackout restrictions.
Highlight packages
Because of the network's distribution exclusively in the Delaware Valley, for any highlights for teams which air on CSN Philadelphia, ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
must contract with local ABC station/sister operation WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
to provide them recordings of CSN Philadelphia for Sportscenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
, NBA Fastbreak
NBA Fastbreak
NBA Fastbreak is a National Basketball Association studio program that airs on ESPN. The program used to air as part of ESPN's The Trifecta. Formerly known as NBA 2Night, the program, hosted by various ESPN personalities, provides highlights, analysis and updates from the night's NBA games...
and Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
highlight packages, which are only provided in 480i
480i
480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...
SD video as a consequence. However MLB Network
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
and NBA TV
NBA TV
NBA TV is a television specialty channel that is dedicated to showcasing the sport of basketball in the United States. The network is financially backed by the National Basketball Association , which also uses NBA TV as a way of advertising their out of market package NBA League Pass, and partner...
have full access to the HD feed of CSN Philadelphia since the network must as the rights holder provide full-quality video to the properties of each league for their internet and cable operations, while Comcast provides full HD access to CSN Philadelphia to sister operations Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
and NHL Network, which both carry NHL games nationally, as Versus's headquarters are also in Philadelphia.
CSN Philadelphia HD
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia HD is a 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia including live sports and series. CSN Philadelphia shows all Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Union and Philadelphia 76ers games in HD. Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia also broadcasts their live studio shows in high definition, such as Daily News Live, SportsNite, and Post Game Live shows.