Comcast Network

Last updated
The Comcast Network
The Comcast Network 2015 logo.jpg
CountryUnited States
Broadcast area Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virginia
Washington, D.C.
History
LaunchedDecember 1, 1996;27 years ago (1996-12-01)
ClosedOctober 2, 2017;6 years ago (2017-10-02)
Replaced by NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus
NBC Sports Washington Plus
Former namesCN8, The Comcast Network (1996–2009)
Comcast Network (2009–2017)

The Comcast Network (TCN) was an American cable television network which was carried mostly on Comcast and Xfinity cable systems in four states and 20 television markets in the Eastern U.S. from New Jersey to Virginia. The main focus of the network was on the Philadelphia area, although the channel attempted to structure its programs as national shows. Key markets included New Jersey, the Pennsylvania cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia.

Contents

History

The Comcast Network was first launched to around 400,000 homes on December 1, 1996, as CN8, The Comcast Network (though it was often abbreviated to simply "CN8.") This largely constituted Comcast's Philadelphia-area cable systems. CN8 carried a mix of public affairs and call-in shows upon launch, including a television simulcast of radio station NJ 101.5's morning show, as well as local sports. The channel was added to Comcast's Baltimore-area systems in early 1998. [1]

In November 1999, Comcast purchased rival Lenfest Communications, which operated in the area under the Suburban Cable and Garden State Cable names. They had launched their own regional cable channel, TSM News (TSM standing for "Tri-State Media"), that April, with live newscasts airing from 9 am to 8 pm every day; Janet Zappala, formerly of WCAU-TV (which would become a sister station to CN8 in 2011 when Comcast acquired NBCUniversal), served as one of TSM's lead anchors. This resulted in TSM's shutdown, and many of its staffers were re-hired by Comcast to create CN8's news department, which launched in April 2000 from TSM's former studio facility in New Castle, DE. CN8 News originally had two hour-long nightly newscasts, at 7PM and 11PM, co-anchored by another ex-WCAU personality, Arthur Fennell; eventually, the 11PM edition moved to 10PM. In addition to this facility, CN8 operated studios in Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood, and news bureaus/studios in Baltimore, Maryland, Trenton and Union, New Jersey. CN8 was now distributed across Comcast's systems from Maryland to northern New Jersey, providing regionalized coverage and shows for these areas. [2]

In 2002, CN8 launched in Pittsburgh when Comcast acquired AT&T Broadband, which would be further expanded when Comcast acquired assets from Adelphia Communications following their liquidation. (The two deals left the satellite TV companies and Armstrong Cable as the only other pay-TV options in Western Pennsylvania until the launch of Verizon Fios.) However, CN8 never launched a standalone Pittsburgh feed; Comcast acquired a stake in PCNC from the AT&T Broadband deal (a remnant of their predecessor TCI prior to AT&T acquiring TCI) and to this day continues to serve as a silent partner to that channel's other owner, local NBC affiliate WPXI.

In May 2003, CN8 further expanded into New England. Replacing AT&T 3, operated by Comcast's regional predecessor AT&T Broadband, this version of CN8 largely carried the same programming as the Philadelphia-area feed, only with their newscasts replaced by new regional shows; the 7PM news was replaced by NiteBeat, covering politics and analysis of regional news, hosted by Barry Nolan (formerly of WBZ-TV's Evening Magazine ), while the 10pm news was replaced in New England with Sports Pulse, a one-hour nightly program of regional sports talk, highlights, and analysis. This was done to avoid redundancy with New England Cable News, already partly-owned by Comcast at the time. CN8 also produced a wide range of live sports in New England, including Division I college football, hockey and basketball, minor-league baseball, professional boxing, figure skating, high school sports, World Team Tennis, and a popular weekly candlepin bowling series. The New England feed was available to 2.2 million viewers across the region. [3] [4] [5]

That same year, Philadelphia news veteran Larry Kane joined CN8 as a consultant, and had his own show, Larry Kane: Voice of Reason. However, due to low viewership, CN8 ended their newscasts in 2006. [6] By 2008, CN8 was staffed by approximately 450 employees and was reaching more than 9 million viewers in 12 states and 20 television markets along the East Coast. [7] The CN8 brand was discontinued on January 6, 2009, as part of a larger restructuring of the network in order to respond to low ratings as well as closing down in the New England market, where its primary markets were Boston and Hartford/New Haven. Some CN8 New England programming migrated to New England Cable News, with some sports properties picked up by Comcast SportsNet New England.

On August 23, 2017, NBC Sports Regional Networks announced that the TCN branding would be dropped on October 2, 2017; TCN Philadelphia was rebranded as NBC Sports Philadelphia +, and TCN Mid-Atlantic was to be rebranded as NBC Sports Washington +. The rebranding was concurrent with the renaming of the Comcast SportsNet networks under the NBC Sports brand. [8] It is not clear what network, if any, replaced the channel in the Pittsburgh market.

Programs

As CN8

Show title
American Builder [9]
Backstage with Barry Nolan [9]
Christina Cooks! [9]
CN8 Candlepin Challenge [9]
CN8 News [9]
CN8 Presents: Comcast in Concert [9]
CN8 Sports [9]
Gymnastics 360 with Shannon Miller [9]
It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle [9]
Larry Kane: Voice of Reason [9]
Let's Cook with Paul Dillon [9]
Lou Tilley's Sports Connection [9]
Money Matters Today [9]
Nancy Kerrigan's World of Skating [9]
Nitebeat [9]
One on One with Steve Adubato [9]
Out of Bounds [9]
Real Life with Mary Amoroso [9]
Seeking Solutions with Suzanne [9]
Sports Pulse [9]
Your Morning [9]
Art Fennell Reports [10]
Roll Call [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Sports Networks</span> American sports channel group (1996–2021)

Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019, following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. A condition of that acquisition imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice required Disney to sell the regional networks by June 18, 2019, 90 days after the completion of its acquisition. Disney subsequently agreed to sell the networks to Sinclair; the transaction was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks continued to use the Fox Sports name only under a transitional license agreement while rebranding options were explored. A rebranding cross-partnership with Bally's Corporation took effect on March 31, 2021, and the networks were rebranded as Bally Sports, ending the Fox Sports Networks branding after 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPHL-TV</span> CW TV station in Philadelphia

WPHL-TV is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW Television Network. The station also maintains a secondary affiliation with MyNetworkTV. Owned and operated by The CW's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, WPHL-TV has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains a channel sharing agreement with Vineland, New Jersey–licensed Univision station WUVP-DT, under which the two stations transmit using WPHL-TV's spectrum from a tower in the Roxborough antenna farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports Regional Networks</span> Group of regional sports networks in the United States

NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were originally established as Comcast SportsNet (CSN), a unit of Comcast's cable television business, beginning with a network in Philadelphia which launched in 1997. Their operations were aligned with the national NBC Sports division following the 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast. NBC Sports Regional Networks' business and master control operations are based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

KYW-TV, branded CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WPSG. The two stations share studios on Hamilton Street north of Center City, Philadelphia; KYW-TV's transmitter is located in the city's Roxborough section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCAU</span> NBC TV station in Philadelphia

WCAU is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo outlet WWSI ; it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPVI-TV</span> ABC TV station in Philadelphia

WPVI-TV, branded 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the market's ABC outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on City Avenue in the Wynnefield Heights section of Philadelphia, and a transmitter in the city's Roxborough neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWSI</span> Telemundo TV station in Mount Laurel, New Jersey

WWSI is a television station licensed to Mount Laurel, New Jersey, United States, serving as the Philadelphia-area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside NBC outlet WCAU ; it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PRISM (TV channel)</span> Cable channel based in Philadelphia (1976–1997)

PRISM was an American regional premium cable television channel in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Launched in September 1976, PRISM was primarily distributed through area cable systems, although it was also available through a scrambled over-the-air signal on WWSG-TV from 1983 to 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGAL</span> NBC affiliate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

WGAL is a television station licensed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Columbia Avenue in Lancaster Township. Its transmitter is located near US 30 north of Hallam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicagoland Television</span> Television channel

Chicagoland Television was an American regional cable news television channel located in Chicago, Illinois. The channel served the Chicago metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SportsChannel</span> American group of regional sports networks

SportsChannel is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that was owned by Cablevision, which from 1988 until the group's demise, operated it as a joint venture with NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Cable News</span> US television network

New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal serving the New England region of the United States. It focuses on regional news, though in some low priority timeslots, paid programming and programming from WNBC such as Talk Stoop and Open House are seen.

WRDE-LD is a low-power television station in Salisbury, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the Draper Holdings Business Trust alongside dual CBS and Fox affiliate WBOC-TV, and low-power Cambridge-licensed Telemundo affiliate WBOC-LD. WRDE-LD's news department is located on The Square in Milton, Delaware, though technical functions and most internal operations are based at WBOC-TV's studio on North Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury. WRDE-LD's transmitter is located in Laurel, Delaware. WRDE-LD's programming is repeated on Salisbury-licensed WRUE-LD, with transmitter near Pocomoke City, Maryland.

SportsChannel Philadelphia was an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between Rainbow Sports, a unit of the Rainbow Media subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, and NBC, and operated as an affiliate of SportsChannel. Operating as a sister network of the premium service PRISM and headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, the channel provided regional coverage of sports events involving professional sports teams based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and college and high school sports events throughout the Delaware Valley region.

NBC Sports Philadelphia is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by locally based cable television provider Comcast, and the Philadelphia Phillies. It is the flagship owned-and-operated outlet of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports-related news, discussion and entertainment programming.

Major League Baseball games not broadcast exclusively by its media partners are televised by regional sports networks, which present sports programming of interest to their respective region. Most MLB broadcasters are members of chains such as NBC Sports Regional Networks and Bally Sports, although several teams are broadcast by regional networks that are independent of these chains. Some teams own partial or majority stakes in their regional broadcaster.

BayTV was a 24-hour regional cable news and sports channel that served the San Francisco Bay Area and operated from July 1994 to August 2001. It was originally owned as a joint venture between the locally based Chronicle Publishing Company and cable provider Tele-Communications, Inc.. Young Broadcasting acquired majority control of the channel after it acquired parent television station KRON-TV in November 1999, while TCI's interest transferred to AT&T Broadband upon its acquisition of TCI earlier that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports Boston</span> Sports television network in Boston, U.S.

NBC Sports Boston is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout New England with a major focus on Boston area teams, as well as several original analysis, magazine and entertainment programs. It is available on cable providers throughout Massachusetts, eastern and central Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

NBC Sports Bay Area is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and the San Francisco Giants, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquartered in San Francisco, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. NBCS Bay Area's sister channel is NBC Sports California. The president of the network is Ted Griggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monumental Sports Network</span> Regional sports network in Washington, D.C.

Monumental Sports Network, formerly NBC Sports Washington, is an American regional sports network owned by Ted Leonsis's Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Mid-Atlantic, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as well as sports news and entertainment programming.

References

  1. ↑ "CN8, The Comcast Network Debuts In Baltimore". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  2. ↑ Moss, Linda (21 February 2000). "Comcast's CN8 Absorbs TSM". Multichannel News. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. ↑ March 2003, Simon Applebaum 31. "CN8 Expands North Into New England". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2020-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "Channel CN8 spreading to New England". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  5. ↑ "Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Living / Arts / Channel has its own program for success". archive.boston.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  6. ↑ Fernandez, Bob; Klein, Michael. "Comcast to ax CN8 name, restructure cable channel". inquirer.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  7. ↑ "Network Overview". Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS TO ALIGN CSN & TCN PROPERTIES UNDER 'NBC SPORTS' BRAND" (Press release). Stamford, Conn.: NBC Sports Group. August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "What's On CN8". Archived from the original on 30 September 2005. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "What's On CN8". Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "CN8 Shows". Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.