regional sports networks . for other uses see sportsnet disambiguation . sportsnet sportsnet logo used since october 3 2011 . launched october 9 1998 owned by rogers media picture format 1080i hdtv hd feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtvs 4k uhdtv part time selected broadcasts slogan canada s 1 sports choice primary fuelled by fans secondary country canada broadcast area national through regional feeds headquarters toronto ontario formerly called ctv sportsnet 1998 2000 sportsnet 2000 2001 rogers sportsnet 2001 2011 sister channel s tv sportsnet one sportsnet world sportsnet 360 wwe network sportsnet radio cjcl and cfac website sportsnet availability satellite bell tv 405 408 sd 1405 1408 hd shaw direct 416 419 117 120 sd 103 106 603 606 hd cable available on most canadian cable systems check local listings channels may vary iptv bell aliant 110 112 114 sd 610 612 614 hd bell fibe tv 405 408 sd 1405 1408 hd mts 171 174 sd 11711 1174 hd optik tv 9911 9915 9917 sd 911 915 917 hd sasktel 116 119 sd 416 419 hd vmedia 27 29 94 95 hd zazeen 60 63 hd streaming media sportsnet now now.sportsnet.ca canadian television subscribers only ; requires login from pay television provider or ott subscription to access content 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 . 1 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 . the four sportsnet feeds air some common programming and simulcast major national events but are capable of airing programming autonomously most prominently regional programming . sportsnet is the national cable rightsholder of the national hockey league and also holds regional rights to five of the league s canadian franchises . it is also the national rightsholder of major league baseball in canada although most of espn s mlb broadcasts are sub licensed to rival network tsn and the exclusive broadcaster of the co owned toronto blue jays . it also splits regional coverage of the toronto maple leafs and toronto raptors with tsn ; rogers communications and tsn s parent company bell canada own a joint majority stake in the teams parent company . the sportsnet brand has since been extended beyond the original regional channels now encompassing the national channels sportsnet 360 sportsnet one and its regional part time companion channels and sportsnet world ; sportsnet radio stations in toronto and calgary ; and sportsnet magazine . with these brand extensions rogers now generally uses sportsnet by itself to denote its sports media properties as a whole and on air promotions for programs being carried nationally by these four regional feeds often list all four channels separately or refer to the sportsnet regional or main channels to avoid any ambiguity . however standalone mentions of sportsnet in reference to a specific channel can still generally be assumed to be referring to the four regional channels or the specific regional channel available locally on analogue cable . according to rogers sportsnet is available in 8.2 million canadian homes . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 acquisition by rogers 1.2 expansion 1.2.1 fuelled by fans re launch 1.3 2013 present 2 regional feeds 3 programming 3.1 hockey coverage 3.1.1 national nhl contracts 3.2 olympics coverage 4 original programs 5 notable on air staff 5.1 notable alumni 6 high definition television 6.1 ultra high definition television 7 references 8 sources 9 external links history edit sportsnet was approved by the crtc in september 1996 under the tentative name s3 with baton broadcasting inc. later renamed to ctv inc. holding a 40 % controlling interest in the network and 20 % minority stakes held by rogers media and liberty media . the network proposed a structure with an emphasis on regional programming operating four feeds to serve different areas of the country . 3 the network launched on october 9 1998 as ctv sportsnet under the ownership of ctv rogers and liberty ; the latter which owned some of the fox sports net operations that fox ran in the united states after which the channel was named . 4 the new network gained credibility before it went on the air having acquired national cable rights to the national hockey league from long time holder tsn . from 1998 99 until 2001 02 sportsnet aired nhl games to a national audience throughout the regular season and covered first round playoff series not involving canadian teams . its first live sports event was an nhl opening night telecast between the philadelphia flyers and new york rangers . the national cable rights to the nhl returned to tsn in 2002 though sportsnet retained regional broadcast rights for most canadian nhl teams . 4 acquisition by rogers edit when ctv purchased netstar the former parent company of tsn in 2000 the crtc ordered ctv to sell either tsn or its stake in sportsnet . ctv ultimately chose to retain tsn and sell its stake in sportsnet . the other shareholders had first right of refusal ; as rogers was the only interested party it acquired ctv s stake in the summer of 2001 and soon after renamed it rogers sportsnet . during part of the transition period during which time the channel was known as sportsnet ctv was allowed to control programming on both networks and some cross affiliation and programs that were going to be tape delayed on tsn most notably figure skating were given to sportsnet . citation needed in 2004 rogers then bought the remaining 20 percent stake from fox . 5 while sportsnet had been based there from the beginning tsn s operations would move to ctv s suburban toronto complex 9 channel nine court following the acquisition . this led to some peculiarities related to the fact that the two rival sports channels were only separated by a parking lot leading to jokes and references from both networks . on april 30 2008 rogers sportsnet moved its broadcast operations from 9 channel nine court to the rogers building a cluster of buildings in the mount pleasant jarvis street area of downtown toronto . citation needed expansion edit in 2010 rogers began to extend the sportsnet brand beyond the original regional networks with the august 14 launch of rogers sportsnet one a national companion channel promising 800 hours of live events per year . the channel was also accompanied by additional part time feeds to serve as overflow channels for its regional nhl coverage . 6 sportsnet s original player logo maintained the same basic form until 2011 . the logos are of pre launch 1998 2001 2001 2010 and 2010 2011 in january 2011 rogers sports radio stations cjcl toronto the fan 590 and cfac calgary the fan 960 were rebranded as sportsnet radio fan 590 and sportsnet radio fan 960 respectively . critics speculated that the sportsnet radio branding was intended to increase synergy with its television counterparts upon rumors that tsn would be launching a sports radio network of its own . 7 in july 2011 rogers announced that it would be rebranding its premium international sports channel setanta sports canada as sportsnet world on october 3 2011 a move that would allow the channel better opportunities for cross promotion with other sportsnet services . as part of the transition setanta sports sold its minority ownership interest in the channel to mlm management . 8 9 on september 29 2011 rogers published the first issue of sportsnet magazine a bi weekly sports magazine positioned for canadian sports fans covering professional sports from a canadian perspective . sports writer stephen brunt left his position at the globe and mail newspaper to become the magazine s back page columnist . 10 fuelled by fans re launch edit on october 3 2011 rogers sportsnet underwent a major rebranding introducing a revamped logo and visual appearance designed in conjunction with troika design group and a new image campaign fuelled by fans . additionally the network s official name was shortened to just sportsnet . the new logo does not incorporate the previous player emblem that had been used in the network s branding since its original launch as research performed by rogers indicated that its association with sportsnet did not resonate well with viewers . the redesign of sportsnet was overseen by dean bender who served as the network s creative director upon its original launch as ctv sportsnet . 11 12 2013 present edit on august 25 2012 rogers announced that it would acquire the television assets of score media owners of the score television network a competing sports network which primarily airs sports news and highlights alongside event coverage in a transaction valued at 167 million . the acquisition itself closed on october 19 2012 at which point score media s digital assets including its website and mobile apps were spun off into another company thescore inc. in which rogers media would retain a 10 % interest . score media s tv properties were immediately placed into a blind trust under trustee peter viner pending final crtc approval . 13 14 rogers plans to continue running the network as a sports news service . 15 the acquisition and rogers proposed amendments which included a reduction in the frequency of sports updates during live events were approved by the crtc on april 30 2013 ; the same day the score also began to air more sportsnet produced programming including a simulcast of cjcl s afternoon show tim & sid and hockey central playoff extra . however the crtc rejected the use of a proposed winter sports competition the sportsnet winter games for its tangible benefits requirements . 16 17 on june 4 2013 rogers announced that the score would be rebranded as a sportsnet channel ; the channel changed its name to sportsnet 360 on july 1 2013 . 18 on march 31 2016 rogers announced that the main sportsnet channels the regional networks one and 360 would be made available without a television subscription as a subscription based over the top streaming service known as sportsnet now previously exclusive to sportsnet subscribers as a tv everywhere service priced at 24.99 per month . 19 regional feeds edit similarly to regional sports networks in the united states sportsnet is operated in four regional feeds . while the feeds carry national programming as well they primarily broadcast sporting events tailored to the region they serve . the four regional feeds are listed in the table below . all four feeds are available in both standard and high definition formats . although cable providers in canada are permitted to carry only the local sportsnet feed on analogue cable packages all four feeds can be carried on digital television services . however in some instances programming on the out of market sportsnet feeds particularly regional nhl games are blacked out due to league restrictions on teams regional broadcast rights . since the revival of the winnipeg jets in 2011 regional flames and