While broadcast brethren CBS will crown the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball champion on its air tonight, it's also a coming out party for cable cousin CBS Sports Network.
As previously announced, CBS College Sports Network officially rebrands today as CBS Sports Network. The name change takes effect tonight with the Bracket Breakdown show, which airs immediately following Black Rock's coverage of the UConn-Butler battle. The new abbreviation for CBS Sports Network is CBSSN.
Although the channel, which counts some 40 million subscribers, will continue to focus on college sports, the rebranding will allow for the service to expand its content base down the road.
As part of the rebrand, CBS Sports Network, whose predecessor covered over 15 men's and women's college sports with over 250 live events each season, plus an array of attendant studio and original fare, will more closely align and expand Black Rock's portfolio of assets, including CBS Sports, Showtime Sports, CBSSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
The name change is the second in three years for the service. CBS Corp. acquired CSTV in January 2006, before integrating it into CBS Sports early in 2008 and then rebranding it CBS College Sports Network that February.
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