The Sportsman Channel Tuesday announced that several Comcast systems, including one serving subscribers in Minneapolis/St. Paul, are launching carriage of the outdoors enthusiast network.
In addition to the Twin Cities, The Sportsman Channel is now available in Richmond, Va., Independence, Miss., Kokomo, Ind., Olathe, Kan., Redhouse, W. Va. as well as several systems in Central Pennsylvania, Western Wisconsin and Northern California.
The new carriage deals follow the recent announcement of a new television strategy for InterMedia Outdoors, Inc., parent company of The Sportsman Channel, that will shift all its programming—including such popular shows as Guns&Ammo TV, In-Fisherman, Petersen’s Hunting and Shallow Water Angler—as well as many other content resources to The Sportsman Channel to build the channel into the country’s leading outdoor network.
“We are pleased our cable affiliates recognize the value The Sportsman Channel brings to their markets and subscribers,” Mark Kang, The Sportsman Channel’s vice president of affiliate relations, said in a statement. “Thanks to their decision to launch the only network 100% dedicated to hunting, fishing and shooting, they're filling the needs of the underserved audience in the outdoor community.”
In addition to the shows, the upgrading of The Sportsman Channel will include integration of stories and content from across the IMO portfolio, which includes: 16 national and 30 regional magazines reaching 25 million readers; 18 million page views across 24 Web sites, with 1.8 million unique monthly visitors; and 49 million radio listeners.
Also, The Sportsman Channel announced that Comcast systems in Salt Lake City and Paducah, Ky. have melted down the channel from their sports tier to the digital tier. Network officials said these new digital basic launches have added another 500,000 subscribers.
