One World Sports is now kicking it around on RCN.
Beginning today, the global sports network is now available to RCN digital TV subscribers on the provider’s Premiere Sports Tier in both the standard- (channel 393) and high-definition format (571) in the New York DMA and throughout most of the distributor’s footprint.
The deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, will afford RCN subscribers in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley with more than 3,000 hours annually of exclusive sporting events, including baseball from Japan, basketball from China, cricket from England, ice hockey from Europe and Russia and golf and soccer from around the world.
The deal should bolster the Big Apple audience for New York Cosmos, the 2013 North American Soccer League champions. One World, which is also carried by Verizon FiOS, Dish Network, Charter Communications, Cablevision, Mediacom Communications, Hawaiian Telcom and Google Fiber, is the Cosmos’ television home, and also features programming from renowned international soccer clubs via Arsenal FC TV, Chelsea FC TV and FC Bayern Munich TV. In January 2015, the network will also carry live, exclusively in the United States, the AFC Asian Cup, an international soccer tournament.
“Global sports programming such as that provided by One World Sports appeals to our diverse customer base whose appetite for sports extends across the globe,” said Chris Fenger, RCN executive vice president and COO. “Like RCN, One World Sports is an independent provider nimble enough to target a diverse audience segment with a strong emphasis on delivering high quality content. More and more people are showing interest in international sports offered by ONE World Sports, and we are excited to make these events available to our viewers.”
“Our agreement with RCN gives us an additional foothold in the New York market, where we’re seeing particularly strong demand, as well as an entrance to other key top-10 markets,” said Randy Brown, executive vice president of distribution of One World Sports. “In fact, all of RCN’s markets, spanning the East from Boston to Virginia, plus west to Chicago, present an excellent opportunity for our network, since our research shows that these regions demonstrate a solid fan interest in soccer and other global sports.”
