Sinclair Broadcast Group will launch American Sports Network, a college sports channel broadcast on Sinclair’s stations. The collegiate conferences represented on the network include Conference USA, the Colonial Athletic Association, Big South Conference, Southern Conference, and Patriot League.
Doron Gorshein, chief operating officer of Sinclair Networks, will oversee American Sports Network.
The channel will launch in advance of the fall football season. Sinclair stations will carry the games on the primary channels, generally its CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, or on subchannels.
Gorshein joined Sinclair in January. He founded The America Channel in 2003, and was founder and CEO of Association of Independent Programming Networks from 2005 to 2007.
"Broadcasters serve and are closely connected to their communities, of which the colleges and universities are an integral part," he said. "We believe there is significant value and consumer appeal for live sporting events from these important institutions, and we can offer expanded distribution through our broadcast platforms, as well as on potential new platforms, deepening our connection to our communities."
Sinclair’s group reaches approximately 38.9% of U.S. television households, including pending transactions. Its planned acquisition of Allbritton will be ruled on by regulators in the coming weeks.
"This is another example of our foray into the content creation business," said David Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair. "The launch of ASN will provide important and valuable content that is directed at serving our local communities, while improving the value of our CW and MyNet affiliates. We are confident in Doron's ability to lead this endeavor, given his acumen in this arena."
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