Sunrise, FL (February 25, 2000) SportsChannel Florida will officially change its name to Fox Sports Net on March 1st at 6:30pm and today, the network announced it will launch an estimated one-million dollar marketing effort to make sure every Florida sports fan knows that Fox Sports Net will be the only place to turn for extensive coverage of their favorite Florida teams and national, high quality sports events and news shows.
Beginning this Sunday, February 27th, a heavy schedule of radio and print advertising will complement an extensive on-air promotional campaign that has already begun on the network, to raise awareness and to educate viewers and sports fans on the March 1st launch of FOX Sports Net. The campaign will continue through the beginning of baseball season as FOX Sports Net will bring viewers over 180 baseball games during the 2000 season.
“Fox Sports Net will be everything that sports fans want and need from a regional sports network. We will continue to provide extensive local coverage of the Panthers, Devil Rays, Marlins, Hurricanes, Bulls, Ospreys, local high schools and much more. In addition to the great local coverage, Fox Sports Net will bring viewers national sports events and exciting new shows. We want to make sure Florida sports fans are aware of these exciting changes that affect their sports viewing in the state, said Rod Mickler, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SportsChannel Florida.
Print ads begin to appear this Sunday, February 27th in eleven newspapers throughout the state to raise awareness of the name change and will emphasize FOX Sports Net’s coverage of the “Home Teams” along with exciting new national programming. Later next month, ads highlighting the networks extensive coverage of Major League Baseball will appear in sixteen newspapers across the state.
Radio spots will run on nearly forty top rated sports talk and music stations within the state beginning March 1st to raise awareness and feature FOX Sports Net’s season long coverage of Florida Panthers, Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and local collegiate action along with national programming including FOX SPORTS NEWS which debuts April 25th, The Last Word with Jim Rome, Goin’ Deep with Chris Meyers, Baseball Night Thursday and Sunday Night Fights. A separate radio campaign will begin during the middle of next month to feature the newly created sports trivia show Sports Geniuses, which will debut on FOX Sports Net March 27th.
SportsChannel Florida currently reaches nearly 3.8 million homes throughout Florida, including the home satellite dish market. SportsChannel Florida programming includes Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins through the 2010 season and Tampa Bay Devil Rays through the 2012 season; the NHL’s Florida Panthers through the 2010-2011 season; Sunday Morning NFL, a live Sunday morning preview of the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars; The University of Miami, The University of South Florida and The University of North Florida; “Saturday Morning College Kickoff” The Big Ten Game of the Week and the FHSAA Championships. SportsChannel Florida is managed by Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.
Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to “Home Team” fans. Rainbow Sports incorporates all of Rainbow’s sports assets, including the Madison Square Garden Properties, its 50 percent ownership of FOX Sports Net and FOX Sports National Advertising, and the ownership and management of seven regional sports networks in six of the nation’s largest markets — Chicago, Florida, New England, New York, Ohio and San Francisco.
Contact:
Michelle Stevens
SportsChannel Florida
954-845-9994