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6 unusual facts about SportsChannel


Ed Westfall

After the end of his playing days, Westfall became the Islanders color analyst for what was then known as SportsChannel.

Fox Sports Southwest

In 1996, the network became Fox Sports (Net) Southwest, upon News Corporation's purchase of the Prime Networks and its merger with the SportsChannel networks.

NAPLPS

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, SportsChannel ran a service called Sports Plus Network, which ran sports news and scores while SportsChannel was not otherwise on the air.

Peter McNab

After eight years broadcasting on SportsChannel for the Devils, he moved to Colorado for the inaugural season of the Colorado Avalanche.

Rick Benjamin

Benjamin also did work for Mizlou Television Network for their NASCAR coverage, and for SportsChannel in 1990 when they aired Busch Grand National races, using the pseudonym Ron Williams.

SportsChannel

The network obtained the National Hockey League rights from ESPN in 1988 by offering the NHL almost triple the amount of money that ESPN was offering (a move not unlike the 2005 NHL rights grab by Comcast/OLN over ESPN).


Major League Baseball on SportsChannel

In 1996, Wayne Huizenga purchased a 70% controlling interest in SportsChannel Florida from Rainbow Media (by that time, a joint venture between Cablevision and NBC).

Sports Plus Network

According to the ticker that scrolled at the bottom of the screen, the service was a joint venture by SportsChannel, Tribune Media Services, and the Associated Press.

The Sportswriters on TV

The Sports Writers on TV was a sports talk show produced by John E. Roach for the Chicago-based SportsChannel and syndicated to most of the other ones across the SportsChannel America network.


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