Sun Sports

Infobox TV channel
name = Sun Sports
logofile = Sun Sports logo.png logosize = 200px
logoalt =
logo2 =
launch = 1988 (as Sunshine Network)
closed date =
picture format = 480i (SDTV)
720p (HDTV)
share =
share as of =
share source =
network =
owner = FOX
Comcast
slogan =
country = United States
language = American English
broadcast area = Florida
headquarters = Orlando, Florida
former names = Sunshine Network (1988–2004)
replaced names =
replaced by names =
sister names = FSN Florida
timeshift names =
web = [http://www.sunsportstv.com/default.jsp Sun Sports / FSN Florida]
terr serv 1 =
terr chan 1 =
sat serv 1 = DirecTV
sat chan 1 = 653
sat serv 2 = Dish Network
sat chan 2 = 422 (SD)
372 (HD)
cable serv 1 = Available on select cable systems
cable chan 1 = Check local listings for channels
sat radio serv 1 =
sat radio chan 1 =
adsl serv 1 =
adsl chan 1 =
online serv 1 =
online chan 1 =

Sun Sports is a Florida sports broadcasting network, with its headquarters at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. Launched in 1988 as Sunshine Network, the station is now affiliated with most cable companies throughout the state of Florida and can be picked up by some satellite providers around the United States.

Sunshine Network changed its name from Sun Sports in 2004 to reflect its sports-focused programming. Originally an affiliate of Prime Network, it was acquired with the rest of Prime by Fox Sports Net in 1995. Today it is partially owned by Comcast SportsNet, but still entirely programmed by FSN.

Programming

Sun Sports airs professional, collegiate and high school sporting events. It offers split feeds for the state's regions. Along with sister network FSN Florida it is the cable home to the NBA's Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, MLB's Florida Marlins, and the AFL's Orlando Predators and Tampa Bay Storm. In addition the channel offers baseball, basketball, football, and other sporting events from Florida International University, University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of Central Florida, though some Sun Sports-produced college football games are initially shown on pay-per-view. Sun Sports is also one of the few networks outside the New York metro area to carry Rutgers University's coach's show Inside Rutgers Football.

One of the station's highly-rated programs unveiled in 2003 is "SportsTalk Live". The show features a roundtable discussion of current issues regarding Florida sports.

FSN Florida

Through Sun Sports, South Florida can view Miami Heat basketball, as Central and Northern Florida can view Orlando Magic basketball. Ultimately however, Sun Sports and FSN Florida are sister channels, and games can air on either channel depending on who is playing at what time (particularly with the Marlins and Rays, since both teams routinely play at the same time). The two channels do not focus on one region of Florida (it was long rumored that Sun Sports would carry only the North/Central Florida teams, while FSN Florida would carry Miami-area teams) so that the Lightning, Heat, Marlins, Magic [Magic to move 35 games to FSN Florida http://capefish.blogspot.com/2007/08/magic-move-35-games-to-fsn-florida.html] , and Florida Panthers are all cable-exclusive. Some Rays games are available on over-the-air stations.

Non-sports programming

Apart from infomercials, the main non-sports programming seen on Sun Sports on its regular schedule is a political-themed interview/debate show titled "Capitol Dateline", whose main scope is on Florida government. This program is a holdover from the Sunshine Network era, when the channel originally had a 2-hour afternoon block of programming related to Florida history and government.

ee also

* List of DirecTV channels
* List of Dish Network channels

External links

* [http://www.sunsportstv.com Official Site]