Sinclair Broadcast Group continues its expansion in the multicast network space with premium sports content.
Stadium, a 24/7, multiplatform sports network, is now available on broadcast television in markets across the country. Leveraging Sinclair Broadcast Group’s vast broadcast spectrum and household reach, Stadium will initially be available in 57 U.S. markets via digital subchannels. Stadium premieres in over 40% of the country and is expected to expand aggressively in the coming months both within and outside of Sinclair markets.
“We are thrilled with Stadium’s television footprint at launch and are excited with the opportunity to reach a previously underserved audience,” said Jason Coyle, CEO of Stadium. “With more than 30 million digital antennas in market across the country and millions who view broadcast television on cable looking for a modern-day alternative to the traditional sports network, we are excited to bring a fully programmed, linear network of premium sports content to these viewers as part of their channel options.”
Sinclair says the free, ad-supported, sports network “will offer a first-class experience 24 hours a day, seamlessly integrating and moving among live games and events, extensive highlights, classic games, original programming, and daily live studio programming featuring news, analysis, and opinion across each day’s most important storylines.”
This Saturday, Stadium will offer a full afternoon and evening of college football. The action kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET in Norfolk, Va., as the University of North Carolina visits Old Dominion and continues at 7 p.m. ET with a Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky matchup.
Stadium studio programming will cover national storylines across all major sports and is built upon a commitment to on-the-ground reporting and localized expertise enabled by a network of on-camera contributors from 100+ markets across the country.
“Sinclair’s investment in Stadium builds on our longstanding commitment to connecting our communities with sports programming — from local high school teams, to college to national leagues — as well as our recent focus on expanding our business with new networks that leverage our broadcast spectrum and household reach,” said Scott Shapiro, Sinclair’s VP of corporate development.
Announced this April, Stadium was built through the merging of 120 Sports’s live studio operations, Silver Chalice’s Campus Insiders’ live collegiate games and Sinclair’s American Sports Network’s (ASN) distribution and live collegiate games.
Designed with a platform-agnostic approach, Stadium will also stream the 24/7 linear network feed on WatchStadium.com, the Stadium iOS and tvOS apps, Twitter (@WatchStadium), the Twitter app on connected devices and Pluto TV, on ch. 207. Additional complementary streaming apps and distribution partners will be released in the coming weeks.
