Interesting, a new Fox sports channel ???
http://newsok.com/fs-oklahoma-to-air...?tm=1222702281
Interesting, a new Fox sports channel ???
http://newsok.com/fs-oklahoma-to-air...?tm=1222702281
The story
By Mel Bracht
The Oklahoman
Fox Sports Net will televise 60 to 65 Oklahoma Thunder games this season on a revamped network, FS Oklahoma, as part of a new multiyear television contract, network spokesman Ramon Alvarez said this morning. The NBA team was expected to make the announcement this morning
The remaining Thunder games apparently will be televised by an Oklahoma City over-the-air station.
FS Oklahoma will launch with the first Thunder telecast in October and will be available statewide as a replacement for FSN Southwest, Alvarez said. The date of the launch has not been set.
FS Oklahoma will air “Thunder Live” pregame and postgame shows, which will be anchored from a studio in Dallas, Alvarez said.
This fall, FS Oklahoma also will begin airing Oklahoma high school state championships as part of a three-year contract with Oklahoma Secondary School Activity Association. The network will air up to 16 live broadcasts and 10 tape-delayed broadcasts of state championship games. The network also is developing plans for auxilliary programming for its Oklahoma coverage, including the Thunder and high schools.
Dallas Mavericks telecasts, which have been carried in Oklahoma in past seasons, still will be available to homes outside of a 75-mile radius of Oklahoma City, the Thunder's main territorial rights, Alvarez said. If the Thunder and the Mavericks are both playing that night, the Thunder telecast will be shown on FS Oklahoma.
If there is a conflict between a Thunder telecast and a college football telecast, one of the events would be available on FSN Plus, Alvzarez said. Cox would be able to show the other event on its local channel, Cox 7 in Oklahoma City and Cox 3 in Tulsa.
I assume it will be more or less just like FSN Houston. It still broadcasts on FSSW... but is a localized version of the channel, and only used for certain parts of the broadcast (Rockets games, etc..) . I assume any time FS Oklahoma is not directly used, we get the FSSW feed....
Seems about right. Isn't FSSW centrally based in Dallas?Originally Posted by bigjkt405
THANK YOU PBC!!!! (for not going with COX)
At least we don't have to watch Texas High School football now, this is great.
But, does that mean games won't be available to anyone outside the state? Wichita or Joplin, for instance? Was this a compromise so the Mavs don't lose all of their previous area of influence?
I'd be willing to bet that those places would be able to see Thunder games. I think people in Texas are the ones probably not able to see Thunder games (Unless they don't play on the same night as the Mavs.)
From what it sounds, those in Lawton Oklahoma won't be able to see the games because we are out of the 75 mile radius of OKC by about 10 -15 miles. Hopefully that is not true, but I guess we'll see.
This is GREAT news.
Hopefully those living outside the 75 mile radius will get Thunder and Mavs games.
What NBA stuff is on in the KC area I wonder?
Here's the Thunder's official press release:
http://www.nba.com/thunder/#/news/ar...e_tvdeal080929
Fox Sports Reach TV Agreement
THUNDER.NBA.COM
Sept. 29, 2008
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Fox Sports Networks today announced that they have reached a multi-year agreement providing Fox with the regional television rights to Thunder Basketball. The announcement was made by Thunder Senior Vice President and Executive Producer Ken Adelson and Fox Sports Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager Jon Heidtke.
In addition, Fox announced that its regional sports network currently serving the Oklahoma market (FSN Southwest, COX Ch 37 on basic cable in OKC) will be re-launched as "Fox Sports Oklahoma" in October to coincide with the start of the Thunder's first season in Oklahoma City. The new network is an effort by Fox to more closely reflect the interests of the Oklahoma market and to strengthen its connection with local sports fans. Also, to emphasize the new TV partnership with Fox Sports, game broadcasts will be branded "FS Thunder" in its on-screen graphics.
During the 2008-09 season Fox Sports Oklahoma will carry 65 Thunder games. The rest of the Thunder schedule will be broadcast on a still-to-be named local partner. "Our fans will be able to watch every Thunder Basketball game on television, home and away," Adelson said. The full season television schedule will be released in coming days.
This new partnership between Fox and the Thunder was forged to ensure that Thunder games would be widely available to fans throughout Oklahoma. Fox Sports Oklahoma will reach more than one million cable and satellite television homes throughout every TV market in Oklahoma.
"Fox Sports is the leader in regional sports television and we are proud and excited to partner with them," Adelson said. "They are innovative, creative and offer state of the art production techniques. We have attained our goal of offering our fans a high quality, exciting, easily accessible TV broadcast."
More than half of the Thunder games on Fox Sports Oklahoma will be in HD (high-definition) during the 2008-09 season, with additional HD broadcasts scheduled for the following season. For the Thunder broadcasts, Brian Davis is the play-by-play announcer and 14-year NBA veteran player Grant Long serves as Thunder analyst.
"This is an exciting time for Oklahoma sports fans and we're thrilled to be on the ground floor as the Thunder's new television partner," Heidtke said. "We look forward to showcasing their games and helping to grow the team's fan base throughout the state. We're committed to building Fox Sports Oklahoma into the premier destination for local sports programming."
Fox Sports Oklahoma will also offer additional Thunder programming such as THUNDER LIVE pre- and post-game shows and a weekly magazine show. In addition to Thunder telecasts, Fox Sports Oklahoma will offer a strong lineup of local sports programming, including select University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State football, basketball, and Olympic sports events, local coaches shows, and high school events beginning this year from the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletics Association. Fox Sports Oklahoma will also feature original programming and specials, such as In My Own Words, Under the Lights, and Spotlight, highlighting local athletes, coaches, and teams. Fox Sports Oklahoma will become the 17th regional sports network in the Fox Sports Networks family.
Fox Sports Networks are the nation's leaders in offering hometown NBA coverage. Fox's 17 owned-and-operated regional sports networks serve as the local television home to more than half of all NBA teams, producing more than 900 live telecasts per season, including more than 350 in high definition.
The Oklahoma City Thunder begins its 2008-09 regular season on October 29 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. The Thunder announced earlier this month it sold out of its 13,000 season tickets.
No, it sounds like you will get both teams broadcasts.
I hope that is true.
GREAT news overall! I can't wait to watch the road games on all the TVs in my house....
But I also have questions about the broadcasts in west Texas. Amarillo and Wichita Falls are a lot closer to OKC than to Dallas, and I think we can get a large following in those areas. I also think the Wichita and Joplin/Springfield areas are real targets for the Thunder and they should work hard to get telecasts in those markets.
What's your TV situation? DirecTV, Dish Network, Cox, etc.?
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