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Versus - new name, new programming

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LadyStanley

LadyStanley

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IU Hawks fan

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Strange that they'd wait for the new year to make the name change and not let it coincide with the start of the season. Unless they figure that until they are ready to shift programming until Jan 1 they don't want to give the "new channel" a bad name early if it's the same as VS at that point.
 
Nashvols

Nashvols

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Not trying to be ESPN does make it an attractive alternative.

I don't really want them to emulate the "Sportscenter" style of sports broadcasting, but if they are going to make hockey a focal point, I would like to see them have a dedicated hockey discussion show with a few quality analysts. They could also use an experienced guy like Gary Thorne to beef up their hockey play-by-play.

I think VS. (or NBC Sports or whatever) would attract a lot more hockey fans in general if they make a real effort to enhance their coverage of the sport -- I hope that's what they're planning...
 
Nashvols

Nashvols

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AdmiralsFan24 said:
Would love it if they had an NHL show every night with highlights and wrap up of that day's games.
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Me too...as long as its not as dry as the one on NHL network. Personality is a good thing as long as you don't get tools like Barry Melrose running their mouth.
 
LadyStanley

LadyStanley

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jkrdevil said:
Didn't they have a nightly highlight program last year?
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There was a M-F program of Eastern Conference/Time game highlights.


(Says the very disgruntled Pacific Time team fan. :sarcasm:)

Aired 8pm PT and during the rerun (circa 11pm) they sometimes had a couple of clips from the late games, but no/rarely indepth analysis of games and no apres game player call ins as they had for the earlier games.
 
AZcoyotes33

AZcoyotes33

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nashvols said:
Not trying to be ESPN does make it an attractive alternative.

I don't really want them to emulate the "Sportscenter" style of sports broadcasting, but if they are going to make hockey a focal point, I would like to see them have a dedicated hockey discussion show with a few quality analysts. They could also use an experienced guy like Gary Thorne to beef up their hockey play-by-play.

I think VS. (or NBC Sports or whatever) would attract a lot more hockey fans in general if they make a real effort to enhance their coverage of the sport -- I hope that's what they're planning...
Click to expand...

Dave Strader, play-by-play announcer for the Coyotes has accepted a position with NBC/VS....not sure if it is for the play-by-play role but if it is, they have found an excellent man for the position. Very unbiased knowledgeable hockey guy.
 
jkrdevil

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Not rebranding, but NBC and Versus are bringing in their top play-by-play guys in full time. Both Strader and Emrick are leaving their local teams for national work.
 
IU Hawks fan

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Fordy said:
I thought they were becoming NBC Sports?
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No chance IMO they call themselves "NBC Sports" straight up. Too confusing with regular NBC Sports on the main network. Doubt it'll be NBC Sports Channel either, it's too wordy and the acroymn wouldn't reflect NBC well. I think they will stay consistent with MSNBC and CNBC and go with SNBC or CSNBC, for sports NBC and cable sports NBC respectively.
 

CHRDANHUTCH

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IU Hawks fan said:
No chance IMO they call themselves "NBC Sports" straight up. Too confusing with regular NBC Sports on the main network. Doubt it'll be NBC Sports Channel either, it's too wordy and the acroymn wouldn't reflect NBC well. I think they will stay consistent with MSNBC and CNBC and go with SNBC or CSNBC, for sports NBC and cable sports NBC respectively.
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CSNBC is still too wordy----CSN IS USED FOR ALL Comcast franchise, then doesn't SNBC get confused w/ Shop NBC?
 
bosbruins77

bosbruins77

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Man I wish they wouldn't say "they aren't ESPN." some network needs to quit being a *****, step up the plate and give ESPN all they can handle. Competition only makes networks better.
 

Mwd711

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IU Hawks fan said:
Strange that they'd wait for the new year to make the name change and not let it coincide with the start of the season. Unless they figure that until they are ready to shift programming until Jan 1 they don't want to give the "new channel" a bad name early if it's the same as VS at that point.
Click to expand...

Much of it has to do with marketing. They want to promote the name change during their most watched programs. For Versus, that's the NHL. Let's be honest here, if Versus changed names during the summer, how many people would even notice? They want to ramp it up and promote it so people know that Versus will have a new name and new branding. The summer is a bad time to promote that.
 
drive45

drive45

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I like the name "Universal Sports" I know they already have an olympics-oriented channel with that name, but very few people have even heard of it.

and I agree with bb77, take Versus and the existing US, combine their resources, and go toe to toe with ESPN

There's a fair amount of pressure on everybody involved (NBC + NHL) to get this right. With the NBA lockout, it's a golden opportunity to really do something.
 
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