C-Set Cable Sports Network To Shut Down

[Joseph_Gallant]

Since there is no specific Radio-Info.com TV board for either Charlotte or North Carolina, I'm posting this message on this board.

The C-Set regional cable sports network, under the same ownership as the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, is going off the air.

According to this article on Mediaweek.com, C-Set is shutting down because it was unable to sign enough agreements with cable operators to get the network widely distributed in the Carolinas.

I don't know if the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes would have been part of this network had there been a 2004/2005 NHL season. If they were to have been part of C-Set, that too may have contributed to C-Set's demise. With a reasonably popular pro hockey team on hiatus due to the NHL lockout and a first-year NBA team playing in a state (North Carolina) where college basketball has always been far more popular than the NBA, there was little that cable operators saw in C-Set that was appealing.

The old Charlotte Hornets eventually left town, in part because they could not build a large enough fan base----if you're a basketball fan living in North Carolina, you root for either North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Duke, or if you're in or near Charlotte, NC-Charlotte. In fact, the Mediaweek article claimed that the Bobcats' finished their first year with the third-lowest average attendance per game of the league's 30 teams.

According to the Mediaweek article, the Bobcats are expected to have an unspecified number of regular-season games during the 2005/2006 campaign on Time-Warner cable systems in the area, plus fifteen over-the-air telecasts on WJZY-46 (didn't they also carry a few Bobcats' games this past year??).

 

[danimal]

The Hornets had a HUGE fanbase. It was only in the last few years when Goerge Shinn finished alienating everyone in the community and demanded a new arena that things went downhill and the Hornets left.

As for C-Set, great concept, but it should have been on the standard tier. Supposedly Fox Sports South is out of the picture. What does that leave, News 14? Perhaps a 'Fox Sports Carolina' can be launched now.

 

[Whammy1978]

To be honest, I knew C-Set was doomed when it was announced last year. What really surprised me was the lack of actual programming on the channel.

When it was announced that it was going to go on the Digital Tier, that was a red flag already. I know that there are quite a few people that could care less about anything on the digital tier (the only reason I have it was for Game Show Network, and I end up with this GSN garbage, but that is for another post on another board at another time). According to a report on WCNC.COM (Registration may be required), only about 156,000 people subscribe to their digital service. They didn't say specifically, but I am figuring that is just in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Time Warner Cable was trying to sell the channel to other cable companies across the Carolinas. I know they ended up having Comporium in Rock Hill as well as Cox out towards the coast, but otherwise, this was basically a Time Warner exclusive. I honestly didn't think a satellite service such as Dish Network or DirecTV would have added the channel just for this area because other than the Bobcats and Sting games (which I haven't seen any Sting games scheduled for the channel), all that was aired was ESPNews, NBA TV, and old shows that ESPN used to air, including the 2003 World Series of Poker. Any other original content was replayed and replayed multiple times such as College Baseball, Division 1-AA College Football, and a couple of other shows that tried to shove the team down the throats of the viewers.

To my knowledge, and if someone knows different, please feel free to post, the Hurricanes are still under an agreement with FSS. If C-Set would have survived, I could have seen the Charlotte Checkers on the network since their games will now be played in the new Downtown Arena beginning this season barring any last minute change of plans.

When the Hornets left Charlotte, they seemingly left a bad taste in the mouths of everyone. When the Hornets first came to Charlotte, there was sellout after sellout. If my numbers are correct, they led the league in attendence for... I want to say nine straight years? Something like that. The downhill slide began with Shinn's problems in court. Then selling a portion of the team. Michael Jordan was wanting to buy it, but he then sold it to Mark Woolridge, who basically ended up being the one lobbying Charlotte for a new Downtown Arena. We all know the rest of the story there. Basically, the fans started to not support the team because the team was trying to get something for nothing.

The deal between the Bobcats and WJZY is that 15 games a season plus a couple of specials and Sting games (but I have yet to see a Sting game on WJZY). The games that aired on WJZY were usually on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evenings. Another poster said that FSS was not going to be in the picture for the games. If that is the case, what I figure Time Warner will do is put the games on Channel 96 on the basic cable tier (they do this from time to time for Charlotte 49ers games). That is if the team can't seal a deal with another network, but if FSS is out of the picture, I don't see many options.

Ironically, Time Warner Cable offered SportSouth a season or two after the Hornets began play. Subscribers had to pay an additional charge to see the channel, but they offered quite of few games. That is now what is known as Fox Sports South.<P ID="signature">______________

Moderator of Charlotte Board</P>

 

[karaokelegend]

Perhaps a 'Fox
> Sports Carolina' can be launched now.
>
Fine, as long as they cover the Braves when Hurricane and Bobcat games don't conflict.