These networks finding niche

By Susan Bickelhaupt, Globe Staff  |  June 1, 2007

ESPN has it covered with viewers who want all sports all the time. But what about the sports fan who wants just one sport? Well, that's covered, too. In the past decade, cable channels have been launched that cater to viewers who want golf, auto racing, or tennis. They embody the term 24/7.

First out of the box was Golf Channel, founded by cable entrepreneur Joseph Gibbs and Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now owned by Comcast.

"We are pretty much the gold standard for niche networks, particularly one-sport networks," said spokesman Dan Higgins. "It was kind of a crazy idea at first, but it makes sense for golf more than for any of the other sports. Golf is more or less a lifestyle . . . you don't see people buying property near a tennis court, or people don't wear tennis fashions."

The channel is in about 75 million homes via virtually every cable carrier, plus DISH Network and DirecTV.

Golf Channel, which has a partnership with the PGA Tour, airs the first two rounds of most tournaments, then NBC or CBS takes over. Golf Channel has its own talent -- Nick Faldo was signed before the season -- but its shows are produced by NBC or CBS.

"What we can do that no one has been able to do in the history of televising golf is that we also have a prime-time re-air show from 8:30-10:30," said spokesman Mark Mitchell. "Another thing that's become invaluable is that when it runs over because of a rain delay, in some of the time zones they shift to the Golf Channel. That's happened several times this year. We're offering flexibility to golf fans that I don't think the networks have because of logistics."

The network also airs original programming, including "Golf Central," a nightly news show; "The Turn," a weekly instructional-based series; "Playing Lessons from the Pros"; "What's in the Bag?"; and "Golf with Style."

Next up was SPEEDtv, which started as SpeedVision in 1996, was purchased by Fox in 2001, and relaunched in 2002.

When it launched, it was seen in about 3.2 million homes, and is now in 70 million in the United States, said spokesman Erik Arneson.

"We have exclusive rights for the next eight years for the NASCAR Nextel All-Star race, and we have a lot of prerace and postrace and interview shows," he said.

Roger Werner, a former ESPN executive, was the founder of the network.

"He wanted to create a channel that was basically a collection of all the magazines about automobiles and racing, and when it started, it was even broader, and included airplanes and boats and any kind of vehicles. We did our first NASCAR All-Star race a week ago, and it was the highest-rated program ever on the network," said Arneson, noting the race had 3.5 rating, eclipsing its high of 2.1.

The network has a weekly news show, plus shows anchored by former racers.

"It's a racing hub," said Arneson, "and we have a lot of lifestyle programming."

Not to be outdone by niche sports programming, the tennis community decided to get on board. The Tennis Channel, which had its fourth anniversary in May, has 10 million subscribers, and expects another 8 million by the end of the summer, when DirecTV signs on.

The network is airing the French Open from 5:30 a.m. to noon and 6:30-10 p.m. ESPN2 airs the matches in the afternoon.

"I think this is really groundbreaking because the French Open takes place halfway around the world, so unless American tennis fans have a TV in their office or can take two weeks off, they can't see it," said spokesman Eric Abner.

NBC has the rights to the men's and women's semifinals and finals.

"We are licensed for more than 60 tournaments throughout the year, including the Fed Cup, the Davis Cup that we share with Versus," Abner said.

The network, on nine of the top 10 cable operators, signed with DISH in February 2006. DirecTV is airing a Tennis Channel preview, allowing viewers to choose any of the French Open matches they want to watch.

So Roger Clemens won't be wearing his pinstripes in Fenway Park? Fans can still see more than enough of him on ESPN Classic, which will air 12 straight hours of his greatest games, starting Monday at 7 a.m. The marathon will include his two 20-strikeout games and his 200th career win. Then, fast-forward to 2007, and ESPN will show him pitching against the White Sox on "Monday Night Baseball" at 7 . . . Anaheim's 1-0 victory over Ottawa in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday night got a 0.6 cable rating on Versus and was watched in 446,000 homes in the United States. Through two games, the Stanley Cup finals averaged a 0.7 rating, down 22 percent from last year's 0.9, and households are down 20 percent, to 485,000 from 606,000 last year. The remainder of the series is on NBC (Channel 7), starting with Game 3 at Ottawa tomorrow night . . . WEEI will be in the spotlight Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN's "Outside the Lines." The show looks at the phenomenon of all-sports radio, on the 20th anniversary of New York's WFAN. Jeff Smulyan, WFAN's founder, said, "I think the conventional idea at the time was this is a really dumb idea." . . . When the Red Sox head to the West Coast next week, NESN will air a one-hour rebroadcast of the Sox-A's game the next morning at 8. It's called "Breakfast with the Sox."

Susan Bickelhaupt can be reached at bickelhaupt@globe.com; material from the Associated Press was used.