 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Western, Central and Northwestern Pennsylvania West Virginia Eastern Ohio Western Maryland Southwestern New York Worldwide (via satellite) |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Sister channels | NESN |
| History | |
| Launched | April 13, 1986 |
| Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | sportsnetpittsburgh.com |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| DirecTV Stream | Internet Protocol television |
| FuboTV | Internet Protocol television |
SportsNet Pittsburgh is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates.[1] It is operated by sister network NESN through common ownership with Fenway Sports Group. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the channel broadcasts local coverage of sports events throughout Greater Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. It is the exclusive home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates.[2]
The channel was first launched by Tele-Communications Inc in April 1986 as the KBL Entertainment Network, which featured a mixture of sports and entertainment programming. After being transferred to TCI subsidiary Liberty Media, KBL was rebranded as part of its Prime Sports chain of regional sports networks in 1994, and subsequently became a charter member of Fox Sports Net upon its establishment in 1996.
After a corporate restructuring that brought Liberty's networks under DirecTV, the channel was rebranded as Root Sports Pittsburgh in 2011, and then AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh under the AT&T SportsNet brand after DirecTV was acquired by AT&T. In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it would sell or shut down its regional sports networks: in August 2023, it was announced that the Penguins would acquire the network and rebrand it as SportsNet Pittsburgh in October 2023, with NESN—a sister via the Penguins' parent company Fenway Sports Group—assuming day-to-day operations. Prior to their 2024 season, the Pirates also acquired a stake in the network.
As of August 2013[update], SportsNet Pittsburgh is available on cable providers throughout nearly all of Pennsylvania (outside the Philadelphia market), almost all of West Virginia, western Maryland, eastern Ohio, southwestern border areas of New York and Ashland, Kentucky, reaching more than 2.4 million homes; it is also available in the Columbus, Ohio, market through DirecTV Stream, though Penguins broadcasts are blacked out due to the presence of the Columbus Blue Jackets.[3] It is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
- ^ "Pirates join Penguins as joint owners of SportsNet Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ "Pirates join Penguins as joint owners of SportsNet Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ "Territory Map".