U of L, WHAS-TV Announce Statewide TV Network
October 03, 2005 | General
Oct. 3, 2005
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the first time in school history, University of Louisville football and men's basketball games, as well as the Cardinal coaches' shows, will air on a television network that reaches areas across the state of Kentucky which include Lexington, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Bowling Green.
WHAS-TV in Louisville and its network consultant, Game Seven Sports Marketing in Lexington, Ky., announced Monday that the new Cardinal Sports Television Network will feature live telecasts of both sports as well as the respective coaches' shows - Inside the Huddle with Bobby Petrino and Courtside with Rick Pitino.
The network will reach over 750,000 homes through cable providers across the state, with over a half-million homes outside the Louisville television market. The first WHAS-TV telecast will be the Cardinals' Oct. 8 football game against North Carolina.
"We're very pleased to extend the viewing reach of our games and coaches' shows on WHAS-TV to fans across the state of Kentucky," said U of L Vice President for Athletics Tom Jurich. "We took a great step in increasing radio coverage of our events this year, and this venture will greatly increase the opportunity for Cardinal fans across the state to watch our games."
Inside the Huddle with Bobby Petrino began airing on the network in late August. Any remaining Cardinal football games not selected by a national or regional network will be aired live on WHAS-TV and the new network, as well as 15 men's basketball games and 38 coaches' shows.
"We are extremely proud to have established such a strong network in the first year of our partnership with the University of Louisville," said Robert Klingle, President and General Manager of WHAS-TV. "The statewide interest in Cardinal sports is a testament to the success the University of Louisville is experiencing under Tom Jurich."
The following cable systems are currently participating:
- Insight Communications - Northern Kentucky, Lexington, Louisville, Bowling Green and Henderson
- Mediacom - Marshall, Calloway, Christian, Monroe, Trigg and Crittenden counties
- Inter Mountain Cable - Pike, Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Knott counties
- Glasgow Electric Plant Board - Barren and Hart counties
- TV Service Inc. - Wolfe, Breathitt, Perry, and Letcher counties
Additional systems may be added at a future date. The games and coaches' shows will be shown on a local origination channel on each system. Fans can contact their local cable provider to request that the games be carried in their area.
"This network allows us to reach into new markets with U of L sports," Klingle said. "To have nine eastern Kentucky counties on board, all the Insight systems and a strong presence in southern and western Kentucky shows the growing interest in Cardinal Sports throughout the region. Fans love to follow a successful program like U of L."
WHAS-TV is in its first year as the television rights holder for UofL Sports. Ari Wolfe will handle the play-by-play of the all of the broadcasts. Doug James and Will Wolford will assist on the football telecasts while Bob Valvano and Robbie Valentine will provide analysis for basketball.
