SportsTime Ohio

SportsTime Ohio
Launched	March 12, 2006
Owned by	Larry Dolan Family (Cleveland Indians owners)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Country	United States
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV	662 (SD/HD)
Dish Network	431 (SD) 5431 (HD)
Cable
Available throughout Ohio	Check local listings
IPTV
U-verse	735 (SD) 1735 (HD)

SportsTime Ohio (STO) is a regional sports network in Cleveland and northern Ohio, launched in 2006. It was created to air Cleveland Indians games, and is owned by the family which owns the team. It is also the cable television home of the Cleveland Browns. The network is currently seen on Time Warner Cable and a number of other cable outlets in Northeast Ohio, as well as around the state. The network is also seen nationally on both the Dish Network and DirecTV satellite services, as well as outside of Ohio on AT&T U-verse.

WKYC-TV, Channel 3, the NBC affiliate in Cleveland, also airs Indians games. WKYC provides SportsTime Ohio with television production services for both broadcast and cable games, and studios for non-game programming.

SportsTime Ohio is owned by the Larry Dolan family, which owns the Indians team. It is operated as a separate business venture. It is comparable to the New York Yankees' YES Network, as both were started primarily to broadcast each team's games, however they differ in that YES is owned by a holding company that also owns the Yankees and which used to also own the New Jersey Nets basketball team, whereas STO is a venture separate from the Indians that is only owned by Dolan.

When SportsTime Ohio was created, it created the second regional sports networks in the Cleveland area. Previously, Fox Sports Ohio was the only local sports network available in the area. Cleveland Indians games were previously broadcast on FS Ohio. Which FS Ohio was the exclusive local Indians carrier (2002–2005) it was majority-owned by Dolan's brother, Charles' Cablevision Systems Corporation. Presently, SportsTime Ohio maintains rights to the Cleveland Indians baseball games and cable rights to the Cleveland Browns while FS Ohio maintains rights to Cleveland Cavaliers basketball games.

SportsTime Ohio also has a High Definition channel that showed all Indians home games in 2007 and went 24/7 on April 1, 2008. The full-time HD status included showing all Indians home and away games in the format, as well as several STO original shows.

Indians coverage

Thirty minutes before each Indians Game, STO airs "Indians on Deck," a pre-game show hosted by Al Pawlowski. It features highlights from the previous game, a preview of the upcoming game, and news around baseball.

The commentators during the game are Matt Underwood and Rick Manning. In 2007, all home games on STO and all games on WKYC were broadcast in high definition. Beginning with the 2008 season, all home and away games are broadcast in HD.

After the game, there is a post-game show recapping the game and featuring an interview with Indians manager Manny Acta.

Beginning in 2007, STO broadcast some minor league games from the Indians system, such as those of former AAA affiliate Buffalo Bisons and the single-A Lake County Captains. Bisons games have since been replaced by current AAA affiliate Columbus Clippers. These games are generally shown on Indians' off days.

On March 5, 2010, STO simulcasted a broadcast of a Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds Cactus League Spring Training game from Goodyear, Arizona that aired on Fox Sports Ohio in the Cincinnati market. STO returned the favor on its March 18, 2010 broadcast to FS Ohio for broadcast in the Cincinnati market. STO partnered with 4SD for a pair of Padres game in a similar arrangement, with STO broadcasting the March 10, 2010 game and 4SD broadcasting the March 14, 2010 game.

If an Indians game is selected for national television on a cable network, per MLB rules, that network's broadcast will be blacked out in the Cleveland area to protect the STO broadcast. The only exceptions ars ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and Fox Saturday baseball, which are exclusive to those networks.

Mid-American Conference

On July 30, 2010 STO reached an agreement with the Cleveland headquartered Mid-American Conference to broadcast football, men's and women's basketball, and neutral site conference championships in baseball, softball and volleyball.

Other programming

STO is on the air 24 hours a day. In addition to Indians games, STO now broadcasts several other shows—many of them going HD in 2008 when STO unveiled its 24/7 HD format—including:

• All Bets Are Off; a daily three hour live call-in show hosted by Bruce Drennan, with producer/sidekick Gene Winters and sports anchor Ashley Collins. The show generally airs Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. with an encore airing from 12 a.m. - 3 a.m.; and Sundays from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. The times are somewhat flexible, based on the Indians' schedule and length of games. The show also has special live postgame editions for important games; in the past, such as for the Cavaliers' appearance in the 2007 NBA Finals and the Indians' postseason games in 2007. (HD)
• The Tribe Report; A weekly show hosted by Al Pawlowski and former Indians pitcher Jason Stanford reviewing the week that was and previewing the week ahead for the Cleveland Indians. (HD)
• Indians Minor League Magazine; A weekly show hosted by Al Pawlowski and Jason Stanford, profiling the Minor League Baseball teams affiliated with the Indians. (HD)
• Chuck's Last Call; A nightly call-in show with veteran Cleveland sportscaster Chuck Galetti. During baseball season it airs on weeknights following Indians games. In the offseason, it airs Monday through Thursday from 10 p.m. - 11 p.m. (HD)
• The Berea Report; a show hosted by Jim Donovan, which airs every Monday night during the regular season for the Browns. Donovan, along with a co-host (the co-host varies from episode to episode) recap and discuss the game from the day before as well as show clips of player interviews and head coach Pat Shurmur's press conference. (HD)
• Training Camp Daily; This show is filmed on the sideline of the practice field in Berea, where the show's personalities discuss the Browns upcoming season and interview players. (HD)
• Sunday Strategy; A round table discussion with Jim Donovan, Plain Dealer sports writer Tony Grossi, and former Browns LT/current Browns radio analyst Doug Dieken. The show moves from topic to topic, previewing the Browns next game and discussing the opponent. (HD)
• Browns Red Zone; A show where fans can call in and voice their opinions on the Browns, that airs Monday and Thursday nights on STO. Monday's episode features Donovan, Dieken and Grossi, while Thursday's episode features WTAM Browns beat reporter Andre Knott and Plain Dealer Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot. (HD)
• Browns Insider; Browns radio sideline reporter Jamir Howerton interviews current and former Browns, previews the upcoming opponent and recaps the action from last Sunday. (HD)
• Browns Postgame Live; A live, two hour call-in show that airs immediately following Browns games hosted by Michael Reghi. (HD)
• Beer Money; In this show, Ashley Collins and Jamir Howerton visit local bars and give contestants a chance to win money by asking Cleveland sports trivia questions.
• Tee It Up Ohio; an Ohio golf show that profiles in-state courses and offers tips starring local golf pro Jimmy Hanlin and Mike Cairns. (HD)
• The Golf Zone; A weekly golf oriented call in show hosted by Jimmy Hanlin. (HD)
• NAAFS Cage Fighting; A weekly one hour highlights program for the Northeast Ohio based North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS), one of the largest regional MMA promotions in the USA. NAAFS Cage Fighting features corporate sponsors Bud Light, Intimidation Clothing, John P. Lennon and more. Program airs on Sunday nights at 11 pm ET.
• Outdoors Ohio with D'Arcy Egan: an outdoors show featuring Ohio fishing and hunting adventures. It is hosted by The Plain Dealer outdoors writer D'Arcy Egan and his wife, artist Laura Brown Egan, owner of Desdemona's Fine Art & Other Cool Stuff, an art gallery in Port Clinton, Ohio. Cleveland Browns Offensive Tackle Joe Thomas (known for his love of fishing and hunting) was added as a co-host in 2008. (HD)
• Ohio Sports Profiles; a show profiling the lives of Cleveland Indians' players and other local athletes
• Pro Wrestling Ohio; A professional wrestling program featuring matches from the Cleveland independent promotion of the same name. Airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
• Ohio Fight Fest; A showcase of local mixed martial arts bouts. Airs on Friday and Monday nights.
• Ohio Boxing-In This Corner; A showcase of local boxing bouts with analysis. Airs on Friday and Monday Nights.
• The Viking Basketball Report; A showcase of the Cleveland State University basketball team with head coach Gary Waters. Hosted by Mike Cairns.
• Crew Xtra; A weekly half-hour program, where host Beau Bishop and a panel of guests review the past week in Columbus Crew and Major League Soccer action and look ahead to upcoming matches.
• Buckeye Blitz; A weekly hour long program that reviews the previous game and previews the upcoming game for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. It's hosted by Beau Bishop, with former Buckeyes Dee Miller and Jason Winrow, and Columbus Dispatch OSU beat reporter Tim May as analysts. A half hour long version airs during basketball season.
• High School Football; STO airs a game of the week Friday nights during the season (on tape delay). Tony Rizzo and former Browns LB Frank Stams are the announcing team. STO also carries playoff games as well as the six divisional State Championship games.

STO airs seasonal programming for the Cleveland Browns, Ohio State football and basketball, Notre Dame football and basketball, Youngstown State football, Cleveland State basketball, and Columbus Crew soccer.

STO has broadcast 6-8 Cleveland State Vikings basketball games each season since 2006-07.

The network had also expressed interested in obtaining rights to broadcast Cleveland Cavaliers games, which are currently held by FSN Ohio. However, FSN Ohio agreed to a long-term deal with the Cavaliers in 2006 to air 70 games per season.

STO has broadcast some high school football and basketball since its launch. In 2007, STO announced they would acquire the rights to some of the Ohio High School Athletic Association championships, including eight football playoff games, six football championship games, boys and girls playoff basketball, and four events to be announced. Time Warner Cable will provide coverage in Dayton and Cincinnati, which do not air STO.

During late night hours the station shows various infomercials.

Notable alumni

• Mike Hegan
• Bob Frantz

Availability

STO is available on most cable providers in the Cleveland, Columbus, Youngstown, and Toledo areas, as well as DirecTV and Dish Network in those areas.

Before all Indians games on WKYC were simulcast on STO in 2008, the following stations in other cities in Ohio and nearby instead provided the simulcast:

• WKBN-DT 27.2 - Youngstown
• WLIO - Lima
• WWHO - Columbus
• WICU, WSEE, and WBEP - Erie, Pennsylvania
• BCSN - Toledo

External links

• Official website
• List of SportsTime Ohio cable affiliates and channels (from STO partner WKYC/3)