Sunrise, FL (January 24, 2000) SportsChannel Florida will mark the new millennium with its most comprehensive coverage of the Florida Marlins by bringing baseball fans throughout the state an exclusive 95-game cable schedule for the 2000 regular season featuring 39 home games at Pro Player Stadium and 56 away telecasts. In addition to the 95 regular season telecasts, SportsChannel Florida will also bring Marlins fans three live spring training match ups against the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets. The 2000 expanded SportsChannel Florida schedule reflects an addition of twenty-five regular season Marlins games over last season’s telecast schedule.
SportsChannel Florida’s coverage of the 2000 Florida Marlins season will get underway on Sunday, February 20th at 10am, when SportsChannel brings fans a one-hour show highlighting the fifth annual Bank Of America Florida Marlins Fan Fest from Pro Player Stadium. SportsChannel’s announcing team of Joe Angel, Tommy Hutton and Dave O’Brien will take viewers inside the annual event and provide fans an opportunity to meet the newest additions to the Marlins roster.
On March 5th, SportsChannel Florida will bring fans the first of three live spring training games when the Marlins face the Baltimore Orioles in Ft. Lauderdale. On March 12th, the Marlins will take on the Detroit Tigers in Viera and on March 19th, they’ll face the New York Mets in Viera.
Opening Night on SportsChannel Florida will take place on Tuesday, April 4th when the Marlins host the San Francisco Giants at 7:05pm from Pro Player Stadium. The Florida Marlins 2000 schedule on SportsChannel Florida will feature exciting match ups against National League rivals including six games against the Atlanta Braves, six against the New York Mets, five against the Chicago Cubs, seven against the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. The telecast schedule also features inter-league games against the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and the Marlins intra-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide Marlins fans with an unprecedented 95-game regular season schedule this year. Our commitment to baseball fans and to the Florida Marlins continues to grow every year and we look forward to an exciting season of major league baseball in Florida,” stated Rod Mickler, Vice President/General Manager of SportsChannel Florida.
Returning to the SportsChannel Florida broadcast booth for their eighth season with the Marlins, will be the popular play-by-play announcing team of Joe Angel and Dave O’Brien. Tommy Hutton will enter his fourth year as color analyst for SportsChannel Florida telecasts. Also, returning for his eighth season with the Marlins will be Jay Randolph, host of Marlins On Deck, SportsChannel Florida’s half-hour pre-game show.
“We are thrilled to offer our fans the most comprehensive coverage of Marlins baseball,” noted Ron Colangelo, Marlins Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting. “Through the commitment of SportsChannel Florida, the 2000 television schedule gives our ballclub tremendous exposure. Most importantly, it enables our fans to follow the team almost daily with the most comprehensive telecast schedule in the team’s history.”
SportsChannel Florida will once again bring baseball fans in Florida the annual anticipated match up between the Marlins and Devil Rays. The “Citrus Series” will take place on Saturday, June 10th when the Marlins head to Tropicana Field to take on Tampa Bay.
SportsChannel Florida’s Marlins Weekly hosted by Jay Randolph, will return each Sunday morning at 10:30am beginning Sunday, April 2nd. SportsChannel Florida will once again bring fans the Florida Marlins All-Star Special which will air on July 11th, during the summer All-Star break.
SportsChannel Florida currently reaches nearly 3.8 million homes throughout Florida, including the home satellite dish market. SportsChannel Florida programming includes Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins through the 2010 season and Tampa Bay Devil Rays through the 2012 season; the NHL’s Florida Panthers through the 2010-2011 season; Sunday Morning nFL, a live Sunday morning preview of the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars; The University of Miami, The University of South Florida and The University of North Florida; “Saturday Morning College Kickoff” The Big Ten Game of the Week and the FHSAA Championships. SportsChannel Florida is managed by Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.
Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to “Home Team” fans. Rainbow Sports incorporates all of Rainbow’s sports assets, including the Madison Square Garden Properties, its 50 percent ownership of FOX Sports Net and FOX Sports National Advertising, and the ownership and management of seven regional sports networks in six of the nation’s largest markets — Chicago, Florida, New England, New York, Ohio and San Francisco.
For 20 years, Rainbow has been delivering high-quality sports, entertainment and news to millions of subscribers. Rainbow manages American Movie Classics, Romance Classics, Bravo, The Independent Film Channel, MuchMusic, Rainbow Sports, News 12 Networks, and The MetroChannels, as well as Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. Rainbow owns a majority stake in Madison Square Garden Properties which includes the Madison Square Garden Arena complex, the Knicks and the Rangers professional sports teams, the MSG television network, and, most recently, Radio City Entertainment and a long-term lease on Radio City Music Hall.
Contact:
Michelle Freeman
Public Relations Manager
954-845-9994