(SUNRISE, FL) – FOX Sports Net Florida along with the Florida Panthers, today announced new, exclusive programming for Panthers fans for the upcoming 2000-2001 NHL season. The announcement was made by Brad Heard, Vice President of Programming and Operations for FOX Sports Net Florida and Mike Hanson, Director of Broadcasting and Communications for the Florida Panthers.
The most significant new show will be Inside the Panthers, a weekly half-hour magazine-style show which will debut Sunday, October 8th and will air each Sunday at Noon throughout the regular season, replacing the previous weekly show titled Panthers Weekly. Hosting Inside the Panthers each week will be WQAM’s Steve “Goldie” Goldstein, who has previously hosted Panthers radio intermissions on the teams radio flagship, WQAM. The voice of the Panthers for the past eight years, Jeff Rimer, will also provide Panthers fans weekly NHL features and a look around the league for the latest news on and off the ice. Inside the Panthers will emphasize in-depth player and coach feature interviews along with a look behind-the-scenes at the Panthers organization. Fans will get to know each player’s off-ice personalities as well as get Plays of the Week and a look ahead at the team’s upcoming match ups. Fans will also get periodic instruction from Denis Potvin, who will be on the ice with Panthers players to provide insight to the nuances of the game.
To get fans ready for the season, FOX Sports Net will bring viewers Florida Panthers Hockeyfest 2000, a special half-hour show on September 17th at 8am with an exclusive look behind the team’s annual Hockeyfest event which will take place on September 16th at the National Car Rental Center. Hosting the special will be Steve Goldstein, who will be joined with the entire Panthers radio and television telecast team including, television play-by-play man Jeff Rimer, color analyst and Hall of Famer Denis Potvin, radio play-by-play announcer Jiggs McDonald and former Panthers player and television pregame host Randy Moller. The show will recap the day’s event along with introducing fans to the team’s newest members and a look at training camp.
In addition to Inside the Panthers and Florida Panthers Hockeyfest 2000, Panthers fans will get a one-of-a-kind look at the 2000-2001 squad with a one-hour special titled the Boys are Back In Town, a complete in-depth Florida Panthers preseason special. Goldstein will host the 60-minute special that will air exclusively on FOX Sports Net on Sunday, September 24th at 1pm. Fans will hear from each member of the team including the players, management, coaching staff and President of the Panthers, Bill Torrey. Joining Goldstein to provide a position-by-position analysis and breakdown of the team will be Jeff Rimer and Denis Potvin. The preseason special will provide Panthers fans everything they need to know for the upcoming Panthers season.
“These new shows are extremely exciting to us, enabling us to bring Panthers fans some new informative and fun programming surrounding the upcoming season, which we are looking forward to. We are thrilled that Steve Goldstein will be a part of our team, which already includes the best in the business with Jeff, Denis and Randy Moller, ” noted Brad Heard.
“The Panthers organization is very excited about the season ahead and the unveiling of Inside the Panthers on FOX Sports Net. With the addition of Steve Goldstein as host, along with the weekly insight from Jeff Rimer, we believe our fans will enjoy the new format. The new show will allow fans to see the players on the ice as well as their lives off the ice,” added Mike Hanson.
In addition to the 75 live telecasts and the new Panthers exclusive programming, FOX Sports Net will bring viewers nightly coverage of the upcoming season. FOX Sports Net’s newest live sports news shows that Panthers fans can count on to stay on top of the latest news on the ‘Cats and all of Florida’s home teams, include FLORIDA SPORTS TONIGHT, weeknights at 7pm and the 11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT seven nights a week. Viewers can count on anchors Ned Smith, Keith Lebowitz and Randy McIlvoy along with South Florida reporter Joe Zagacki, Central Florida reporter Sage Steele and North Florida reporter Mike Nabors to stay informed of the day’s top sports news stories from around the state.
Florida Panthers Hockeyfest 2000-half-hour special 9/17 at 8am
Florida Panthers Preseason Special: The Boys Are Back In Town-one-hour special on 9/24 at 1:00pm and 9/29 at Noon.
INSIDE THE PANTHERS-new weekly show that airs Sundays at Noon, premieres 10/8
FLORIDA SPORTS TONIGHT-weeknights at 7pm. On nights a live MLB or NHL game is scheduled at 7:00 or 7:30pm, this show serves as a pregame show.
11PM REGIONAL SPORTS REPORT-nightly at 11pm. Brings Panthers fans and Florida sports fans the most complete wrap up of the day’s sports news around the state.
FOX Sports Net currently reaches over 3.8 million homes throughout Florida, including the home satellite dish market. FOX Sports Net’s programming includes Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays; the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers; the University of Miami, the University of South Florida and the University of North Florida. FOX Sports Net reaches more than 70 million households nationwide. FOX Sports Net is a service of Rainbow Sports, a division of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings, IncRainbow Sports incorporates all of Rainbow’s sports assets, including its 50 percent ownership of FOX Sports Net and FOX Sports National Advertising, the Madison Square Garden Properties, 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.
Contact:
Michelle Stevens
954-845-9994
mfstevens@rainbow-media.com