(SUNRISE, FL) – Fox Sports Net today announced that it will provide closed captioning for every Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays telecast on the regional sports network during the 2004 regular season. A total of 170 games, 95 Marlins and 75 Devil Rays, will feature on screen text of play-by-play and color commentary benefiting the hearing impaired.
“Fox Sports Net’s substantial investment in adding closed captioning technology to our 170 Marlins and Devil Rays telecasts this season will enable us to best serve the entire community of Florida sports fans,” said Jeff Genthner, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fox Sports Net Florida. “It is our hope that sports fans throughout Florida with hearing disabilities will have a greatly enhanced experience watching Marlins and Devil Rays games on Fox Sports Net as a result of this added service.”
Closed captioning is a service where the audio portion of programming is displayed as text superimposed over the video, providing access to television for persons with hearing disabilities. Viewers may select to watch closed captions through their remote controls or on-screen displays.
Fox Sports Net Florida reaches more than 4.9 million households in Florida. Fox Sports Net Florida’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, and the University of South Florida, The Best Damn Sports Show Period and NASCAR. Fox Sports Net Florida is managed by Rainbow Sports Networks.
Rainbow Sports Networks is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Fox Sports Net reaches more than 80 million households nationwide and is a service of National Sports Partners, equally owned by Rainbow Media Holdings LLC and Fox Entertainment Group. Rainbow Sports Networks incorporates Rainbow’s 50% ownership in Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports National Advertising and the ownership and management of Fox Sports Net regional networks in five of the nation’s largest markets: Chicago, San Francisco, New England, Ohio and Florida.