Comcast SportsNet chief talks strategy

A former Yale University varsity catcher, Jon Litner batted over .400 in his senior year but realized he didn't have the bat speed and other natural gifts to make the big leagues.

So this student of the game attended law school and joined ABC Sports. Later, the National Hockey League hired Litner, who also played linebacker on the Yale football team, as chief operating officer.

Today Litner runs Comcast SportsNet, the unit within the sprawling Comcast Corp. with 10 regional 24-hour sports networks and 40 million subscribers. The unit's head offices are in the Wachovia Center. But the operation will relocate this summer to the new 56-story headquarters in Center City. There are about 750 full-time employees in the division around the country.

Litner, 44, said the business model at Comcast's regional sports networks - which include those in Boston, New York, Chicago and San Francisco, along with the one in Philadelphia - is to make sports programming available to all pay-TV distributors. Because of so-called legacy issues, Comcast SportsNet is not available in Philadelphia to satellite customers. But this is the only market in which this is so, said Litner, who palmed a baseball as he talked business.

Litner spoke recently about the business.

Question:

With this economic slowdown and various media outlets reporting weak advertising, how is Comcast SportsNet getting by?

Answer:

We're all about escapism and the excitement that sports teams provide to our audience. Although we are not immune to the macroeconomic conditions that are out there, people still crave their hometown teams, and our ratings are holding up.

Q:

There's been an explosion of new sports networks affiliated with college conferences and professional leagues. How is Comcast SportsNet going to compete in this crowded field?

A:

We are not looking to be a national network. We are not looking to be an ESPN. What we do is own the sports fan in every market we operate in and make our programming available on multiple platforms. We feel we have grown the audience.

Q:

There was a media report that Comcast, which already has a stake in the Chicago-area sports network, could purchase the stake in the network owned by the Tribune Co., which is selling assets to reduce debt. Is this true?

A:

Strategically it makes sense for us to take a look. . . . I can't say anything at the moment other than we're kicking the tires.

Q:

Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is a competitive advantage for the Comcast cable system because some of its local sports programming for the Phillies, 76ers and Flyers is not available to satellite customers. Do you have any idea how many subscribers Comcast adds to its system because of the Comcast SportsNet?

A:

Our goal is broad distribution to serve our fan. Philadelphia is a historical legacy, and even though it isn't available on satellite, it is available on Verizon (FiOS TV), RCN and elsewhere. . . . If you take Philadelphia out of it, every existing regional sports network that we have and every new one that we've launched we make available to every distributor out there. . . . The poster child for this is SportsNet New York, which is literally available on every single platform that exists: DirecTV, the Dish Network, the over-builders, Verizon, as well as all the major cable systems. . . . The light is on. We are open for business.

Q:

What's new? How do you see issues playing out for the RSNs?

A:

We have a great management team in place, and we are deepening our bench. . . . One of the critical areas for us, in addition to launching new networks or acquiring new networks where it makes sense, is to take our content and leverage our brand equity onto multimedia platforms, whether that's VOD (video-on-demand), whether that's the Internet, or whether that's mobile.

Q:

Do you have plans for expansion?

A:

We are going to be opportunistic, and where it makes sense we will be appropriately aggressive. It's no surprise that we were down recently meeting with the Southeastern Conference about the opportunity to have a deeper, stronger relationship. . . . We already have a relationship with several Southeastern Conference schools.

Q:

With your ratings and your business tied to the performance of the teams you broadcast on Comcast SportsNet, what is your relationship with team owners?

A:

The sports gods will not smile down on you every year. But everyone benefits if the teams are competitive.