
Live Since '69: MSG Networks Reflects on 50 Years of RSN Success Linear content, digital series, refreshed logo get top billing in 2019 By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Friday, November 8, 2019 - 11:48 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
1969 was chock-full of impactful events in American history, including, most notably, Apollo 11's mission to the moon and the four-day-long Woodstock music festival. On Oct. 15 of that year, Manhattan Cable Television ushered in the first-ever regional sports network, covering a nighttime matchup between the New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars. Fifty years later, MSG Networks continues to forge a legacy of debuting new technologies on live air.
In 1969, we were the first RSN to launch and started with 125 events, including some Knicks and Ranger games, says Jerry Passaro, SVP, network and technical operations, MSG Networks. We continue to stay on the forefront of technology, and, as things make sense for us, we will evaluate and implement them.
In 2009, virtual signage became a new wrinkle on MSG Networks' telecasts of New York Rangers games.
Yesterday's Feats (1990-2009): Network Dips Toe Into HD, Virtual Signage
After nearly three decades in the linear space, the network began feeling the effects rippling through the industry near the turn of the 21st century. As concepts for viewing live games and shoulder programming in HD neared reality, MSG Networks was on the doorstep of its first major transition.
Around 1998, the industry started to change. Before that, it was standard-definition television, says Passaro. It was the first big change, in a sense: MSG was one of the first regular providers of programming in HD. I was on the programming side at that point. Cablevision owned and managed MSG at the time. They were constantly pushing innovation, and HD was piloted by MSG and Cablevision together.
Since MSG's daring decision to transition to HD when it was still just a novelty, higher resolutions have become the norm.
Once we embraced HD, there was no turning back, says Passaro. We built another HD truck when we switched vendors to Game Creek in 2009, another one in 2016, and we're rolling out another 4K-capable, 1080p truck next year in 2020.
Toward the end of the first decade of the new millennium, MSG enhanced its broadcasts again with an implementation that would propel the company deeper into the digital age. Deployed for sports coverage around the globe today, virtual signage on any of the hockey rink's playing surface had never been seen on an RSN broadcast. In 2009, MSG saw that glass ceiling and exploded right through it.
Fans inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden on March 24, 2010, watched the Rangers defeat the New York Islanders in the first-ever NHL game in 3D.
Basically, virtual signage was an opportunity to increase revenue opportunities, says Passaro. We had done some experimenting with PVI [Virtual Media Services] and rolled it out in the 2008-09 season with the whole sensor system. It was very labor-intensive. There were two operators, and there was a lot of setup time involved with that. In 2016, we changed the technology from the sensor system to the image-based system, so it's a lot less labor-intensive.
Digital World (2010-18): 3D, Fantasy Sports Intro New Era of Viewership
With the calendar flipping into the 2010s, digital-centric applications crept toward the center of the production universe. Making headway in movie theaters, 3D was a major technological trend reserved for the big screen. For an inner-city rivalry, though, on March 24, 2010, a selected number of Rangers fans watched their beloved Blue Shirts cruise to a 5-0 win in 3D for the first time.
We basically [shot 3D] right to the home, Passaro explains. We also did a theatrical presentation at MSG and actually filled the entire theater. We had rented a full movie silver screen and had all kinds of officials and dignitaries from other leagues that were interested in it. It was viewed as a very positive type of event.
MSG teamed up with Overtime for a social-media-heavy broadcast of Knicks vs. Cavs on March 17, 2019.
Like virtual signage, 3D has opened the door for other non-traditional viewing options, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
The past three years have been marked by huge strides in fan interaction and real-time data. A year before the advent of legalized sports betting, MSG Networks was the first to offer an alternative viewing option catering to fantasy sports, during a New York Knicks-Cleveland Cavaliers contest on Nov. 13, 2017. Even prior to the fantasy-infused showing, the company had waded into the waters of simulcasts.
The prior season, in 2016-17, we did a test in hockey called The Power Play, says Kevin Marotta, SVP, marketing and content strategy, MSG Networks. We had the three hockey teams [Devils, Rangers, and Islanders] playing, and we showed every time each one was on a power play. We just kept going back and forth, and we said, Okay, there's something interesting here.
The network has unveiled this logo to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
During this NFL Red Zone-esque experiment with multiple outlets, Marotta and the network honed their skills for what was to come with the primary game coverage on MSG and the secondary telecast on MSG+.
We just went super deep for the daily fantasy audience and looked at that as an audience of people who are maybe fans of the sport but not necessarily fans of our team, he says. They were maybe more-casual fans that would come in specifically for that, so it was an opportunity to get a new audience. We also looked at it as an innovation that no one had done before.
The positive results of the experiment paved the way for MSG's most recent foray into interactive data: a partne
North America Stories
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...