| CNN/SI | |
| Logo Alt: | CNNSI logo used from 1996 to 1999. |
| Picture Format: | 480i (SDTV) |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Area: | Nationwide |
| Replaced By: | NBA TV (on many cable systems) |
| Sister Channels: | CNN CNN Headline News TNT TBS Superstation Turner South Turner Classic Movies Cartoon Network Boomerang CNNfn |
CNN/Sports Illustrated (CNN/SI) was a 24-hour sports news network. Created when Time Warner merged its CNN and Sports Illustrated brands, it launched on December 12, 1996.[1]
Other news networks like ESPNews provided 30-minute blocks of news and highlights in a similar fashion to CNN Headline News at the time, but CNN/SI was live daily from 7am to 2am.[2] Its purpose was to provide the most comprehensive sports news service on television, bringing in-depth sports news from around the world, and integrating the internet and television.[3]
CNN/SI's closure had been attributed to competition with other all-sports news networks and sports newscasts which started around the same time, such as ESPNews and Fox Sports Net's National Sports Report. Though CNN/SI aired exclusive content, such as the tape of former Indiana University coach Bob Knight choking player Neil Reed, the channel reached only 20 million homes, not adequate enough to receive a rating by Nielsen Media Research, which reduced sponsorship. ESPNews, in contrast, benefited from being bundled with ESPN (86.5 million homes). The news channel parent CNN did not have the same influence with cable operators for its all-sports news channel. CNN's cancellation of their flagship sports program, Sports Tonight (which had already been retooled to compete with SportsCenter) after the September 11 attacks contributed to the closure of CNN/SI, as it lost all connections to their mother network.[4]
Near its closure, Sports Tonight was exclusive to CNN/SI. CNN/SI added NASCAR qualifying,[5] Wimbledon matches,[6] National Lacrosse League matches,[7] and televised the now-defunct Women's United Soccer Association[8]
CNN/SI shut down on May 15, 2002.[9] [10] On many cable systems, CNN/SI was replaced by NBA TV. NBA TV, which launched in 1999, eventually evolved into a joint venture between Time Warner and the NBA that officially launched on October 28, 2008.
Following the network's closure, its international sports program World Sport continues to air, and since 2002 has been produced by CNN International.[11]
CNN itself would not produce another regular sportscast until 2024, when a new CNN-produced newscast, TNT Sports Tonight, debuted on TruTV as part of a plan to increase sports programming on that network.[12]
The CNN/SI name was maintained for Sports Illustrateds online presence at cnnsi.com. In January 2013, CNN acquired Bleacher Report and after Time Warner's spin-off of their publishing assets into Time Inc. (and subsequently sale to Meredith Corporation and later, to IAC's Dotdash), they dropped all use of the Sports Illustrated name.[13]