Penn sports to air on CN8; no live TV options for students

Local sports fans will be able to catch some Penn football and soccer games from the comfort of their own couches this fall. But most Penn students will have to head to the games if they want to see live Red and Blue action. For the fifth straight year, the Penn Athletic Department and local Comcast station CN8 have agreed to broadcast Quakers fall sporting events. This year's package will include three football games, two men's soccer games and a women's soccer match. Phillies announcer Scott Graham will do the play-by-play, flanked by color commentator Bill Bergey and sideline reporter Rob Brooks. "We were looking for visibility in more than just football and basketball," Penn Athletics' Director of Development Decker Uhlhorn said. "This obviously helps in recruiting and allows your fans to see the game." But while CN8 may have a regional viewing audience of more than 3.9 million, not one of those viewers will be located in University City residences. That's because CN8 -- a local sports and news channel separate from Comcast SportsNet -- is not carried by the Wade Cable company that serves off-campus students. And the University's ResNet does not carry the channel either. Instead, students wanting to take in Penn football from their living room will turn to student-run UTV-13's tape-delayed coverage of home games. In addition, Penn announcer Johnny Miller will team up with Hench Murray to call Penn football on radio, with broadcasts split between WVCH (740 AM) and WZZD (990 AM). As for CN8's coverage, the local station will broadcast the Quakers' football games against defending Ivy League champion Brown on October 28 and a November 4 match at Princeton. They'll also televise the Homecoming game on November 11 against Harvard. Soccer fans can tune in to CN8 for some key local rivalries. The station will carry a Penn-Drexel women's tilt on September 13. And it will broadcast the Penn men's games against Temple on September 26 and Rutgers on October 25. "It's one of the best products we can put on our station," CN8 Sports Director John Anderson said. "We have a real hard-core group of people interested in Penn.

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