Pro-Am Sports System
Encyclopedia
The Pro Am Sports System, better known as PASS Sports or just PASS, was a regional sports network
in Detroit, Michigan
that lasted from 1984
-1997
. It mainly covered professional Detroit sports
and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
(CCHA). It was started by Tom Monaghan
and later sold to Post-Newsweek Stations
, and was also an affiliate of Prime Network
.
in 1984, who at the time also owned the Detroit Tigers
. It was one of the first regional sports networks in the country. When the network launched, some Tigers and Detroit Pistons
games were put on the schedule, and in 1985
, Detroit Red Wings
games were added, with the remainder of those games being shown on WKBD.
In 1992, Monaghan sold the Tigers to Mike Ilitch
and sold PASS to Post-Newsweek Stations
. PASS merged with WDIV-TV
, Detroit's NBC
affiliate, which is still owned by Post-Newsweek. Following the purchase, PASS moved its studios and offices from Ann Arbor, Michigan
to WDIV-TV's studios in Detroit. Post-Newsweek also moved the channel to basic cable and expanded it to 24 hours a day; under Monaghan's ownership it had been a premium channel that only aired in the evening and on weekends.
group of regional sports networks. However, in 1996, Liberty Media
, owner of Prime Network and most of its affiliates, sold a half-interest to News Corporation
. News Corporation immediately took operating control of Prime Network and renamed it Fox Sports Net
. It also announced plans to launch its own regional sports network for Michigan, Fox Sports Detroit
, as a competitor to PASS. After a surprise bid in 1996 to pick up the rights to the Pistons, Fox began planning to launch its network two years later.
In 1997, Fox Sports Detroit won the rights to Red Wings games (beginning with the 1997–98 season) and Tigers games (beginning in 1998), and decided to accelerate their launch date by bidding with PASS. However, Post-Newsweek concluded that its coverage area was not big enough to support two regional sports networks. Hence, it sold the remaining year (1998) of its Tigers and Pistons contracts and the contract of sportscaster John Keating
to Fox Sports Detroit and folded PASS.
PASS signed off the air at midnight on October 31, 1997, its last show being "Trackside at Ladbroke DRC", and the final commercial being a public service announcement
for the "National Ski Hall of Fame
" in Ishpeming, Michigan
, before going to a slide of the PASS logo for the next couple hours.
Several PASS announcers and hosts moved to Fox Sports Detroit, and some remain there today.
Regional sports network
In the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
that lasted from 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....
-1997
1997 in television
The year 1997 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1997.- Events :-Debuts:-Miniseries:*Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac, a reunion of the 1979–93 series*The Last Don...
. It mainly covered professional Detroit sports
Sports in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan is home to four professional American sports teams. It is a important sports center as one of twelve cities in the United States to have teams from the four major North American sports....
and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...
(CCHA). It was started by Tom Monaghan
Tom Monaghan
Thomas Stephen "Tom" Monaghan is an entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist and activist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983-1992....
and later sold to Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company...
, and was also an affiliate of Prime Network
Prime Network
The Prime Network was a group of regional sports networks owned by Liberty Media that served several regionalized areas that was in operation between 1983 and late-1997. While Liberty owned many of these stations, some were affiliates and owned by other companies...
.
History
PASS was launched by Tom MonaghanTom Monaghan
Thomas Stephen "Tom" Monaghan is an entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist and activist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983-1992....
in 1984, who at the time also owned the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
. It was one of the first regional sports networks in the country. When the network launched, some Tigers and Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
games were put on the schedule, and in 1985
1985 in television
The year 1985 involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1985.For the American TV schedule, see: 1985-86 United States network television schedule.-Events:*January 1 – VH1 launches in the United States....
, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
games were added, with the remainder of those games being shown on WKBD.
In 1992, Monaghan sold the Tigers to Mike Ilitch
Mike Ilitch
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. is an American entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise...
and sold PASS to Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations
Post-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company...
. PASS merged with WDIV-TV
WDIV-TV
WDIV-TV, virtual channel 4, is an NBC-affiliated television station based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations and is the flagship station and home base of the group with the offices of the group located alongside WDIV's studios; the "Local" branding now...
, Detroit's NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate, which is still owned by Post-Newsweek. Following the purchase, PASS moved its studios and offices from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
to WDIV-TV's studios in Detroit. Post-Newsweek also moved the channel to basic cable and expanded it to 24 hours a day; under Monaghan's ownership it had been a premium channel that only aired in the evening and on weekends.
Decline of the network
PASS had been an early affiliate of the Prime NetworkPrime Network
The Prime Network was a group of regional sports networks owned by Liberty Media that served several regionalized areas that was in operation between 1983 and late-1997. While Liberty owned many of these stations, some were affiliates and owned by other companies...
group of regional sports networks. However, in 1996, Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
, owner of Prime Network and most of its affiliates, sold a half-interest to News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. News Corporation immediately took operating control of Prime Network and renamed it Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
. It also announced plans to launch its own regional sports network for Michigan, Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Detroit
Fox Sports Detroit , is a regional sports network that covers local sports teams in the state of Michigan, mostly those in the Metro Detroit area. It is an owned and operated affiliate of Fox Sports Net...
, as a competitor to PASS. After a surprise bid in 1996 to pick up the rights to the Pistons, Fox began planning to launch its network two years later.
In 1997, Fox Sports Detroit won the rights to Red Wings games (beginning with the 1997–98 season) and Tigers games (beginning in 1998), and decided to accelerate their launch date by bidding with PASS. However, Post-Newsweek concluded that its coverage area was not big enough to support two regional sports networks. Hence, it sold the remaining year (1998) of its Tigers and Pistons contracts and the contract of sportscaster John Keating
John Keating (sportscaster)
John Keating is a Fox Sports Detroit host and reporter. He was born in Madison Heights, Michigan. He attended Grand Valley State University. Keating has won five Michigan Emmys during his time at FOX Sports Detroit.-Radio career:...
to Fox Sports Detroit and folded PASS.
PASS signed off the air at midnight on October 31, 1997, its last show being "Trackside at Ladbroke DRC", and the final commercial being a public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
for the "National Ski Hall of Fame
National Ski Hall of Fame
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the City of Ishpeming in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States...
" in Ishpeming, Michigan
Ishpeming, Michigan
Ishpeming is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,686 at the 2000 census. This is down from a higher population in the 1950s and 1960s when the economically supportive iron ore mines had a much higher employment level...
, before going to a slide of the PASS logo for the next couple hours.
Several PASS announcers and hosts moved to Fox Sports Detroit, and some remain there today.
Personalities
- Marty Adler: Live on PASS
- Pat CaputoPat CaputoPat Caputo is an American sports writer and radio talk show host based in Southeast Michigan. He is a sports columnist for the Oakland Press and an on-air host for WXYT-FM in Detroit. Caputo hosts a radio show, "Caputo and Fithian" with Dennis Fithian...
: Live on Pass Host (1990–1992) - Bill FreehanBill FreehanWilliam Ashley Freehan is a former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers...
: Tigers Analyst (1984–1985) - Steve Garagiola: Live On Pass Host (1993–1996)
- Ernie HarwellErnie HarwellWilliam Earnest "Ernie" Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the action on radio and/or television...
: Tigers Play-by-Play (1994–1996) - John KeatingJohn Keating (sportscaster)John Keating is a Fox Sports Detroit host and reporter. He was born in Madison Heights, Michigan. He attended Grand Valley State University. Keating has won five Michigan Emmys during his time at FOX Sports Detroit.-Radio career:...
: Live on Pass (1993–1996) - Greg KelserGreg KelserGregory Kelser is a retired American basketball player and current television color commentator. Kelser played in the NBA from 1979–1986 and is best known for his standout career at Michigan State....
: Pistons Analyst (1993–1996) - Fred McLeodFred McLeod (sports analyst)Fred McLeod is a sportscaster who broadcasts for FS Ohio. He joined them prior to the 2006-07 NBA season as the play-by-play voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He teams up with returning color analyst Austin Carr for Cavaliers games telecast on FS Ohio...
: Pistons Play-by-Play (1984–1996) - Jim Northrup: Tigers Analyst (1985–1994)
- Larry Osterman: Tigers and CCHA Hockey Play-by-Play (1984–1992)
- Jim PriceJim PriceJim Price may refer to:*Jim Price , former NFL tight end*Jim Price , former Detroit Tigers catcher and current sportscaster*Jim Price , manager of the New York Gothams...
: Tigers Analyst (1993–1996) - Mickey Redmond: Red Wings Analyst (1985–1996)
- Jack RiggsJack RiggsJack Timothy Riggs is a Republican politician from Idaho. He served as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 2001 to 2003.-Politics:...
: Horse Racing Play-by-Play and Trackside Host - Dave StraderDave StraderDave Strader is an American sportscaster and currently is the #2 play-by-play announcer for NHL on NBC and NHL on Versus...
: Red Wings Play-by-Play, CCHA Play-by-Play (1985–1995) - Kelly TripuckaKelly TripuckaPeter Kelly Tripucka is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1981 to 1991. During his ten seasons in the league, he played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets...
: Pistons Analyst (1993–1996) - Eli Zaret: Tigers Reporter