SportsChannel is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that were owned by Cablevision, which from 1988 until the group's demise, operated it as a joint venture with NBC.Operating from March 1, 1979 to January 27, 1998, it was the country's first regional sports network, and along with Prime Network, was an important ancestor to many of the regional sports outlets in the U.S., particularly Fox Sports Networks and Comcast SportsNet.