2012 ArticlesBy Matt Yoder on

We predicted this happening last week and it became official late Friday night.  The Dan Patrick Show will be moving to NBC Sports Network this week.  The news was anounced by "Danettes" Paul Pabst and Seton O'Connor on Twitter… 

DP Show to NBCSN had been rumored for a long time given Patrick's affiliation with NBC through Football Night in America and the Olympics, but several pieces of the puzzle had to fall into place since the show was distributed across most of the nation on regional sports networks.  First, the show was taken off local Comcast regional sports network affiliates after Fox programming was taken off the CSNs.  Then, Patrick ended his distribution agreement with the Fox Sports regionals last week.  That finally left the door open for The Dan Patrick Show to go national on NBC Sports Network.  Patrick's show will continue to air on DirecTV's Audience Network on satellite and the half hour Box Score featuring Patrick's "Danettes" will also be simulcast on both Audience and NBCSN.

While NBCSN has struggled mightily to find viewers in their early days, much more so than anyone ever imagined, they suddenly have the best morning sports talk show in the country and 3.5 hours of programming every weekday morning.  They finally have a flagship studio show and have given a large number of sports fans reason to tune in to the network consistently for the first time.

Perhaps most importantly though, NBCSN has a show that can directly compete and even exceed what airs on ESPN nationally and the regional sports networks.  That is a first for NBCSN.  While it's hard to imagine a huge uptick in ratings that would be a gamechanger (after all, NBCSN's hunting and fishing shows are often their highest rated programs!), this is a much needed move for the startup.  In their quest to become a true national sports player, it's one of the first steps up Everest.  

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