When Pitt fans turn on the TV, they seldom see sports stations talking about the Panthers, but… When Pitt fans turn on the TV, they seldom see sports stations talking about the Panthers, but now Pitt has its own channel.

Channel 188 debuted on Comcast yesterday as Pitt Panthers Television, which will air live games as well as analysis and pre-and-post-game coverage. The network is on channel 210 in some areas outside the city.

It will give fans an additional 500 hours of coverage every year.

“We are so pleased to team with Comcast to bring Panthers fans hundreds of new hours of Pitt programming,” Athletic Director Steve Pederson said in a news release. “We know from our current viewership numbers that the public wants as much Pitt sports programming as we can give them.”

In addition to live football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball games will air on the new station. Some volleyball games and other sports will be featured as well.

“This will also give us an opportunity to showcase our entire program in a way that has not been previously seen,” Pederson said.

There will be eight consecutive hours of coverage every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The coverage kicks off this week with a Miami pre-game show from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday. There will be a basketball Fan Fest show from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday, and the Miami game will run that day as well.

Head football coach Dave Wannstedt’s weekly press conference will be shown and the network will rebroadcast some games on Xfinity On Demand.

“Just as Pitt is committed to athletic excellence, Comcast is committed to giving our customers more of the programming they want,” Jerry Norris, Comcast Vice President of Marketing for the Keystone Region, said in the release.