Versus as a network is usually greeted with derision by most sports fans. The most popular to describe the network
these days is "joke." It's been almost two years since the Outdoor Life Network became Versus, and while the network's lineup has grown, it's not what mainstream fans would call stellar. To date, this is what Versus offers or will offer in the near future.

• The NHL, a league that canceled an entire season, which caused casual fan interest to collapse. ESPN immediately dropped the league after the labor stoppage was over.
• The Indy Racing League (beginning in 2009), part of a sport that split in half in 1995, and has seen viewership and interest hemorrhage ever since, with this year's unification only just now stopping the bleeding.  ABC/ESPN only really wanted the Indy 500, and for the most part, that's what they got.
• The Tour de France, which saw interest in the United States collapse thanks to Lance Armstrong's retirement (well, at the time) and rampant drug scandals. ESPN used to show the Tour, but obviously haven't in a while. This was Versus/OLN's first "big" get.
• Some college football, although the only real game of note they've ever shown was Stanford's upset of USC last year. Their primary conference in the Mountain West.
• MMA. Whether it's good or bad, I have no clue.
• Bull Riding, which is apparently a favorite of Awful Announcing.
• Also: The America's Cup, boxing, and SlamBall. Presented without comment.

Obviously, there is a trend with most of these. Versus, as it is presently constructed, goes after sports that have been on hard times and were dumped by ESPN. In essence, Versus is where ESPN's rejects go. On the surface, this is a poor strategy. Realistically though, what else would be out there for Versus to fill its programming? It's not big enough yet to have the cachet to acquire rights to one of the major sports. Does that sound a little familiar? It should, because that's how ESPN started, as the network that showed sports the big boys (then the broadcast networks) didn't show. Leading the way there was Australian Rules Football. It took many years for ESPN to growth into the behemoth it is today.

One thing Versus has going for it is its backing by Comcast, probably one of the few companies with the largess to compete with Disney and NewsCorp. Versus has bid for big sports in the past, but thus far has yet to win any of those bids.

So what exactly can Versus bring to the table? The main thing would be better coverage than what a sport could get on ESPN. For cycling fans, having a chance to see every Tour stage live, and then have it rerun in full that evening has to be like Manna from Heaven compared to ESPN's old coverage. Speaking as an IndyCar fan, we've been promised more coverage than ESPN provides, and frankly, we'll be happy with just the end of timed races and being bumped to Classic because women's golf ran long (this happened three times just this season). For NHL fans, it's a bit more complicated. A sampling of what some of FanIQ's biggest hockey fans think of the job Versus is doing:

Jess: "They promote with the deserved intensity and excitement of the sport when they do promote it. [However], They don’t really promote the NHL throughout the entire season – they usually just advertise during the broadcast of NHL games and during the playoffs. Of course most people who are already watching the games are into the NHL and have a good idea when and where the games are aired, so it’s unfortunate that they don’t promote more during UFC and other sports broadcasts so they can bring the appeal to more casual fans."

"Even though Versus isn’t as accessible or popular as ESPN, I think it does a better job with game highlights and promoting the NHL than ESPN did.

kteacher: "Yes I am satisfied with Versus's coverage.Compared to how they first started, they have drastically improved. They have decent play by play people and their expert analysis aren't bad either."

On the less positive side...

rootman54: "I personally have never liked it. I think a lot of the commentating is bad and some of the guys say some of the stupidest things. I also am not fans of Pierre Mcguire and Joe Benenotti(sp?) or Doc Emerick, which are the main three guys always on there.

Overall though, the big negative to NHL fans is exposure. Versus currently is in approx. 73 million households, about 23 million less than ESPN, and frankly I'm surprised that figure is not higher. Versus is also usually in the higher channels on most cable systems, making it difficult to find. All this adds up to the poor reputation Versus has in the marketplace.

If there one thing Versus might have going for it, it's the discontentment many feel for ESPN. At some point, consumers will start looking for alternatives, and Versus could become that alternative. The network got an unexpected boost with Lance Armstrong's comeback plans. To have the only cyclist that moves the needle in the 2009 Tour is huge for Versus, and possibly its league partners as well. Having Lance in the Tour will likely increase ratings. During those broadcasts, Versus can promote the upcoming NHL and college football seasons, as well as whatever IndyCar races would be broadcast in July and August. Everyone involved gets increased exposure, which is desperately needed.

Short term, it will continue to be a struggle for Versus. However, there appears to be a concrete plan of acquiring smaller sports that have been neglected by ESPN but have a dedicated hard-core fanbase, and give them top-notch, professional coverage. The hope is that both the network and the sports leagues will grow together. Whether it will work remains to be seen.