Pity the rhythmic gymnastics fan in a 500-channel universe.

Despite the plethora of cable and satellite-TV channels and premium packages, the sports roster is largely limited to the big four: basketball, baseball, football and NASCAR.

But fans of niche sports are increasingly finding an outlet online, where everything including women's water polo, Super-G skiing, motocross and rugby are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week - albeit for a fee.

"ESPN was carrying a lot of these sports years ago, but it's moved a lot more mainstream - now they have Monday Night Football," said Carlos Silva, president of the World Championship Sports Network, which has dozens of sports specific channels including rowing, cycling and skiing. "Online is filling the void."

The idea of watching live sports streamed online is familiar to fans of CBS' webcast of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which drew 2 million viewers last year. The depth and breadth of live Internet content are expected to grow as more Americans get high-speed Internet connections. About 55 million homes have broadband connections, forecast to grow to 87 million homes in 2010, according to Bernstein Research.

WCSN launched in 2005 with coverage of the World Track and Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland, and has added about 20 other Olympic-style sports.

Gymnastics, cycling, beach volleyball and swimming have been perennial favorites for the site's 10,000 subscribers, Silva said, but he's been surprised at the turnout for martial arts such as karate and judo.

"These are sports with huge, enthusiastic participant" bases, he said. "They don't have a place to go to follow the elites of their sport."

Even when sporting events such as Wimbledon are carried on TV, the Internet offers fans the ability to see the qualifying matches that don't make the broadcast cut. NBCSports.com, which has broadcast rights to the tennis match, last year teamed with MediaZone to show up to nine matches simultaneously online.

NBCSports.com and MediaZone last year signed an agreement to offer live coverage of a variety of events, including such diverse fare as the Motocross of Nations to the New York Marathon.

For the marathon, MediaZone offered special features like a RunnerCam, which let Web viewers enter the bib number of any of the 37,000 marathoners and receive an alert when the runner is about to pass three camera points along the course. The company's LanceCam caught every grunt and stride of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

"We're able to offer an immersed experience into the sporting event, and features and interactivity that really enhance the sport," said Chris Ott, director of MediaZone's sports division.

While sports streamed live online makes it difficult to see Michael Phelps' freestyle stroke on a high-definition TV, there are advantages to Internet coverage. Both WCSN and -MediaZone encourage subscribers to participate in online forums to create communities around their shared passions.

WCSN also offers athlete blogs from the likes of skier Julia Mancuso and snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler while they're in the thick of competition.

WCSN.com

• The site: The World Championship Sports Network is the place to go if you want to see Olympic sports more than once every four years. WCSN, which was launched about a year ago, features about 20 sports - including swimming, skiing and badminton.

• Cost: Monthly pass costs $5, and an annual subscription costs $50.

IceNetwork.com

• The site: Most figure skating broadcasts on TV are limited to marquee names such as Johnny Weir and Emily Hughes. This site, run by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, features junior, regional and synchronized skating events and U.S. Figure Skating Championship coverage.

• Cost: Subscriptions cost $30 for the current season, which ends June 30.

CSTV.com

• The site: CSTV's XXL service features more than 30 men's and women's sports from about 100 schools, including Colorado State University, the Air Force Academy and the University of Denver. The games are streamed live, alongside coach's shows, highlight clips and news conferences.

• Cost: A monthly subscription costs $15; annual is $100.

Mediazone.com

• The site: MediaZone is home to the Rugby Channel, Moto Channel, Tennis on the Net and the FIBA World Championship. It also partners with NBC Sports to offer events like the World Curling Championships, Luge World Cup and Wimbledon.

• Cost: Prices vary from $130 for an annual pass to the Rugby Channel to $5.99 for Wimbledon Live.

davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2514

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