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The former Outdoor Life Network upstart "Versus," has been quietly building it brand based upon sports that draw smaller, but passionate viewers.

Just about a year ago the network rebranded its name as Versus, from the Outdoor Life name, and has expanded beyond their base of outdoors shows in search for a larger audience. Even so, they're maintaining that existing base while extending the brand.

They of course scored a big, exclusive deal to cover the NHL last year after ESPN stopped the coverage in 2005. They've also added the Mountain West college football conference last year, increasing the game coverage to 19. They will also have Pac-10 and Big 12 games in the mix.

The network will air the rugby World Cup beginning in September, and will also air the world championships of track and field in Japan. They already covered the America's Cup earlier this year.

"We may not be the biggest network but we think the competition on our network is just as dramatic," says Versus president Gavin Harvey.

ince Lance Armstrong retired, they have struggled in their coverage of the Tour de France. The scandals in the sport also caused ratings to drop another 10 percent this year, along with no visible American competitor. That aside, DVR viewing of the sport has been strong, and online viewership even more than when Armstrong was there. Part of that is related to the increasing broadband penetration, but important nonetheless.

The company will keep on with its focus on hunting, as the most popular species, whitetail deer, will now be shown in HD, as the company is building a studio for that purpose at this time. "We want to become the official network of whitetail deer," Harvey said.

Where there is some great possibilities is in the mixed martial arts (MMA) area. They have signed a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the growing MMA: Cage fighting, something many think is the next big thing in this niche.
 
They've already aired two cage-fighting specials, and the numbers have been promising. They will have a couple more this year, and are in negotiations with Zuffa for a long-term deal.
 
The network can now be seen in 72 million homes.