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99-578: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (formerly Bally Sports Ohio ) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group as part of the FanDuel Sports Network chain. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio , with a focus on professional sports teams based in Cleveland and Cincinnati , which are broadcast on separate programming feeds, as well as Columbus . FanDuel Sports Network Ohio

198-402: A "regional sports network fee" as a separate item on their bills. In response to high and increasing surcharges for RSNs and local broadcast channels, on March 22, 2023, FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a proposal to require television providers to advertise only "all-in" pricing, including all programming fees. In Canada, Sportsnet operates four regional sports networks, and

297-470: A $ 4.23 billion write-down on the FSN purchase. On November 17, 2020, it was reported by Sportico that Sinclair was considering rebranding the networks via a naming rights agreement, and was reportedly in talks with multiple companies involved in sports betting. The next day, Sinclair announced that it had entered into an agreement with casino operator Bally's Corporation to acquire the naming rights under

396-600: A 10-year deal. This agreement will include integration of Bally's content on the channels and other Sinclair properties (including its television stations Stadium and Tennis Channel), and a warrant giving Sinclair the option to acquire a 14.9% stake in Bally's Corporation, and up to 24.9% if performance criteria are met. On January 27, 2021, Sinclair announced that the networks would be rebranded as Bally Sports on March 31. Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports Tennessee were discontinued, with any unique sports programming moved to

495-584: A 2021 launch, though it was delayed due to Bally Sports needing to negotiate over-the-top streaming rights with the teams. Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley stated that the service was meant to target cord cutters , whom the company felt were underserved in the regional sports market. Bally Sports+ was soft-launched on June 23, 2022, initially available to customers residing in the service areas of Bally Sports Kansas City , Bally Sports Detroit , Bally Sports Florida , Bally Sports Wisconsin , and Bally Sports Florida / Bally Sports Sun —the five markets where Bally Sports

594-601: A 30-day grace period to make the payment. During this grace period, Diamond Sports also missed a rights payment to the Arizona Diamondbacks . On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy . In October 2023, following the loss of airing Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks games during the year, Bally Sports Arizona dropped coverage of the Arizona Coyotes during the preseason, which subsequently led to Bally Sports Arizona being

693-558: A 40% stake in Cablevision / NBC 's SportsChannel networks which led those networks being rebranded as part of Fox Sports Net in early 1998 and bringing the total number of owned or affiliate networks to 18. In the years that followed, a series of other acquisitions and launches of new networks (along with a few closures) resulted in 22 owned and operated networks. On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced their intent to acquire 21st Century Fox for $ 52.4 billion after

792-517: A centralized media rights model in the 2023 season ; all match telecasts are now produced in-house and carried internationally on the MLS Season Pass subscription service under a ten-year digital rights agreement with Apple Inc. , and blackouts are not enforced. In March 2023, Bally Sports parent company Diamond Sports Group filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, while Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD) announced its intent to exit

891-719: A clause in the original sale, Yankee Global Enterprises had a right of first refusal to purchase Fox's share in YES Network . On August 29, 2019, an investor group including the Yankees, Sinclair, Amazon , and The Blackstone Group purchased Disney's 80% stake in the network for $ 3.47 billion. Sinclair's share of the network is 20%. FuboTV dropped the channels in January 2020, and YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV followed in October 2020. On November 4, 2020, Sinclair took

990-602: A deal with the Florida Panthers , which would put games over the air on WSFL-TV beginning in the 2024–25 season . On July 3, 2024, Diamond Sports Group filed a motion requesting that its contract with the Dallas Stars be terminated. On July 8, the Stars subsequently announced that it would partner with A Parent Media Co. to stream all of its games for free via the team-run streaming service Victory+ beginning in

1089-441: A dedicated channel; in contrast to other sports channels, it was distributed free-to-air as a digital multicast television network , and eventually subsumed its syndication of individual telecasts. In 2017, the channel was relaunched as Stadium as part of a joint venture with Silver Chalice , which expanded its programming and added a focus on distribution via free ad-supported streaming television (FAST). Starting in 2023, amid

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1188-484: A direct-to-consumer service known as Bally Sports Plus (or Bally Sports+) in selected markets. It launched nationally in the remainder of the networks' footprint on September 26. On February 15, 2023, Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports, failed to make a $ 140 million interest payment, instead opting for a 30-day grace period to make the payment. On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection ; its restructuring plan included

1287-609: A group that shared programming and national TV rights. During the 1990s, some teams experimented with pay-per-view or premium television broadcasts of games, which were generally unpopular. The Portland Trail Blazers ran BlazerVision, which charged a fee for every game, and which blacked out NBA on TNT coverage of Trail Blazer playoff games for fans within 40 miles (64 km) of Portland. The Chicago Blackhawks broadcast games exclusively on Hawkvision between 1992 and 1995. As sports fans began to prefer watching their favorite teams on television rather than in person, RSNs became

1386-604: A higher programming tier or a specialized sports tier to receive local and out-of-market regional sports networks. National Football League games (outside of preseason games) are not shown on regional sports networks as its TV deal is centralized and local games are broadcast on TV in a team's local area. In 2023, Major League Soccer also switched to a centralized broadcasting model, with all games carried nationally via streaming. Viewership and advertising revenue on RSNs are highest during live broadcasts of professional and collegiate sporting events. These broadcasts are often

1485-704: A long history, with the origins of several of the networks dating to the 1980s and 1990s, as affiliates of the Prime Network (and to a lesser degree SportsChannel ). In 1996, News Corporation and Liberty Media (the owner of Prime Network) announced that the Prime Sports networks would be rebranded under the new "Fox Sports Net" brand; the Prime Sports-branded affiliates were officially relaunched as Fox Sports Net on November 1 of that year. In 1997, News Corp and Liberty Media also purchased

1584-544: A manner similar to Sportsnet. These feeds are primarily used to broadcast regional NHL games, but may also be used to provide alternative and common national programming. While each region has a primary TSN channel, due to overlaps in NHL territories it is possible in some parts of Ontario to access additional regional games from one non-primary channel. Prior to the launch of these channels, regional NHL games whose rights were held by TSN (which, at that point, consisted solely of

1683-530: A network of broadcasters that may consist of either individual over-the-air stations, regional sports networks, or a mixture of both. Jefferson-Pilot Communications and Raycom Sports were well known as syndicators of college sports on broadcast television, having previously held agreements with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Southeastern Conference (SEC). By the late-2000's. both packages began to wind down after ESPN acquired

1782-664: A new consistent scorebug in the bottom-left of the screen, which is combined into the ticker . Executive vice president Michael Connelly explained that the setup was designed to eventually allow for the integration of sports betting-related information such as lines and props . On Opening Day , the newly rebranded channels aired a joint special, Bally Sports Big Opening Day. It was produced by Stadium, hosted by Michael Kim , Bally Sports SoCal's Kristina Pink and Bally Sports Southeast's Eric Collins , and featured coverage of teams and events across Bally Sports and Sinclair's sports networks. On June 23, 2022, Bally Sports soft-launched

1881-788: A proposal for the company to be separated from the Sinclair Broadcast Group into a standalone company. During its bankruptcy, Diamond has missed payments to the Arizona Diamondbacks , Texas Rangers , Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB), the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and to Raycom Sports for its ACC on Regional Sports Networks package and

1980-475: A select number of college basketball games involving the University of Dayton and Northern Kentucky University . The network formerly held the local rights to college basketball games featuring Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati through the 2019-20 season. The channel formerly broadcast Cleveland Indians games from the network's launch as SportsChannel Ohio, until Fox Sports Ohio lost

2079-550: A slate of regional sports networks operated as a joint venture between Cablevision and NBC . SportsChannel Ohio initially held the broadcast games from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Indians . The channel also aired select Cincinnati Reds games produced by SportsChannel Cincinnati , Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball and football games, and Ohio State Buckeyes sporting events (with

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2178-511: A small number of subscribers in Manhattan in May 1969. By the late 1970s another version of this network would launch and be made available to other cable systems in the metropolitan area and it would finally receive the name Madison Square Garden Television in 1980. Another early network considered by many to be an RSN is Philadelphia 's PRISM which launched in 1976 offering coverage of three of

2277-479: A sponsorship deal between Diamond and casino operator Bally's Corporation . On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . On October 21, 2024, the channel was rebranded as "FanDuel Sports Network" as part of a new agreement between Diamond and FanDuel Group . The network operates regional feeds for the Cleveland and Cincinnati markets, both branded as Bally Sports Ohio (but with

2376-899: A strategy of launching RSNs, particularly in markets where its stations have state-wide coverage. This strategy began with Arizona's Family Sports , which features Phoenix Suns and Mercury basketball, and auxiliary programming for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. It has since established similar networks, such as Peachtree Sports Network (which is carried on the digital channels of multiple Gray stations in Georgia), Matrix Midwest in St. Louis, Missouri (a rebranding of its MyNetworkTV subchannel), Rock Entertainment Sports Network in Ohio (in partnership with Dan Gilbert 's Rock Entertainment, owner of

2475-480: A very important source of revenue for professional teams and collegiate conferences. By 2011, regional sports networks were integral to the financial health of many U.S. sports ventures. Teams in smaller media markets were often disadvantaged by their reliance on RSNs, whereas teams in larger markets could negotiate more lucrative media rights deals. In the 21st century, the rise of cord-cutting has led to decreasing cable and satellite television subscriber numbers in

2574-460: Is a joint venture between the Padres and Diamond it is technically not in bankruptcy. Therefore, this missed payment did not have the same bankruptcy protections that Diamond's other missed payments had. On June 1, 2023, after a two-day long hearing, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond to pay the other Major League Baseball teams they missed payments to fully within five days. Bally Sports gave up

2673-926: Is also a shareholder in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which owned Leafs Nation Network , a channel devoted entirely to the Toronto Maple Leafs and its farm team, the Toronto Marlies (and is restricted to the Leafs' broadcast territory). MLSE also operates NBA TV Canada , which is distributed nationally but has featured programming focused on the MLSE-owned Toronto Raptors and its NBA G League affiliate Raptors 905 . On August 25, 2014, The Sports Network (TSN), another Canadian sports channel, split its singular national feed into four regional feeds in

2772-407: Is available on cable providers throughout Ohio, as well as parts of Indiana , Kentucky , northwestern Pennsylvania , eastern Tennessee , border communities of West Virginia , and extreme southwestern New York ; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV . The channel originally launched on February 9, 1989, as SportsChannel Ohio. It launched as an affiliate of SportsChannel ,

2871-405: Is available to all or part of at least 33 states. The networks were formerly known as Fox Sports Networks and operated by News Corporation for most of their existence. They were acquired by Diamond Sports from The Walt Disney Company in 2019, as Disney was required to divest them by the U.S. Department of Justice as a condition of their own acquisition of 21st Century Fox . Diamond Sports

2970-441: Is considered a national channel with multiple feeds for regulatory purposes, in practice its four main channels act as a set of RSNs, albeit with a significant portion of common national programming. Through the separate Sportsnet One licence, Rogers also operates three regional overflow channels—Sportsnet Flames, Sportsnet Oilers, and Sportsnet Canucks—for Calgary Flames , Edmonton Oilers , and Vancouver Canucks games. Rogers

3069-547: Is majority-owned by the Seattle Mariners . This deadline quietly passed with no changes in operations; it was later reported that WBD had been negotiating an agreement with MLB to ensure that the networks would continue operating as normal through the end of the 2023 regular season . In October 2023, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins (with NESN —a sister via

FanDuel Sports Network Ohio - Misplaced Pages Continue

3168-608: Is mostly owned by the Seattle Mariners – under the AT&;T SportsNet banner on July 14, 2017. In September 2018, AT&TSN was transferred to the WarnerMedia News & Sports division . In February 2020, the New York Post reported that AT&T had abandoned a plan to divest the channels, after only receiving bids in excess of $ 500 million (rather than the $ 1 billion valuation it had expected). In May 2021, it

3267-772: The 2014–15 season , RDS could air Canadiens games on a national basis, as it was also the national French-language rightsholder of the National Hockey League in Canada. With Rogers' acquisition of the exclusive national media rights to the NHL, and its decision to sub-license French rights to Quebecor Media 's TVA Sports , RDS and RDS2's coverage of the Canadiens and Senators are now restricted to parts of Eastern Ontario , Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Some telecasts (especially in U.S. college sports) are broadcast by ad-hoc syndicated packages, which can be picked up on

3366-512: The 2023–24 NHL season , pending approval by the bankruptcy court. On January 17, 2024, Diamond Sports announced a restructuring agreement after receiving a minority investment from Amazon , and reaching an agreement with the Sinclair Broadcast Group for a $ 495 million cash payment to settle an earlier lawsuit. Under the deal, the Bally Sports app was to be folded into Amazon Prime Video . The restructuring would still need to be approved by

3465-460: The 2024–25 season . On July 29, 2024, Comcast reached a new carriage agreement, allowing Bally Sports to be carried on the Xfinity "Ultimate TV" tier rather than on the basic service. On August 23, 2024, Diamond Sports announced it had reached amended regional broadcast agreements with nine NHL teams and thirteen NBA teams through at least the 2024–25 season, including reductions to rights fees;

3564-544: The Chicago White Sox 's investment arm Silver Chalice), Tennis Channel , as well as Marquee —a then-upcoming RSN devoted to the Chicago Cubs . On May 3, Sinclair officially announced that via its subsidiary Diamond Sports Group, it had agreed to purchase the networks for $ 10.6 billion, pending regulatory approval. At the same time, it was also revealed that Allen Media Group would hold an equity stake in

3663-551: The Cleveland Cavaliers ), and Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network (which will carry New Orleans Pelicans basketball beginning in the 2024–25 season, with WVUE-DT as flagship). Sportsnet (formerly known as CTV Sportsnet and Rogers Sportsnet) is owned by the Rogers Media division of Toronto -based Rogers Communications . Sportsnet carries all of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball games. Although it

3762-755: The Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Cavaliers , the Blue Jackets and Cincinnati Reds , and the Reds and Cavaliers), cable providers in Central Ohio will carry the other game on an alternate channel. FanDuel Sports Network Ohio holds the exclusive regional cable television rights to the NBA 's Cleveland Cavaliers (since 1990) and the NHL 's Columbus Blue Jackets (since 2000). The channel also carries

3861-530: The Dallas Stars took its media rights to an in-house streaming platform. Bally Sports FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports ) is a group of regional sports networks in the United States owned by Diamond Sports Group . The networks carry regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional , collegiate , and high school sports teams. Through its owned-and-operated networks and several other affiliates, its programming

3960-538: The Flyers and 76ers . Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, the first CSN channel, launched on October 1, 1997. CSN purchased a small number of RSNs previously owned by Fox Sports Networks, and acquired the local rights to professional teams that FSN regional networks carried. In two markets, the latter situation resulted in Fox Sports shutting down their networks. Comcast's 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal allowed

4059-560: The Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN . On May 3, 2019, it was announced that Diamond Sports Group (a partnership between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group ) would acquire the channels as part of an agreement with Disney. The sale was completed on August 23, 2019. The network continued to operate under the Fox Sports name until March 31, 2021, when they were relaunched as Bally Sports as part of

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4158-570: The Orange Bowl for its Orange Bowl Classic men's college basketball tournament. Diamond also entered grace periods for their payments to the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds of MLB, which they eventually made. On May 31, 2023, Diamond officially missed a second payment to the Padres, and the Padres' television rights were returned to Major League Baseball. Because Bally Sports San Diego , which aired Padres games,

4257-406: The spin-off of certain businesses into a new entity (initially dubbed "new Fox", but ultimately named Fox Corporation ). While the acquisition was originally slated to include Fox Sports' regional operations (which, presumably, would have been re-aligned with Disney's ESPN division), the Justice Department ordered that they be divested within 90 days of the completion of the acquisition due to

4356-563: The $ 9.42 rate ESPN charges. RSNs justify these high prices by citing demand for the local sports teams they carry, particularly those in Major League Baseball , the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League , as well as college teams that have large and loyal fanbases. Carriage disputes between distributors and RSNs are often controversial and protracted. Since 2013, television providers such as Charter Spectrum and Verizon FiOS have charged customers

4455-572: The 2025 season instead. FanDuel Sports Network Ohio was also the broadcaster for the AHL 's Cleveland Monsters until 2024 when the Monsters signed a new deal with Gray Television . Regional sports network Some RSNs originated as premium channels. Since the 1990s, they have commonly been distributed through the expanded basic tiers of cable television and IPTV services. Direct broadcast satellite providers may require subscribers to purchase

4554-631: The AT&T SportsNet closure by abandoning the RSN model entirely, in favour of a mixture of regional syndication via free-to-air television, and paid streaming services. After having opted out of its contract with the Arizona Coyotes (who signed with the E. W. Scripps Company 's newly-formed Scripps Sports division and would themselves leave Arizona the next year ), and losing the Phoenix Suns to Gray Television , Bally Sports Arizona shut down entirely in October 2023. For more than 20 years,

4653-516: The Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans reached agreements with Gray Television to air 10 over-the-air games in local markets. The games will continue to be produced by Bally Sports. On December 20, 2023, Diamond Sports and the National Hockey League reached a similar agreement to the NBA's November 6 deal that will also result in the contracts for all NHL teams airing on Diamond expiring after

4752-492: The Bally Sports South and Southeast channels. To better reflect their target markets, Prime Ticket and SportsTime Ohio were also rebranded as Bally Sports SoCal and Bally Sports Great Lakes, respectively. In preparation for the rebrand, new studio sets were constructed at all of FSN's outlets, while Drive Studio produced a new on-air graphics package built upon its existing work for Marquee. On-air graphics feature

4851-542: The Cincinnati area due to the presence of FC Cincinnati . On October 19, 2016, Fox Sports and the Reds announced an extension of their broadcast agreement to the end of the 2032 season. The deal included the Reds taking an equity stake in the Cincinnati sub-feed of Fox Sports Ohio. In November 2024, amid the Diamond Sports bankruptcy, the Reds agreed to exit the contract and would sign with MLB Local Media for

4950-551: The Colorado Rockies foregoing a new television deal and moving under MLB Local Media. Spectrum Sports is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks that are primarily owned and operated by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Time Warner Cable in May 2016. In 2018, Sinclair relaunched its Reno MyNetworkTV station KAME-TV as Nevada Sports Net, with a focus on Nevada Wolf Pack college sports and Reno Aces baseball. It later acquired

5049-474: The FanDuel Sports Network regional networks, the service also provides game replays, team-centered studio programs, outdoor programming, and selected programs syndicated to the network's national and regional feeds. In December 2020, Sinclair announced plans to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service based around the linear Bally Sports networks. The service was originally targeted for

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5148-453: The Jets and Canadiens) were broadcast on special part-time channels exclusive to the team's television region. Bell Media also owns Réseau des sports (RDS) and RDS2 , French-language sports networks that are licensed to serve all of Canada, but in practice focus on the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec (as there are relatively few francophones outside that province). Prior to

5247-547: The U.S., which in turn has reduced the revenue that RSNs receive from television provider subscriber fees and advertising. These have resulted in an increasing erosion to the RSN market, and attempts to launch over-the-top (OTT) services at RSNs. These services require broadcasters to obtain in-market streaming rights to teams, and have a high cost due to RSNs usually being subsidized by subscribers that are not interested in sports. Major League Soccer , which previously broadcast most of its matches regionally on RSNs, switched to

5346-466: The United States, DirecTV offers all regional sports networks to all subscribers across the country, but live games and other selected programs are blacked out outside their home markets. Regional sports networks are generally among the most expensive channels carried by cable television providers. A typical RSN, as of 2024 , carries a monthly retransmission fee of $ 3.50 to $ 8 per subscriber, double to triple what they charged in 2012 and second only to

5445-575: The agreement also provides options for FanDuel TV to syndicate its original programs (such as Up & Adams with Kay Adams ) on FDSN, and FanDuel to resell the FDSN over-the-top service (formerly Bally Sports+) via its platforms. FanDuel president Mike Raffensperger stated that the agreement would "further cement the FanDuel brand with sports fans and provides a unique vehicle to reward our users". A lawyer representing Major League Baseball stated that

5544-496: The agreement will expire if Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy plan is not approved by the court. Diamond also terminated its contracts with the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans (with the latter having reached an agreement with Gray Television). It was later reported that Amazon had pulled out of its planned investment, citing that its value had been lessened by Diamond's loss of rights to multiple teams since

5643-518: The announcement, and that the company was prioritizing its recent investments in national broadcast rights to properties such as the NBA. On August 27, the Anaheim Ducks announced that it would move to KCOP-TV and Victory+. The Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Texas Rangers' contracts with Diamond expired at the end of their 2024 regular seasons. On October 8, 2024, MLB Local Media announced that it would assume

5742-582: The associated reorganization process, Diamond plans to be separated from Sinclair into a standalone company. It has renegotiated contracts with a number of the teams that it broadcasts, and has also ended its contracts with several others (either via missed rights payments or a formal opt-out). In October 2024, it was announced that Diamond would end its agreement with Bally's and enter into a new agreement with online gambling company FanDuel —under which Bally Sports rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network on October 21, 2024. The networks of FanDuel Sports Network have

5841-434: The bankruptcy court. Diamond Sports Group officially filed its reorganization plan on March 1, 2024. As part of the plan, Diamond would end its naming rights deal with Bally's Corporation . On May 1, 2024, Comcast and Midco dropped the Bally Sports networks as part of a carriage dispute . Optimum did the same on July 1, 2024. On July 2, Scripps Sports , the sports division of the E. W. Scripps Company, announced

5940-414: The city's major sports teams and movies. In 1976, Cablevision launched a new service providing coverage of Long Island sports (originally called Cablevision Sports 3). This channel would be renamed SportsChannel New York in 1979 and became the first channel to resemble a modern regional sports network. Other SportsChannels were launched in different cities and in 1988, they were formally organized into

6039-534: The company and serve as a "content partner". The sale was completed on August 22, 2019 and included 21 of the 22 networks. The networks continued to temporarily use the Fox Sports branding under a transitional license agreement with Fox Corporation; Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley stated that there were plans to eventually rebrand them under either a new name, or to "partner with a brand who wants more exposure". There were also plans to increase non-event programming, and emphasis on sports betting in its programming. Due to

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6138-480: The company upon the completion of the merger, but his successor Chris Licht would only oversee CNN. The merger was completed the following day. On February 24, 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it would leave the RSN business, and informed that the networks' respective teams had until March 31 to reach an agreement to take their rights back or acquire the networks. Those teams with deals with Root Sports Northwest are not affected because that channel already

6237-429: The concentration of the market that ESPN would hold. Sinclair Broadcast Group was mentioned as the most likely buyer for the other FSN networks, but would need the assistance of a private equity firm to help raise the cash needed for the purchase. The group's other sports properties included Stadium —a national sports network distributed via over-the-air digital television and internet streaming (in partnership with

6336-497: The dismantling of AT&T SportsNet and the Diamond Sports bankruptcy, multiple NBA and NHL teams have pivoted away from the pay television RSN model and returned to primarily carrying their games on free-to-air television via regional syndication, with supplemental distribution via paid OTT services. The NBA's Phoenix Suns signed a deal with Gray Television , and Utah Jazz signed with Sinclair Broadcast Group -owned station KJZZ-TV (which had formerly aired Jazz games while under

6435-596: The exception of football and basketball). In 1997, News Corporation and Liberty Media purchased a 40% interest in Cablevision's sports properties including the SportsChannel America networks (as well as Madison Square Garden and its NBA and NHL team tenants, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers ) in a deal worth $ 850 million, forming the venture National Sports Partners to run

6534-459: The first Bally Sports-related regional sports network to shut down. In October 2024, the networks were renamed again to FanDuel Sports Network, as part of an agreement with online gambling company FanDuel . Cable conglomerate Comcast began creating Comcast SportsNet (CSN) after their March 1996 purchase of a 66% stake in Philadelphia -based event organizer Spectacor , which owned

6633-468: The first official casualty of the bankruptcy. Bally Sports San Diego would shut down next by liquidating assets to the Padres following a settlement made in April 2024. On June 14, 2023, Diamond rejected its contract with Raycom Sports to distribute a package of Atlantic Coast Conference games , freeing Raycom to sell the package to other networks. A month later, Raycom announced that The CW had bought

6732-741: The group's assets subsequently being spun off as a separate company under the DirecTV banner; the Fox Sports Networks outlets that became part of the Liberty Sports unit (which was renamed DirecTV Sports Networks on November 19, 2009) were rebranded under the new name "Root Sports" on April 1, 2011. DirecTV Sports Networks would be acquired by AT&T Inc. in 2015, as a byproduct of its acquisition of DirecTV. The renamed RSN unit, AT&T Sports Networks , rebranded its regional sports networks – excluding Root Sports Northwest, which

6831-512: The joint venture company operated by News Corporation and Liberty Media, purchased a 40% interest in the Cablevision -owned SportsChannel group. As part of a rebranding effort, the collective branding of the networks – which eventually became "FSN (Region/City)" in 2004 – was extended to Fox Sports (Region/City) (also used from 1996 to 2000) with the start of the 2008 college football season. The FSN networks were acquired by Diamond Sports Group from The Walt Disney Company in 2019, as Disney

6930-454: The latter feed disambiguated in some electronic program guides and online television listings services as "Bally Sports Cincinnati"), which broadcast different events depending on the market. This arrangement can cause event conflicts in the Columbus market, which is located between Cincinnati and Cleveland. In the event of conflicting events between the two regional feeds (typically between

7029-493: The latter in 2012, Bally Sports Ohio does not share broadcast rights to any sporting events with Bally Sports Great Lakes and vice versa (unlike arrangements that exist between Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast , and Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Sun ), with both networks maintaining their own respective team television contracts. From 2019 to 2021, Columbus Crew games were split between Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio, although those telecasts were blacked out in

7128-738: The league planned to formally oppose the bankruptcy plan during the confirmation hearings that begin November 14. In particular, MLB had shown concerns over the FanDuel agreement, including the lack of transparency regarding its negotiations, and concerns over league content being directly branded with the name of a sports betting company. * Team-related shows and/or game replays only † Occasional game telecasts Formerly named Bally Sports+ , FanDuel Sports Network's over-the-top subscription streaming platform offers livestreams and market-specific video-on-demand content from its individual regional networks. In addition to offering live game telecasts from

7227-504: The media rights to both conferences; ESPN initially maintained a syndicated package known as " SEC Network ", while Raycom was given a sub-license to continue its syndication package (subsequently renamed " ACC Network "). Both packages ended when ESPN launched dedicated cable channels for both conferences. ESPN was originally intended to focus on sports in Connecticut , but chose to broadcast nationally when it debuted in 1979 when it

7326-467: The networks to be merged into its NBC Sports division. In April 2017, Comcast SportsNet's California and Bay Area networks were rebranded under the NBC Sports brand; NBC Sports Regional Networks adopted the "NBC Sports" moniker on its other regional channels on October 2, 2017. In May 2009, DirecTV Group Inc. announced that it would become a part of Liberty Media's entertainment unit, with some of

7425-721: The networks' de-emphasis of the brand. In February 2005, News Corporation (which spun off most of its entertainment properties into 21st Century Fox in July 2013) acquired Cablevision's ownership stakes in Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Florida , following an asset trade in which Fox sold its interest in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks and the Rangers, to Cablevision, in exchange for acquiring sole ownership of

7524-403: The only team not affected by the announcement. On October 16, 2024, it was revealed in a court filing that Diamond had reached a new sponsorship agreement with FanDuel Group , under which it intends to rebrand Bally Sports as the FanDuel Sports Network (FDSN); on October 18, 2024, Diamond officially announced the rebranding, which took effect October 21. Under the agreement, FanDuel will have

7623-688: The option to take a minority equity stake of up to 5% once Diamond Sports exits bankruptcy. The branding will be downplayed within programming related to high school sports. The same day, it was reported that the Miami Marlins had successfully renegotiated with Diamond to stay on FDSN. With the rebranding, the RSNs became an indirect sister to FanDuel TV , a national sports channel (formerly TVG, which focuses on horse racing , mainstream sports studio shows that include discussion of sports betting, and international sports) owned directly by FanDuel Group;

7722-469: The otherwise nationally distributed TSN also maintains some regional operations. This differs from the operational structure of RSNs in the United States, which are independently operated from national sports networks. Some sports teams own some or all of their respective RSNs. For example, the New York Rangers and New York Knicks have long co-owned their RSN, MSG ; they also have purchased

7821-495: The owned-and-operated regional networks. As part of a gradual rebranding of the SportsChannel networks that began that month, SportsChannel Ohio was rebranded as Fox Sports Ohio in January 1998. The channel was then rebranded as Fox Sports Net Ohio in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Ohio, through

7920-667: The ownership of then-owner Larry H. Miller ). Both the NHL's Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights signed with the E. W. Scripps Company 's newly-formed Scripps Sports division for the 2023–24 season. For the subsequent 2024–25 season, Scripps also signed with the Florida Panthers , and retained its association with the Utah Hockey Club (which acquired the Coyotes' hockey operations and relocated them to Salt Lake City ). The Seattle Kraken similarly made an agreement with Tegna Inc. and Amazon Prime Video , and

8019-559: The primary RSN in many markets was owned by Fox Sports . Fox Sports Networks, which launched on November 1, 1996, as Fox Sports Net, was created through former parent News Corporation 's October 1995 purchase of a 50% equity stake in Liberty Media -owned Prime Sports Networks , co-founded in 1988 by Bill Daniels and Liberty's then-sister company Tele-Communications Inc. The group expanded further in June 1997, Fox/Liberty Networks,

8118-422: The production of Padres regional games, distributing them via an in-market add-on to MLB.tv, and making agreements to carry the games on local access channels, such as Cox Cable 's YurView California . The broadcasts maintain team-contracted staff, such as commentators. In July 2023, MLB Local Media took over the rights to the Arizona Diamondbacks , after Diamond was granted a motion to decline its contract with

8217-431: The regional sports market by divesting its AT&T SportsNet channels. Major League Baseball established a local media department prior to the 2023 season, using resources from MLB Network , to produce telecasts for teams whose RSNs would become unable to broadcast their teams' games. In May 2023, when the rights to the San Diego Padres reverted to the team after Diamond missed a payment, MLB Local Media took over

8316-538: The rights as a result of the team starting eventual sister network SportsTime Ohio in March 2006. Despite this move, Reds games continued to be blacked out in most of Northeast Ohio , the designated market area of the now-Guardians. When Reds games air in the rest of Ohio, the Cleveland feed airs generic national Fox Sports Networks programming unless a local Cleveland event is scheduled. Although Fox Sports Ohio and STO came under common ownership following Fox's purchase of

8415-513: The rights to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 18, 2023. Furthermore, with Bally Sports Arizona also losing local broadcast rights to both the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury to Gray Television (via KTVK and KPHE-LD , respectively) in April of that year and then the Arizona Coyotes to Scripps Sports (via KASW ) in early October, Diamond Sports Group ultimately shut down Bally Sports Arizona on October 21, 2023, becoming

8514-546: The rights to the Brewers, Guardians, and Twins beginning in the 2025 season. On October 2, 2024, Diamond Sports announced its intention to renegotiate its contracts with the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays. If the teams are unable to agree to a new contract with Diamond, their contract will be rejected. The Atlanta Braves are

8613-471: The rights to the Golden Knights' syndication package with Scripps Sports. Some regional sports networks have been formed as digital multicast television networks . BEK Communications Cooperative operates BEK Sports, an RSN focusing on North Dakota high school sports, across several stations in the state. In 2023, Gray Television (the current owner of sports syndicator Raycom Sports ) began

8712-752: The rights to the Rangers' local rivals, the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils . MSG also owns the rights to the Buffalo Sabres , but the Sabres produce their own games for MSG Western New York , a separate channel managed by MSG and Pegula Sports and Entertainment , owners of the Sabres. The first regional sports network is considered to be the Madison Square Garden Network . An early unnamed version of that network started broadcasting Knicks and Rangers to

8811-538: The rights. On November 6, 2023, Diamond Sports and the National Basketball Association reached a one-year agreement that will result in the contracts for NBA teams airing on Diamond expiring after the 2023–24 NBA season . Across the board, all NBA teams airing on Diamond Sports will receive a 16% reduction in the money they receive from Diamond Sports, but will be able to sell 10 games to local over-the-air networks . On December 30, 2023,

8910-419: The source content for out-of-market sports packages . During the rest of the day, these channels show news programs covering local and national sports, magazine and discussion programs relating to a team or collegiate conference, fishing and hunting programs, and in-studio video simulcasts of sports radio programs. RSNs also rerun sports events from the recent and distant past. Some RSNs air infomercials . In

9009-546: The team's parent Fenway Sports Group —assuming day-to-day operations) and renamed to SportsNet Pittsburgh. The Pirates later bought a stake in the network as well. The Houston Astros and Rockets acquired WBD's shares in AT&;T SportsNet Southwest and rebranded it as Space City Home Network . AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain closed in October 2023, with the Utah Jazz moving to Sinclair Broadcast Group 's KJZZ-TV , and

9108-670: The team. The Colorado Rockies also joined MLB Local Media for the 2024 season amid the closure of AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain . In October 2024, MLB Local Media announced that it would begin producing and distributing broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians , Milwaukee Brewers , and Minnesota Twins beginning in the 2025 season; it also announced that the Texas Rangers would end their relationship with Bally Sports Southwest and explore local television options for 2025 and beyond. Some NHL and NBA teams handled

9207-405: The two networks. The channel reverted to the Fox Sports Ohio moniker in 2008 On December 14, 2017, as part of a merger between both companies, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire all 22 regional Fox Sports networks from 21st Century Fox , including Fox Sports Ohio, sister network SportsTime Ohio , and Fox's 50% stake in the network's Cincinnati sub-feed. However, on June 27, 2018,

9306-700: Was a successor to the previous Raycom Sports-produced SEC package. In 2014, television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group established its own sports syndicator known as the American Sports Network (ASN), primarily syndicating broadcasts of college football and basketball from mid-major conferences (some of which were previously associated with ESPN Plus) to stations that it owns and operates. In 2015, Sinclair also acquired regional rights to Major League Soccer 's Real Salt Lake , with ASN handling production and distribution of team telecasts within its designated market. ASN later began to operate

9405-440: Was able to negotiate streaming rights to the local MLB team. The service launched three weeks after NESN launched NESN 360, the first DTC streaming service ever offered by an American regional sports network, on June 1. The service—which is sold for $ 19.99/month or $ 189.99/year—uses the same infrastructure as the Bally Sports app, and was initially available on smartphones and tablet devices. Due to regional rights restrictions,

9504-409: Was announced that AT&T would instead divest the entirety of WarnerMedia, and contribute it into a joint venture with Discovery Inc. , forming a new company later announced as Warner Bros. Discovery . Discovery announced on April 7, 2022, that Patrick Crumb, president of AT&T Sports Networks, would report to the yet-to-be-named Chairperson for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports; Jeff Zucker departed

9603-538: Was discovered by the network's founders that it would be less expensive to broadcast nationwide on satellite as opposed to regionally through microwave transmission. ESPN formerly served as a college sports syndicator via ESPN Regional Television —formerly branded on-air as ESPN Plus, but later using conference-oriented brands such as SEC Network (not to be confused with the SEC Network cable channel which succeeded it), and Big East Network. The SEC Network package

9702-498: Was initially established by Sinclair Broadcast Group , with additional equity funding from Allen Media Group . After the takeover, Diamond sold naming rights to the channels to casino operator in Bally's Corporation , resulting in their relaunch as Bally Sports on March 31, 2021. In 2023, amid the impact of cord-cutting and other upheavals in the market, Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . As part of

9801-411: Was required to divest them by U.S. Department of Justice as a condition of their own acquisition of 21st Century Fox . The channel group was renamed Bally Sports on March 31, 2021, as part of a naming rights agreement with casino operator Bally's Corporation . On February 15, 2023, Diamond Sports Group , the parent company of Bally Sports, failed to make a $ 140M interest payment, instead opting for

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