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123-471: Fox Sports Networks ( FSN ), formerly known as Fox Sports Net , was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation , the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019, following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox . A condition of that acquisition imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice required Disney to sell

246-525: A Big 12 or SEC team against a lesser-known opponent. The pay-per-view coverage of SEC games ended upon the launch of the SEC Network in 2014, and most Big 12 schools phased out pay-per-view telecasts around this time as well. Oklahoma was the last school to feature select games on pay-per-view, doing so through 2021. In February 2008, FSN launched a public service initiative called "Americans in Focus", with

369-566: A boxing match in which former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield defeated Fres Oquendo in a unanimous decision at the Alamodome in San Antonio , Texas. The fight was also streamed free of charge on the FoxSports.com website outside the United States. FSN also provided pay-per-view coverage of select college football games. These were usually early-season games, and would feature either

492-402: 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

615-585: 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

738-1080: A 50% interest in Fox Sports New England (with Comcast retaining its existing 50% stake); Fox and Cablevision, however, retained joint ownership of Fox Sports Bay Area. Fox Sports Chicago ceased operations in June 2006, after losing the regional cable television rights to local professional teams (including the Chicago Bulls , Blackhawks , Cubs and White Sox ) two years earlier to the newly launched Comcast SportsNet Chicago . On December 22, 2006, News Corporation sold its interest in four Fox Sports regional networks— FSN Utah , FSN Pittsburgh , FSN Northwest and FSN Rocky Mountain —as well as its 38.5% ownership stake in satellite provider DirecTV to Liberty Media for $ 550 million in cash and stock, in exchange for Liberty's 16.3% stake in News Corporation. On May 4, 2009, DirecTV Group Inc. announced it would become

861-598: A 50% ownership interest in the company's Prime Sports affiliates Liberty in turn gained a stake in Fox's year-old cable channel FX . On July 3, 1996, News Corporation and Liberty Media/TCI 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. The first new network to come out of

984-510: 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

1107-526: A clause imposed on the original sale, Yankee Global Enterprises had a right of first refusal to purchase Fox's share in YES Network . Allen & Company and JPMorgan Chase , who were handling the FSN sale for Disney, asked that all bids include YES in their offers. Fox did not bid for the channels in the first round. On November 20, 2018, Amazon, Sinclair and CVC jointly, Apollo, KKR and Tegna officially bid for

1230-556: A complaint with the Department of Justice and FCC, accusing Charter Communications of attempting to "undermine" its bid by threatening to not carry the channels if it won the auction. Liberty Media owner John Malone has an ownership stake in Charter; the company denied Big3's allegations. The final round of bids were due on April 15, 2019, with bids having been in excess of $ 10 billion or higher. Liberty and MLB were reported to have partnered on

1353-441: 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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1476-426: A few Pac-12 matches from other conference-sanctioned sports (such as baseball and volleyball). Besides play-by-play game rights, FSN provided a common set of programming that was available to all its regional sports networks, most notably The Dan Patrick Show , The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Final Score ( TBDSSP and Final Score eventually ceased production, while The Dan Patrick Show later moved to

1599-609: 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

1722-459: A joint bid, Big3's bid contained $ 6.5 billion in debt and only $ 3 billion in outside funding, while Sinclair had re-entered contention in a joint bid with Apollo. On April 26 and May 2, respectively, Fox Business Network and The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinclair was nearing an agreement to purchase the networks for $ 10 billion. On May 3, Sinclair officially announced that via its subsidiary Diamond Sports Group, it had agreed to purchase

1845-541: 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

1968-814: A minority owner in both networks, wanted to acquire them outright and integrate the two networks into Fox Sports Net. Home Team Sports had been affiliated with FSN since 1996. The company filed a lawsuit against Comcast ten days later on July 21, in an attempt to block the sale. On September 7, 2000, as part of a settlement between the two companies, Comcast traded its equity interest in Midwest Sports Channel (which became Fox Sports Net North ) to News Corporation in exchange for exclusive ownership of Home Team Sports (which subsequently joined competing regional sports network Comcast SportsNet as Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, now NBC Sports Washington ). In September 2004, Fox Sports Net became known simply as "FSN"; however,

2091-519: 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

2214-471: A new naming rights partner for the FSN channels. Sinclair announced the new Bally Sports branding for the channels on January 27, 2021. On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the 2021 Major League Baseball season , Fox Sports South and sister network Fox Sports Southeast was rebranded as Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast , resulting in 18 other Regional Sports Networks renamed Bally Sports in their respective regions. The first live sporting event on

2337-816: A part of Liberty's entertainment unit, with plans to spin off certain properties into a separate company under the DirecTV name, which would operate the four acquired FSN-affiliated networks through DirecTV Sports Networks , a new division formed on November 19, 2009, upon the spin-off's completion. On April 30, 2007, Cablevision sold its 50% interests in the New England and Bay Area networks to Comcast for $ 570 million; both networks became part of Comcast SportsNet , with FSN New England relaunching as Comcast SportsNet New England in July 2007 and FSN Bay Area relaunching as Comcast SportsNet Bay Area March 2008. Despite Cablevision's sale of

2460-460: A particular team's designated market area ), along with regional and national sports discussion, documentary and analysis programs. Depending on their individual team rights, some Fox Sports Networks maintained overflow feeds available via subscription television providers in their home markets, which provided alternate programming when not used to carry game broadcasts that the main feed could not carry due to scheduling conflicts. Fox Sports Networks

2583-416: A production hub for the regional sports reports broadcast on other FSN networks, often utilizing the same anchors (with Terry Chick being the most prominent). The Southern Sports Report was discontinued in 2005; around the same time, FSN South began producing a similar program, Around The South , which focused on sports stories across the region. In 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN South , through

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2706-574: A result of a number of Fox Sports Net affiliates being rebranded or realigned with other RSN chains (including FSN New England and FSN Bay Area , which both became part of Comcast SportsNet; FSN New York's relaunch as MSG Plus , the sister to MSG Network ; and the eventual relaunch of several FSN affiliates acquired by DirecTV Sports Networks under the Root Sports brand); however, these networks later reverted to utilizing Fox branding on their FSN-syndicated broadcasts. In addition to regional programming,

2829-503: 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

2952-876: 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

3075-679: A subsidiary of AT&T when AT&T acquired TCI earlier that year) sold its interest in Fox Sports Net and FX to News Corp. The sale was part of a complex transaction involving a stock swap that gave Liberty an 8% interest in News Corp, making it the second largest shareholder. News Corp became the sole owner of Fox Sports Net. On July 11, 2000, Comcast purchased a majority interest in the Minneapolis -based Midwest Sports Channel and Baltimore -based Home Team Sports from Viacom . News Corporation,

3198-466: A two-hour program known as Fox Sports News , the running time of National Sports Report was steadily cut back (eventually dwindling to 30 minutes) as its ratings declined and the cost of producing the program increased. FSN hired popular former SportsCenter anchor Keith Olbermann and used him to promote the show heavily; ratings continued to slide (especially as Best Damn Sports Show Period 's popularity increased), however, leading Fox Sports to cancel

3321-480: 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

3444-887: 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

3567-546: Is available on cable providers throughout Alabama , Georgia , Kentucky , Mississippi , North Carolina , South Carolina and Tennessee . It is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV . FanDuel Sports Network South was originally launched on August 29, 1990, as SportSouth , under the ownership of the Turner Broadcasting System , in conjunction with business partners Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) and Scripps-Howard Broadcasting . At its launch,

3690-428: 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 the source content for out-of-market sports packages . During

3813-441: 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

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3936-530: 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

4059-589: 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

4182-755: Is not available. In these areas all games are shown on FanDuel Sports Network South or an alternate channel. FanDuel Sports Network South holds the exclusive regional cable television rights to the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball franchise; the Atlanta Hawks , Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA ; and the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators of the NHL . The channel also provides coverage of men's college basketball from

4305-581: The Sun-Sentinel reported that Fox Sports Florida was to be rebranded "within the next few months". Due to carriage disputes , Dish Network and Sling TV dropped Fox Sports Networks in July 2019. FuboTV dropped the channels in January 2020, and YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV followed in October 2020. On November 4, 2020, Sinclair took a $ 4.23 billion write-down on the FSN purchase. On November 17, 2020, it

4428-753: 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

4551-595: The Chicago Cubs . Over 40 parties were reported to have expressed interest, including Silver Lake Partners and William Morris Endeavor in a joint deal, Charter Communications , Discovery (who operates the Eurosport networks in Europe), Amazon , Apollo Global Management , The Blackstone Group , CVC Capital Partners , Ice Cube and LL Cool J , KKR , Nexstar Media Group , Providence Equity Partners and YouTube . Due to

4674-598: 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

4797-641: The Dallas Stars took its media rights to an in-house streaming platform. Fox Sports South FanDuel Sports Network South is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group , and operates as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network . The network carries regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events from across the Southern United States , along with other sporting events and programming from FanDuel Sports Network and FanDuel TV . FanDuel Sports Network South

4920-579: The FanDuel Sports Network ; on October 18, 2024, Diamond officially announced the rebranding, which will take effect October 21. Under the agreement, FanDuel will have 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. FanDuel Sports Network South's coverage area includes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and most of Kentucky. It is, by far,

5043-528: 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

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5166-521: The Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN . On May 3, 2019, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (through their joint venture, Diamond Holdings ) bought Fox Sports Networks from The Walt Disney Company for $ 10.6 billion. The deal closed on August 22, 2019. On November 17, 2020, Sinclair announced an agreement with casino operator Bally's Corporation to serve as

5289-488: The NBC Sports Network ). Until August 2012, in some of regions served by that RSN, member channels of the competing Comcast SportsNet (as mentioned above) carried FSN programming through broadcast agreements with Fox Sports. Fox Sports Networks' national sports telecasts were formerly marketed under the "FSN" brand; these national programs began to use more generic branding with fewer references to FSN or Fox in 2008, as

5412-714: The National Sports Report , which aired its last edition in February 2002. In some markets, FSN aired the Regional Sports Report (whose headline title was usually customized with the name of the region in which the particular program was broadcast, such as the Midwest Sports Report or Detroit Sports Report ), a companion news program focusing primarily on regional sports as well as highlights and news on other sports teams that debuted in 2000 to complement

5535-570: The National Sports Report ; many of the regional reports were cancelled in 2002 due to increasing costs of producing the individual programs. Most of the national studio programming seen on FSN originated from the Fox Television Center in Hollywood, California ; in 1998, operations moved to the new Fox Network Center, located on the 20th Century Fox backlot in Century City . Some programming

5658-673: The New York Knicks and New York Rangers professional sports franchises, a deal worth $ 850 million; the deal formed the venture National Sports Partners to run Fox Sports Net's national programming operations. In early 1998, SportsChannel America was integrated into the Fox Sports Net family of networks; SportsChannel Florida, however, remained as the lone SportsChannel America-branded network before it joined FSN as well in 2000 after News Corporation and Cablevision purchased Florida Panthers owner Wayne Huizenga 's controlling interest in that network. In 1999, Liberty Media (which had become

5781-618: The New York metropolitan area co-owned by Yankee Global Enterprises . It was also in that year that FSN/Fox Sports Local relocated its headquarters from the Fox Studio Lot in Los Angeles to Houston, and then re-branded to its current branding. The FSN owned-and-operated networks were spun off along with most of News Corporation's U.S. entertainment properties into 21st Century Fox on July 1, 2013. On January 25, 2014, 21st Century Fox then became

5904-617: The SportsChannel network, which first began operating in 1976 with the launch of the original SportsChannel (now MSG Sportsnet ) in the New York City area and later branched out into channels serving Chicago and Florida; Prime Network , which launched in 1983 with Home Sports Entertainment (now Bally Sports Southwest ) as its charter member network and later branched out onto the West Coast as "Prime Sports"; and SportSouth, an RSN operated by

6027-621: The Turner Broadcasting System . On October 31, 1995, News Corporation , which ten years earlier launched the Fox Broadcasting Company , a general entertainment broadcast network that formed its own sports division in 1994 with the acquisition of the television rights to the National Football Conference of the National Football League , entered into a joint venture with TCI 's Liberty Media , acquiring

6150-437: The spin-off of certain businesses into a new entity ( 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 the concentration of the market that ESPN would hold. Sinclair Broadcast Group

6273-550: The "SportSouth" name formerly used by Fox Sports South. FSN South, which effectively became a sister network to the new SportSouth (which was renamed Fox Sports Southeast in October 2015 ), reverted to the Fox Sports South moniker in 2008. In 2008, SportSouth acquired the partial television rights to the Atlanta Braves , splitting the telecasts with Atlanta independent station WPCH-TV (channel 17), which ceased distributing

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6396-622: 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,

6519-553: The Atlanta market. In July 2013, News Corporation spun off the Fox Sports Networks and most of its other U.S. entertainment properties into 21st Century Fox . 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 South and sister network Fox Sports Southeast. However, on June 27, 2018,

6642-683: The Carolinas and most of Tennessee, Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports Tennessee . Fox Sports considered these feeds as separate networks, which maintained their own sub-sites within the main Fox Sports Local website. These channels were collapsed back into the Bally Sports South name when it launched on March 31, 2021, with a common non-gametime schedule, but the separate feeds otherwise continue. Note: In Kentucky, eastern North Carolina, and parts of Mississippi, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast

6765-664: The Carolinas, parts of Mississippi, and all of Kentucky. In some areas select games from neighboring FanDuel Sports Networks are carried on either FDSN South or an alternate channel. These include games from the St. Louis Cardinals ( FanDuel Sports Network Midwest ), Indiana Pacers ( FanDuel Sports Network Indiana ), Cincinnati Reds ( FanDuel Sports Network Ohio ), and New Orleans Pelicans ( Bally Sports New Orleans [before 2024]). In October 2008, Fox decided to split Fox Sports South into three separate channels to offer more localized sports coverage. It launched separate respective feeds for

6888-543: 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

7011-457: The FCS networks also carry each affiliate's regional sports news programs and non-news-and-event programming (such as coaches shows, team magazines and documentaries). The three networks were, more or less, condensed versions of the 22 FSN-affiliated networks (including Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic), though the channels also showed international events that did not fit within the programming inventories of FSN or Fox Soccer Plus (and prior to 2013,

7134-450: The Fox Sports Networks carried some prime time programming distributed to all of the regional networks (including past and present series such as The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Chris Myers Interviews ). FSN tried to compete with ESPN in regards to original programming, most notably with the National Sports Report , a daily sports news program designed to compete with ESPN's SportsCenter , which debuted on FSN in 1996. Originally

7257-629: The Fox Sports regional networks to broadcast television stations in some of the markets where the aforementioned Comcast SportsNet had dropped coverage. These stations included WLVI (Boston), KICU-TV (San Francisco), WMCN-TV (Philadelphia) and WDCA (Washington, D.C.). Fox Sports Networks also operated Fox College Sports (FCS) , a slate of three digital cable channels (Fox College Sports Atlantic, Fox College Sports Central and Fox College Sports Pacific) featuring programming divided by region (primarily collegiate and high school sports, as well as minor league sports events) from each individual FSN network;

7380-570: The Fox Sports website were discontinued in April 2009. 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 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

7503-402: 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

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7626-547: 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

7749-405: The YES Networks' majority owner by purchasing an additional 31% share of it, increasing the company's ownership interest from 49% to 80%. In September 2013, the network gained the affiliation for FSN's national programming (sharing it with MSG Plus , the former FSN New York) On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced its intention to acquire 21st Century Fox for $ 52.4 billion after

7872-464: The channel held the regional cable television rights to the Atlanta Braves , Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets . Shortly after Turner completed its merger with Time Warner , SportSouth was purchased by News Corporation 's Fox Cable Networks in the winter of 1996. The channel was integrated into the recently formed Fox Sports Net group of regional sports networks, and was officially rebranded as Fox Sports South in January 1997. The channel's name

7995-409: The channel would produce a package of 45 regular season games each year for WPCH. On February 28, 2013, Fox Sports South and SportSouth reached a deal with the Braves to acquire the 45 additional Atlanta Braves games beginning with the 2013 season , ending the team's contract with WPCH-TV and marking the first time in 40 years that the team's game telecasts were not available on broadcast television in

8118-487: 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. Sinclair announced in December 2020 that it planned to launch its own direct-to-consumer Bally's-branded streaming service, including live streaming of its linear sports networks, in 2021. On January 27, 2021, Sinclair announced that

8241-554: The circumstances surrounding the 1997 launch of the original Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia, where Rainbow's regional sports network SportsChannel Philadelphia , and sister premium service PRISM (which offered a mix of sports and movies) were seemingly gutted by Comcast's acquisition of Spectacor —owner of the Philadelphia Flyers —and a stake in the Philadelphia 76ers , with plans to launch their own network, only for Rainbow to join Fox and Liberty, possibly meaning SportsChannel and PRISM would become FSN affiliates instead. Ultimately,

8364-414: 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

8487-480: 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

8610-431: The conference rights to various collegiate sports events. One notable agreement was that with the Pac-12 Conference , in which packages of football and men's basketball regular season games were broadcast across all FSN networks within the regions served by each Pac-12 member university. Fox Sports Networks broadcast the majority of the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament , except the tournament final, as well as

8733-459: 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 the $ 9.42 rate ESPN charges. RSNs justify these high prices by citing demand for

8856-472: The deal for the networks with the sole bidder being the Sinclair/CVC joint venture. It was also reported that the possibility of spinning out the channels as an independent company was also being considered. In February 2019, it was reported that Apollo and Sinclair had dropped out (but with the former seeking a new partner), but that Liberty Media and Major League Baseball had made offers. Later that month, it

8979-554: 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

9102-565: The eve of Major League Baseball's Opening Day . Prime Sports KBL (1995–1996) Fox Sports Pittsburgh (1996–2011) Root Sports Pittsburgh (2011–2017) From its inception in 1997 until July 31, 2012, Comcast maintained an agreement to carry select programming sourced from Fox Sports Net on its six Comcast SportsNet regional networks: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area , Comcast SportsNet California , Comcast SportsNet Chicago , Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic , Comcast SportsNet New England and Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia . This deal stemmed from

9225-453: 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

9348-510: The following listed networks: Fox College Sports also broadcast high school and Independent Women's Football League games, and college magazine and coach's shows. Fox College Sports formerly partnered with Big Ten Network to provide programming. All of the Fox Sports Networks regional affiliates maintained high-definition simulcast feeds presented in 720p (the default resolution format for 21st Century Fox's broadcast and pay television properties). All sports programming broadcast on each of

9471-662: The former name remained in common use until 2010, when "Fox Sports Local" was adopted for use in referencing its regional networks. On February 22, 2005, Fox's then-parent company, News Corporation, acquired full ownership of FSN/Fox Sports Local, following an asset trade with Cablevision Systems Corporation , in which Fox sold its interest in Madison Square Garden and the arena's NBA and NHL team tenants in exchange for acquiring sole ownership of Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Florida. Cablevision simultaneously gained sole ownership of Fox Sports Chicago and Fox Sports New York, and

9594-608: 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

9717-430: The income of its small-market teams. It was also reported that month that Ice Cube and LL Cool J (via Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league Big3 —which had Fox as its initial broadcast partner) were also preparing a bid of around $ 15 billion. Big3 stated that it wanted to expand the channels to include programming covering "broader cultural and political topics" of local interest alongside sports. In April 2019, Big3 filed

9840-565: 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

9963-1033: The largest coverage by area and total market reach of any Bally Sports affiliate. As such, the channel is often separated into several sub-regional feeds for the purposes of adhering to the various professional leagues' home territory rules. For example, Memphis Grizzlies games are only seen in Tennessee, most of Kentucky, northern Mississippi and northern Alabama. Nashville Predators games are available in those markets plus Georgia. Meanwhile, Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Hurricanes games are only seen in North and South Carolina. Neither team's games are seen elsewhere within FanDuel Sports Network South's coverage area, although Predators games are occasionally rebroadcast in North Carolina. The Atlanta Hawks also have restrictions preventing games from being carried in most of

10086-568: The latter's now-defunct parent Fox Soccer ), such as the Commonwealth Games , World University Games and the FINA World Swimming Championships . The three FCS channels offered FSN feeds from the following channels, including live Big 12 Conference football, Pac-12 Conference football and basketball and Atlantic Coast Conference basketball games. The channels also rebroadcast shows originally produced by and shown on

10209-607: 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

10332-498: 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

10455-684: The nation's largest media market (Cablevision's SportsChannel would not merge into Fox Sports until the following year). To overcome this obstacle, Fox Sports Net paid WBIS-TV $ 30 million to broadcast games and nightly news shows for the next five years. WBIS-TV itself was a new station that launched on July 1, 1996, when Dow Jones & Company and ITT Corporation purchased it from the City of New York . The Fox Sports programming complimented its "S+" format which combined sports programming and business news. From September 2012 to September 2013, Fox syndicated select college football and basketball games produced by

10578-508: The network. It was also reported that a Sinclair/CVC joint venture was the leading bidder. In December 2018, it was reported that due to the low bids, there was the possibility that the networks could be sold individually instead of as a single group, and that the banks were in talks with those who made partial bids, such as Amazon (who only bid for the YES Network) and Charter (who only bid for Fox Sports South). Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad

10701-410: The networks (including most team-related analysis and discussion programs, and non-event amateur sports programs) was broadcast in a format optimized for 16:9 widescreen displays, with graphics framed within a widescreen safe area rather than the 4:3 safe area, intended to be shown in a letterboxed format for standard definition viewers. The programming strategy adopted by most of the Fox Sports Networks

10824-555: The networks as leverage for carriage agreements for its broadcast television stations. The sale was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks would continue 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. In November 2019,

10947-410: 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 the company and serve as a "content partner". Three senators ( Cory Booker , Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren ) called for the sale to be reviewed by the Department of Justice, citing concerns over Sinclair's political views , and that it could use

11070-461: 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

11193-419: The networks were rebranded as Bally Sports , ending the Fox Sports Networks branding after 25 years. Each of the channels in the group carried regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional, collegiate and high school sports teams (with broadcasts typically exclusive to each individual channel, although some were shown on multiple FSN channels or syndicated to a local broadcast station within

11316-436: The networks would be rebranded as Bally Sports with Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports Tennessee discontinued and their sports programming dispersed to the Bally Sports South and Southeast channels. To better reflect their target markets, Prime Ticket and SportsTime Ohio were rebranded as Bally Sports SoCal and Bally Sports Great Lakes, respectively. In March 2021, Sinclair revealed that the relaunch would occur on March 31,

11439-486: The networks' de-emphasis of the Fox Sports Net brand. On February 23, 2006, News Corporation purchased the general entertainment cable channel Turner South from the Turner Broadcasting System for $ 375 million. After the deal was completed, the channel dropped all remaining entertainment programming and converted into a sports-exclusive channel as it became part of the Fox Sports Networks group, adopting

11562-458: The networks, the channels continued to use "Fox Sports Net/National Sports Partners" in its copyright tag until 2008 (the copyright used has since changed to "National Sports Programming"). On April 1, 2011, DirecTV Sports Networks rebranded its FSN regional affiliates under the Root Sports brand. In 2012, News Corporation acquired a 49% stake in the YES Network , the regional sports network in

11685-461: 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

11808-712: 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

11931-575: The partnership was Fox Sports Arizona which launched on September 7, 1996, nearly two months before the existing networks would be rebranded. That same year, Fox purchased SportSouth from Turner, and rebranded that network as Fox Sports South in January 1997. On June 30, 1997, the Fox/Liberty joint venture purchased a 40% interest in Cablevision / NBC 's sports properties including the SportsChannel America networks, Madison Square Garden , and

12054-966: The potential issues were settled in a deal that saw PRISM and SportsChannel's local coverage move to Comcast SportsNet, which would then become an FSN affiliate, while PRISM was replaced by Liberty's premium movie network Starz! . Most of Fox Sports Networks' other programming was later carried in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. markets on MASN2. Select games were also shown on Cox Communications local origination channels (later branded YurView ), mostly in Rhode Island and Virginia. The Cox networks were exclusive to their cable systems. At least two times in its history Fox Sports Net, partnered with broadcast TV stations to fill coverage gaps in markets where it did not have an affiliated regional sports network. Upon its launch, Fox Sports Net did not have an outlet in New York,

12177-501: 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,

12300-422: 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

12423-510: The regional network was the opening-day coverage of the Braves visiting the Phillies on April 1. The game was preceded by the "Braves Live" pregame show. On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy . 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

12546-509: The regional networks by June 18, 2019, ninety days after the completion of its acquisition. Disney subsequently agreed to sell the networks (excluding the YES Network , being reacquired by Yankee Global Enterprises ) to Sinclair; the transaction was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks continued to use the Fox Sports name only under a transitional license agreement while rebranding options were explored. A rebranding cross-partnership with Bally's Corporation took effect on March 31, 2021, and

12669-489: 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

12792-447: 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 the United States, DirecTV offers all regional sports networks to all subscribers across

12915-464: 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

13038-771: 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

13161-469: The sponsorship support of Farmers Insurance . This initiative consists of one-minute vignettes profiling non- white persons, with segments airing on the FSN networks in February 2008 and 2009 during Black History Month , from September 15 to October 15, 2008, for Hispanic Heritage Month and in March 2009 for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month . The Americans in Focus vignettes and the companion sub-site on

13284-468: The station's Braves telecasts nationally after its separation from its companion superstation feed TBS (which became a conventional cable network) in October 2007. After Turner turned over the operations of WPCH to the Meredith Corporation under a local marketing agreement in 2011, production of the Braves telecasts was transferred from Turner Sports to Fox Sports South, in a deal in which

13407-537: 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

13530-654: 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

13653-595: The teams that maintained rights with the individual network. In some markets, FSN competed directly with other regional sports networks for the broadcast rights to team-specific programming. FSN networks also purchased shows or broker time slots for sports and outdoors programming from outside producers in their region to fill out their schedule further, with Fox Sports purchasing additional programming for national airing. Finally, low-trafficked late night and early morning timeslots were programmed locally with paid programming . Also, FSN competed directly with ESPN in acquiring

13776-690: 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

13899-614: Was amended to "Fox Sports Net South" in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner). In 2002, Fox Sports South began producing the Southern Sports Report from its Midtown Atlanta studios, as part of the collective FSN networks' expansion of "regional sports reports" to complement the National Sports Report , both formatted as daily news programs focusing on sports news and highlights. The Atlanta studios served as

14022-409: 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

14145-479: 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

14268-496: Was headquartered in Houston , Texas, with master control facilities based in both Houston and Los Angeles; FSN also maintained production facilities at Stage 19 at Universal Studios Florida (which formerly served as home of Nickelodeon Studios until its closure in 2005). At the dawn of the cable television era, many regional sports networks (RSNs) vied to compete with the largest national sports network, ESPN . The most notable were

14391-475: Was instead produced from the FSN headquarters in the Westwood district. In addition, FSN aired an extensive lineup of poker shows, including Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and MansionPoker.net PokerDome Challenge . The World Poker Tour began broadcasting on FSN with its seventh season. It recently concluded airing its 15th season. FSN distributed its first pay-per-view event on November 10, 2006,

14514-399: 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 include Stadium —a national sports network distributed via over-the-air digital television and internet streaming, Tennis Channel , as well as Marquee Sports Network , a joint venture with

14637-417: 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 a 10-year deal. The agreement included integration of Bally's content on

14760-583: Was reported that Pohlad and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores (via his private equity firm Platinum Equity ) had joined the Liberty Media bid. On March 8, 2019, it was reported that the Yankees had reached a deal to re-purchase Fox's share in the YES Network for $ 3.5 billion, with Sinclair, Amazon and The Blackstone Group holding minority shares. MLB also confirmed a $ 10 billion bid, seeking to use them to bolster

14883-437: Was reportedly interested in his team's broadcaster Fox Sports North. Discovery CEO David Zaslav stated that the company had considered a bid, but that regional sports networks were a "very treacherous market". In a January 2019 SEC filing, Fox Corporation stated that it no longer had any plans to bid for the channels. On January 11, 2019 CNBC reported that Apollo, Blackstone, CVC and other bidders except Sinclair backed out of

15006-411: 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

15129-561: Was to acquire the play-by-play broadcast rights to major sports teams in their regional market. This did not include NFL games, since the league's contracts require all games to be aired on broadcast television in each participating team's local markets. Therefore, FSN focused on other major professional leagues, like the MLB, NHL, NBA and WNBA. In addition to local play-by-play coverage, the FSN networks also broadcast and produced pre-game shows , post-game shows and weekly "magazine" shows centered on

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