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104-476: FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group , and operates as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network . The channel, which is a sister network to FanDuel Sports Network Ohio , broadcasts statewide coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughout northern Ohio , including the Cleveland area. FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes

208-596: A CBS O&O ), was purchased by River City Broadcasting in 1993. River City was merged into the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. Sinclair owned Columbus' Fox affiliate, WTTE, but could not keep both stations since the FCC did not allow common ownership of two stations in a single market . Sinclair kept the longer-established WSYX and sold WTTE to Glencairn, Ltd., owned by former Sinclair executive Edwin Edwards. However,

312-443: A watchdog journalism style, long carrying the slogan "On YOUR Side". Since the sale of WBNS-TV to Tegna, WSYX has been in a neck-and-neck race with WCMH-TV as the market leader, dominating in the mornings while being more competitive in other timeslots. During the 1977–83 era, WTVN-TV often passed WCMH for second place behind WBNS, and during 1987–1992, WSYX and WBNS traded second place ratings, both behind then-number one WCMH. Over

416-541: A 10 PM newscast for its other Pittsburgh broadcast property WPGH-TV around the time it took over WSYX. (Those newscasts are now produced by Cox Media Group -owned NBC affiliate WPXI in that market.) As a result, aside from the branding changes, WSYX's newscasts were largely left alone; this is in stark contrast to later acquisitions including WKRC-TV that lined up the newscasts with Sinclair's conservative Republican ideologies and to this day rarely carry Sinclair's must-run programming. Like most local stations during

520-585: 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

624-487: A bulk of the schedule outside of MyNetworkTV programming. For a long time, WSYX-DT2 had been the largest-market subchannel-only MyNetworkTV affiliate, but that all changed on November 17, 2014, when KMOV-DT3 "MyTV St. Louis" signed on. However, WSYX-DT2 remained the largest-market MyNetworkTV affiliate to be paired with another multicast digital network, until January 29, 2019, when the Cleveland market's MyNetworkTV affiliation

728-510: 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

832-441: 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

936-873: A full-time ABC affiliate in 1955, after DuMont closed down its operations. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network . The station was first housed within the Lincoln-LeVeque Tower in Downtown Columbus until 1952, when it moved into a new facility on Harmon Avenue in Franklinton. Channel 6's present home, on Dublin Road near the Columbus–Grandview Heights border, has been in operation since 1977. In March 1953, Picture Waves sold WTVN to Radio Cincinnati, Inc.,

1040-609: 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

1144-535: A huge ratings draw in Ohio in general and specifically Columbus, home of Ohio State University . The station notably aired the Buckeyes' national championship victory in 2002 . WSYX airs pre-game and post-game shows throughout football season on both 6.1 and 6.3. Despite that, WBNS-TV is considered the official "home" station due to its longstanding relationship with Ohio State, and WBNS-TV instead of WSYX airs coach's shows for

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1248-540: A letter to cable and satellite providers saying that it had consolidated the Fox affiliations of stations in markets where it had been on a sister Cunningham or Deerfield-owned station onto Sinclair owned stations, putting those affiliations directly in Sinclair's control. While most markets transitioned on that day, the transition of WTTE-DT1's programming schedule onto WSYX's spectrum would be held off until January 7, as that would be

1352-528: A loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters . WSYX moved its digital signal from channel 48 to channel 28 on October 19, 2019, as part of the FCC's spectrum reallocation process. At times, WTVN-TV/WSYX has served as the default ABC affiliate in several markets. This has included the Zanesville market as a whole (which only has NBC /Fox affiliate WHIZ-TV ),

1456-427: A low-number channel, while others no longer carry any of WTTE's channels. In April 2021, Antenna TV and Stadium swapped channels, with Stadium moving to 6.4 and Antenna TV moving to WTTE-DT2. In August 2006, WSYX launched a new second digital subchannel to carry programming from MyNetworkTV . This channel added programming from This TV in the daytime and overnight hours on November 1, 2008; as of 2011, it takes up

1560-578: A low-priority station under several new ownerships, and WBNS's local ownership ending in 2019 when the Wolfe family sold off the WBNS stations to Tegna , itself troubled by cost-cutting and shareholder turbulence and forced corporate-wide news imaging that discounted WBNS's local legacy. While WCMH-TV generally carries a straight newscast (as is common among Nexstar stations) and WBNS-TV has been more lifestyle-oriented under Tegna ownership, WSYX has traditionally had more of

1664-541: 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

1768-519: 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

1872-549: 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 start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season , SportsTime Ohio was rebranded as Bally Sports Great Lakes , with all other former Fox Sports Networks also rebranded as "Bally Sports" accompanied by a regional description appropriate for each network. The first live sporting event to air on Bally Sports Great Lakes under

1976-599: A payment to the Cleveland Guardians . On April 5, 2023, Major League Baseball , on behalf of the Guardians, filed an emergency motion asking the bankruptcy judge to order Diamond to pay the Guardians fully or give its media rights back to the MLB. Diamond argued that because of cord-cutting the contract rate for the media rights of the teams was too high. A hearing on the matter was set for May 31, 2023. As an interim, on April 19,

2080-533: 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 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,

2184-829: 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

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2288-493: A subsidiary of his Great American Insurance Company. The manner in which the takeover was structured led the FCC to deem it to be an ownership change. As a result, WTVN-TV lost its grandfathered protection and could not be retained by Great American. A group of former Taft Broadcasting shareholders, led by Texas millionaire Robert Bass (who also participated in the hostile takeover), purchased WTVN-TV for their new company, called Anchor Media. The sale closed on August 31, 1987, and

2392-460: 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 the country, but live games and other selected programs are blacked out outside their home markets. Regional sports networks are generally among

2496-510: 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 the rest of the day, these channels show news programs covering local and national sports, magazine and discussion programs relating to

2600-480: 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

2704-481: A vital role in the success the network enjoyed while so many other team facilitated network launches failed across the country. Starting off as rivals with Gannett -owned WKYC providing studio operations for the cable channel, the two networks would soon become corporate sisters, when on December 3, 2012, the Indians announced that it would sell SportsTime Ohio to Fox Sports Ohio parent Fox Entertainment Group . The deal

2808-495: Is Philadelphia 's PRISM which launched in 1976 offering coverage of three of 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

2912-887: 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

3016-463: Is available from most cable providers in Northeast Ohio and select providers in other portions of Ohio (including Columbus ), Northwest Pennsylvania , and extreme Western New York . It is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV , as well as outside Ohio on AT&T U-verse . FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes was launched on March 12, 2006, as SportsTime Ohio ; it was founded by

3120-441: 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

3224-638: Is considered to be the Madison Square Garden Network . An early unnamed version of that network started broadcasting Knicks and Rangers to 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

FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-530: 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

3432-589: 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

3536-638: Is owned by trusts controlled by the Smith family. This situation is one of many that has led to allegations that Cunningham is simply a shell corporation used by Sinclair to circumvent FCC ownership rules. Sinclair would later acquire WKRC-TV in 2012, reuniting the station with WSYX. In 2004, WSYX (along with other ABC affiliates owned by Sinclair, including sister stations WKEF in Dayton [which had recently switched back to ABC from NBC] as well as WCHS-TV which includes parts of Southern Ohio in its viewing area) preempted

3640-477: Is the only one of these stations still affiliated with ABC, the only former Taft station whose ABC affiliation survives that friendship. Following the sale of WCMH-TV by NBC to Media General in 2006 (as well as its subsequent merger with Nexstar Media Group in 2017) as well as WBNS-TV 's 2019 sale to Tegna Inc. , WSYX currently has the longest active ownership history with one owner among Columbus's "Big Three" affiliates. On January 1, 2021, Sinclair quietly sent

3744-753: 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

3848-509: The Action News branding for its newscasts. Following its acquisition, WSYX began to produce newscasts for new sister station WTTE and used the unified branding of News Center . This would be dropped in 2006, with the two stations now using their individual station branding for newscasts, though outside the branding it was established that they were sister stations and used the same on-air talent and reporters. WSYX and WTTE did not participate in

3952-598: 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

4056-643: The Dallas Stars took its media rights to an in-house streaming platform. WSYX WSYX (channel 6) is a television station in Columbus, Ohio , United States, affiliated with ABC and Fox . It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group , which provides certain services to TBD station WTTE (channel 28, owned by Cunningham Broadcasting ) and Chillicothe -licensed CW affiliate WWHO (channel 53, owned by Manhan Media) under separate local marketing agreements (LMAs). However, Sinclair effectively owns WTTE as

4160-528: 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

4264-562: The Fox Sports branding and imagery, but maintained the SportsTime Ohio branding (following the model of FSN's similar secondary channels Sun Sports , SportSouth , and Prime Ticket ). 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 SportsTime Ohio, sister network Fox Sports Ohio, and Fox's 50% stake in

FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-616: The Lima market as a whole (served by NBC affiliate WLIO ), the Ohio portion of the Marietta – Parkersburg market (served by NBC affiliate WTAP-TV ), and the western parts of the Wheeling – Steubenville market (served by WTRF-TV and WTOV-TV ). Over-the-air ABC coverage in Marietta–Parkersburg remains absent even as WTAP-TV owners Gray Television have signed on low-powered stations that air

4472-568: 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 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

4576-720: The New York Rangers and New York Knicks have long co-owned their RSN, MSG ; they also have purchased 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

4680-512: The "Fox 28" schedule was now only available over-the-air through WSYX-DT3 (WTTE would also become the host of WWHO's main CW schedule in ATSC 1.0 format). With the move of the "Fox 28" schedule to WSYX-DT3, it became the largest-market subchannel -only Fox affiliate, surpassing Albuquerque, New Mexico 's KRQE -DT2 for that distinction, along with the largest station by market size holding two affiliations with

4784-479: The "Golden Era" of television, WTVN-TV produced a wide range of live local news and entertainment programs. Earl Green, better known as Channel 6's news anchor and director in the 1970s, began his career at the station as a movie host; Gene Fullen and Sally Flowers also hosted shows during their careers. WTVN-TV also hosted various live bowling shows including Bowling for Dollars and Spare Time hosted by Gene Fullen and Sandy Hare from its in-studio bowling lanes at

4888-672: 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,

4992-623: The Bally banner was the opening-day coverage of the Indians visiting the Tigers on April 1, which was preceded up by the Indians Live pregame show. On February 15, 2023, Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports Great Lakes, 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 . During its bankruptcy, Diamond missed

5096-562: The Big Four networks (also ahead of KRQE). WSYX-DT3 continues to identify as "Fox 28" outside of the change of the call letters for their station identification , though in technicality as WSYX uses physical channel 28, it still properly identifies its channel position. The switch was contractually proper for cable and satellite providers, who continue to carry Fox programming on all of "Fox 28"'s existing low-number channel positions, while WTTE-DT1's carriage now depends on provider; some carry it as

5200-525: The Buckeyes. Since Sinclair's 2019 purchase of the former Fox Sports Networks and subsequent conversion into Bally Sports , WSYX has actively promoted now-sister network Bally Sports Ohio as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew SC , mentioning to viewers during its newscasts when their respective games air on Bally Sports Ohio. In 1953, three television stations owned by Taft Broadcasting Company and Cox Media Group formed

5304-543: 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

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5408-487: The FCC would not allow Sinclair to repurchase WTTE for two major reasons. First, the FCC does not allow duopolies between two of the four highest-rated stations in a single market. Also, the Columbus market, despite its relatively large size, has only seven full-power stations—too few to legally permit a duopoly. Glencairn was renamed Cunningham Broadcasting but is still effectively owned by Sinclair because nearly all of its stock

5512-489: The Guardians announced a new deal with MLB Local Media. It is also the pay-TV outlet of the Cleveland Browns . The network was the primary TV outlet for Cleveland Monsters hockey until 2024, with a new deal with Gray Television and was a secondary broadcaster of Columbus Crew soccer. Regional sports network Some RSNs originated as premium channels. Since the 1990s, they have commonly been distributed through

5616-716: The Harmon Avenue studios. The bowling lanes were not relocated when WTVN-TV moved to its current studio facility at 1261 Dublin Road in 1977. For a short time in 1988, WSYX-TV aired the first-ever locally-produced 10 a.m. live morning talk-entertainment show in Columbus, appropriately called Good Morning Columbus . The half-hour show was hosted by Calvin Sneed, the station's "Six On Your Side" consumer reporter, and Dawn Meadows, formerly of WEWS-TV , Cleveland. Through its affiliation with Fox and its Big Ten Conference rights, WSYX-DT3 airs select Ohio State Buckeyes football games, which are

5720-449: 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

5824-437: The Smith family (Sinclair's founding owners) controlled nearly all of Glencairn's stock. In effect, Sinclair now had a duopoly in Columbus in violation of FCC rules. Sinclair and Glenciarn further circumvented the rules by merging WTTE's operations with those of WSYX under a local marketing agreement, with WSYX as the senior partner. In 2001, after the FCC allowed duopolies, Sinclair tried to acquire Glencairn outright. However,

5928-547: 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

6032-551: The UHF dial. On August 30, 2010, WSYX began broadcasting on UHF channel 48. Like all stations broadcasting on channel 6 prior to the digital switchover, WSYX's audio signal could be heard on 87.75 MHz on the FM band in Columbus and the surrounding areas. As part of the SAFER Act , WSYX kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through

6136-542: The bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond Sports to pay 50% of what the Guardians were owed. On June 1, 2023, after a two day long hearing, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond to pay the Guardians fully within five days. 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 ; on October 18, 2024, Diamond officially announced

6240-703: The broadcasting interests of the Taft family of Cincinnati . The following year, Radio Cincinnati purchased WHKC radio (610 AM) in Columbus from the publishers of the Cleveland Plain Dealer , renaming that station WTVN (AM) and subsequently adding a "-TV" suffix to channel 6's call sign. Radio Cincinnati would later become the Taft Broadcasting Company , and Taft would launch a second radio station in Columbus, WTVN-FM (96.3 FM, now WLVQ ), in April 1960. In

6344-480: 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

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6448-443: The day WWHO would convert to being the market's ATSC 3.0 lighthouse station, and it would be easier for the transition of all the channels being moved or launched to occur then. On that day, Sinclair began simulcasting "Fox 28" programming on WSYX-DT3, while moving Antenna TV to the newly created 6.4. WTTE's main signal would eventually carry Sinclair-owned TBD full-time. The simulcast continued until February 3 at 10 a.m., when

6552-554: 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

6656-572: The early 1970s, Taft's common ownership of WTVN-TV and WKRC-TV (channel 12) in Cincinnati was given protection under a " grandfather clause " by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from its newly enacted " one-to-a-market " rule. The ordinance prohibited television stations with overlapping signals from sharing common ownership while protecting existing instances. WKRC-TV's signal provided at least secondary coverage to much of

6760-429: 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 is centralized and local games are broadcast on TV in

6864-436: The family of Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan , becoming the second regional sports network in the Cleveland area, after Fox Sports Ohio (which launched in February 1989 as SportsChannel Ohio). SportsTime Ohio assumed the regional cable television rights to Major League Baseball games involving the Indians from Fox Sports Ohio, which had served as the exclusive local broadcaster of the Indians from 2002 to 2005, when it

6968-405: The far eastern (WYTV) and northwestern (then-ABC O&O WTVG in Toledo) parts of Ohio were able to view the film. It was later determined that the movie's broadcast was not a violation of FCC regulations. At one point, WTVN-TV/WSYX was one of five ABC affiliates owned by Taft, owing to a longtime friendship between Taft's chairman Hulbert Taft Jr., and then-ABC president Leonard Goldenson . WSYX

7072-399: 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

7176-551: 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

7280-512: 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

7384-480: The last Columbus station to make the upgrade. The WTTE newscasts were included in the switch. In addition, this was the second Sinclair-owned station to launch local newscasts in HD. WSYX was one of Sinclair's first stations it acquired with an established news department, with the company having only dabbled with local news at WPTT in Pittsburgh (now WPNT ) and flagship station WBFF in Baltimore prior to buying River City Broadcasting, though it had just launched

7488-520: The majority of Cunningham's stock is owned by the family of deceased group founder Julian Smith. The three stations share studios on Dublin Road in Grandview Heights (with a Columbus mailing address); WSYX's transmitter is located in the Franklinton section of Columbus. The station began operations on September 29, 1949, as WTVN, Columbus' second television station. At its launch, the station

7592-657: The market are also able to receive WYTV in Youngstown . This gave viewers in the Wheeling–Steubenville market an option to watch ABC programming in pattern, since the only stations in the market (WTRF-TV and WSTV-TV/WTOV-TV) aired ABC programming only in the off-hours, and largely dropped them altogether by the 1980s. (WTOV-TV is now a sister station to WSYX.) That market finally received its own full-time ABC affiliate in 2008, when WTRF-TV launched one on its third digital subchannel, although WSYX remains available on cable in

7696-498: 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

7800-571: 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 the local sports teams they carry, particularly those in Major League Baseball , the National Basketball Association and

7904-1202: The network's Cincinnati sub-feed. However, on June 27, 2018, 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, thus putting SportsTime Ohio and Fox Sports Ohio under common ownership with several Sinclair stations in Ohio, which include WSYX / WTTE / WWHO in Columbus, WKRC-TV / WSTR-TV in Cincinnati, WNWO-TV in Toledo , WKEF / WRGT-TV in Dayton , and WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio . The deal also marked Sinclair's entry into Northeast Ohio , where its nearest existing broadcasting properties are WSYX/WTTE/WWHO, WNWO, WTOV and WPGH-TV / WPNT in Pittsburgh . On November 17, 2020, Sinclair announced an agreement with casino operator Bally's Corporation to serve as

8008-461: 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

8112-598: The new owners renamed the station WSYX that same day. The change was required as FCC rules at the time prohibited TV and radio stations with separate ownership in the same market from retaining the same base callsign. WTVN and WLVQ remained owned by Great American for several years. Anchor Media, who also purchased ABC affiliates WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina (in April 1987) and KOVR in Stockton, California (in January 1989, now

8216-522: The number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest local newscast output among the Columbus market's television stations, though WCMH-TV has the largest output airing on one channel. Historically, WSYX had been third among Columbus's television news operations, with WBNS the longtime market leader and WCMH having NBC's strength in the 80s into the 2000s (and NBC ownership in-between) to keep up with WBNS. WSYX has begun to challenge WBNS as Sinclair's ownership has become steady, with WCMH ending up

8320-522: The other networks (Fox affiliate WOVA-LD and CBS affiliate WIYE-LD ), so WSYX and sister station WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia , both serve as default affiliates, with WSYX serving the Ohio side of the market. In Wheeling–Steubenville, WSYX covered areas that couldn't receive WTAE-TV from Pittsburgh , which served as the de facto affiliate in most of that market, since it had to short-space its analog signal to protect WCMH-TV; some viewers in

8424-712: 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

8528-548: 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,

8632-422: 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

8736-433: 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 Great Lakes held the exclusive regional cable television rights to the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball from 2006 to 2024, when

8840-489: 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

8944-464: 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

9048-469: The short-lived "Tri-State Network" to compete with entertainment programming produced by Crosley Broadcasting Corporation on Crosley television stations in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton broadcast markets. On January 11, 1954, a new Wendy Barrie Show premiered from the studios of WHIO-TV in Dayton, simulcast on Taft Broadcasting's WKRC-TV in Cincinnati and WTVN (now WSYX) in Columbus. Barrie's contract

9152-436: The southern portion of the Columbus market. One of WTVN-TV's competitors, Crosley/ Avco -owned WLWC (channel 4, now WCMH-TV ), was given grandfathered protection through a similar situation with sister stations in Dayton and Cincinnati . In 1987, Cincinnati financier (and future Cincinnati Reds owner) Carl Lindner acquired a majority of Taft's shares in a hostile takeover, renaming the company Great American Broadcasting,

9256-568: The special showing of Saving Private Ryan in late 2004 due to concerns that the FCC would impose a fine on them if they had aired the World War II -set movie due to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy earlier that year. As ABC affiliates owned by the E. W. Scripps Company also preempted the film (including WEWS-TV in Cleveland and WCPO-TV in Cincinnati), only viewers in

9360-546: The swap in 2004.) WDTN's affiliation with ABC lessened the need for channel 6 to air in Lima, as the channel 2 signal traveled greater distances in the analog era. Channel 6's importance lessened even more when WTVG swapped affiliations with WNWO-TV in 1995 as part of the 1994–96 United States broadcast television realignment , which didn't impact Columbus at all. Today, Lima has its own ABC affiliate on low-powered WOHL-CD , owned and operated by WLIO parent Block Communications . Unlike

9464-537: 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

9568-593: 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

9672-538: The western parts of the market. Until 1980, channel 6 was the closest VHF-signaled ABC affiliate to Lima, as the UHF-signaled WKEF in Dayton and WDHO-TV in Toledo (now WNWO-TV ) were both too weak to reach Lima. (Both are now sister stations to WSYX.) However, that year WDTN swapped affiliations with WKEF due to WKEF's weak signal even in Dayton as well as multiple preemptions by that station. (Both stations would reverse

9776-663: The wider implementation of Sinclair's now-defunct, controversial News Central format for its newscasts but did air The Point , a one-minute conservative political commentary, that was also controversial and a requirement of all Sinclair-owned stations with newscasts until the series was discontinued in December 2006. WSYX does provides weather forecasts to sister St. Louis ABC affiliate KDNL-TV for their Good Morning America cut-ins; KDNL sub-contracts their news/public affairs programming to an outside provider. WSYX launched their newscasts in high definition on May 10, 2008, making them

9880-492: The years, the station has featured high-profile Columbus anchors including Tom Ryan (who moved from WBNS to WTVN in 1979), Pat Lalama, I. J. Hudson, Michelle Gailiun, Lou Forrest (known as Louis de la Foret on CNN Headline News ), Deborah Countiss, Bob Hetherington, Charlene Brown, and Liz Claman (now an anchor on Fox Business Network ) and Carol Costello (former CNN news anchor) were also one time anchor/reporters on WSYX. Prior to Sinclair's acquisition of WSYX, channel 6 used

9984-690: 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

10088-409: 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

10192-532: 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

10296-404: Was finalized four weeks later on December 28. Fox retained SportsTime Ohio's existing staff despite coming under common ownership with Fox Sports Ohio, with Katie Witham becoming a traveling reporter with the team. Now under new ownership, the network became a member of Fox Sports Networks . In April 2013, at the beginning of the 2013 Major League Baseball season , SportsTime Ohio transitioned to

10400-411: Was majority-owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation (a New York-based company owned by Dolan's brother, Charles ) until an asset trade with then-Fox Sports Net parent News Corporation who also owned 20th Century Fox and Fox News . Jim Liberatore, former President of Fox Sports owned Speed Channel helped start the network and served as its first President. His knowledge of the cable industry served

10504-520: Was owned by Picture Waves Inc., a company controlled by Toledo -based attorney and investor Edward Lamb ; Lamb also owned WICU-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania , which went on the air six months earlier. WTVN was an affiliate of the DuMont Television Network at its inception, and was one of only three primary affiliates of that network; it also carried a secondary affiliation with ABC. Channel 6 became

10608-411: 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

10712-567: Was terminated in October 1954. The station's signal is multiplexed : WSYX shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 6, on June 12, 2009, at 11:59 p.m., as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television . The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition VHF channel 13, using virtual channel 6. On December 11, 2009, the FCC issued a Report & Order granting WSYX's petition to move from VHF channel 13 to UHF channel 48 to improve signal strength and to be consistent with other Columbus stations on

10816-439: Was transferred from WUAB (which relaunched as a CW -affiliated station) to a late-night offering with MeTV on WOIO-DT2 . WSYX presently broadcasts 38 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday and four hours each on Saturdays and Sundays) on its main signal, as well as 25 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours on WSYX-DT3 for a total of 63 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours of locally produced newscasts; in regards to

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