Fox Sports Networks
Fox Sports Networks, formerly known as Fox Sports Net, is the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint-venture company of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in March 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 the regional networks by June 18, 2019, 90 days after the completion of its acquisition. Disney subsequently agreed to sell the networks to Sinclair; the transaction was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks continue to use the Fox Sports name only under a transitional license agreement while rebranding options are explored.
Each of the channels in the group carries regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional, collegiate and high school sports teams, along with regional and national sports discussion, documentary and analysis programs.
Depending on their individual team rights, some Fox Sports Networks maintain overflow feeds available via subscription television providers in their home markets, which may provide alternate programming when not used to carry game broadcasts that the main feed cannot carry due to scheduling conflicts. Fox Sports Networks is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with master control facilities based in both Houston and Los Angeles; FSN also maintains production facilities at Stage 19 at Universal Studios Florida.
History
Beginnings
At the dawn of the cable television era, many regional sports networks vied to compete with the largest national sports network, ESPN. The most notable were the SportsChannel network, which first began operating in 1976 with the launch of the original SportsChannel 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 as its charter member network and later branched out onto the West Coast as "Prime Sports"; and SportSouth, an RSN operated by 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 a 50% ownership interest in the company's Prime Sports affiliates. 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. That same year, Fox purchased SportSouth from Turner and rebranded that network as Fox Sports South.
On June 30, 1997, the Fox/Liberty joint venture purchased a 40% interest in Cablevision's sports properties including the SportsChannel America networks, Madison Square Garden, and 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 the owned-and-operated regional networks. 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.
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, a minority owner in both networks, wanted to acquire them outright and integrate the two networks into Fox Sports Net. 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 to News Corporation in exchange for exclusive ownership of Home Team Sports.
Fox ownership, affiliate realignments
In September 2004, Fox Sports Net became known simply as "FSN"; however 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 a 50% interest in Fox Sports New England ; 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 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 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 the networks, the channels continued to use "Fox Sports Net/National Sports Partners" in its copyright tag until 2008.
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 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 Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles to Houston, Texas, 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 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
Sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group
On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced their intent to acquire 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion after the spin-off of certain businesses into a new entity. While the acquisition was originally slated to include Fox Sports' regional operations, 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 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—an upcoming RSN that will be devoted to 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, Amazon.com Inc., Apollo Global Management, The Blackstone Group, CVC Capital Partners, Ice Cube and LL Cool J, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Nexstar Media Group, Providence Equity Partners, and YouTube. Due to 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 the network. It was also reported that a Sinclair/CVC joint venture was the leading bidder for the FSN network. 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 and Charter. Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad 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 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 that Liberty Media and Major League Baseball had made offers. Later that month, it was reported that Pohlad and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores 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 the income of its small-market teams. It was also reported that month that Ice Cube and LL Cool J 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 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 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 the networks for $10.6 billion, pending regulatory approval. At the same time, it was also revealed that Entertainment Studios would hold an equity stake in the company and serve as a "content partner". Three senators called for the sale to be reviewed by the Department of Justice, citing concerns over Sinclair's history of partisan right-wing political views in the news programming of its local television stations, and that it could use the networks as leverage for carriage agreements for its broadcast television stations.
The sale was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks can 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, 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 followed in February 2020.
Networks
Owned-and-operated
Affiliates
Former networks
Partner services
Comcast SportsNet
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.From September 2012 to September 2013, Fox syndicated select college football games produced by the Fox Sports regional networks to broadcast television stations in some of these markets. Comcast Sports Net Mid-Atlantic resumed airing select Fox Sports-produced ACC games in 2013; however, Fox Sports programming has not returned to any other CSN network., most of Fox Sports Networks' other programming is presently carried in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. markets on MASN2 and in the Boston market on the New England Sports Network, however, Fox Sports does not have distributors for its national RSN programming in the Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco markets.
Fox College Sports (FCS)
Fox Sports Networks also operates Fox College Sports , a slate of three digital cable channels featuring programming divided by region from each individual FSN network; the FCS networks also carry each affiliate's regional sports news programs and non-news-and-event programming. The three networks are, more or less, condensed versions of the 22 FSN-affiliated networks, though the channels also show international events that do not fit within the programming inventories of FSN or Fox Soccer Plus, such as the Commonwealth Games, World University Games and the FINA World Swimming Championships.The three FCS channels offer 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 the following listed networks:
- FCS Atlantic: Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Carolinas, Fox Sports Tennessee, Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Sun, MSG Plus and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh;
- FCS Central: Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports North, Fox Sports Wisconsin, Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox Sports Indiana and Fox Sports Ohio;
- FCS Pacific: Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain and Root Sports Northwest.
High definition
All of the Fox Sports Networks regional affiliates maintain high definition simulcast feeds presented in 720p. All sports programming broadcast on each of the networks is broadcast in a format optimized for 16:9 widescreen displays, with graphics now 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.National programs
Programming strategy
The programming strategy adopted by most of the Fox Sports Networks is to acquire the play-by-play broadcast rights to major sports teams in their regional market. This does 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 focuses 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 produce pre-game shows, post-game shows, and weekly "magazine" shows centered on the teams that maintain rights with the individual network. In some markets, FSN competes directly with other regional sports networks for the broadcast rights to team-specific programming. FSN networks also purchase 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 are programmed locally with paid programming.
Also, FSN has competed directly with ESPN in acquiring the conference rights to various collegiate sports events. One notable agreement is that with the Pac-12 Conference, in which packages of football and men's basketball regular season games are broadcast across all FSN networks within the regions served by each Pac-12 member university. Fox Sports Networks broadcasts the majority of the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, except the tournament final, as well as a few Pac-12 matches from other conference-sanctioned sports.
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. Until August 2012, in some of regions served by that RSN, member channels of the competing Comcast SportsNet 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 a result of a number of Fox Sports Net affiliates being rebranded or realigned with other RSN chains, however these networks have since reverted to utilizing Fox branding on their FSN-syndicated broadcasts.
National prime time programming
In addition to regional programming, the Fox Sports Networks carry some prime time programming distributed to all of the regional networks. FSN has tried to compete with ESPN in regards to original programming, most notably with the Fox Sports National Sports Report, a daily sports news program designed to compete with ESPN's SportsCenter, which debuted on FSN in 1996. Originally a two-hour program known as Fox Sports News, the running time of National Sports Report was steadily cut back 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, however, leading Fox Sports to cancel the National Sports Report, which aired its last edition in February 2002.In some markets, FSN aired the Regional 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 the National Sports Report; many of the regional reports were cancelled in 2002 due to increasing costs of producing the individual programs.
Live national play-by-play
- Big 12 college football and women's college basketball
- Conference USA college football, and men's and women's college basketball
- Pac-12 college football, and men's and women's college basketball
- UEFA Champions League soccer
- UEFA Europa League soccer
- Formula One
Other sports
- Association of Volleyball Professionals
- Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters tennis tournaments
- Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Classic
- Invesco Series QQQ tennis tour
- Red Bull Air Race
Other shows
- Amazing Sports Stories a weekly half-hour re-enactment series illustrating various sports-related human interest stories.
- Boys in the Hall a documentary series, narrated by Tom Brokaw, chronicling notable baseball players.
- Breaking Par a monthly half-hour series that looks at the game of golf through a different lens.
- Destination Polaris A weekly magazine show focusing on all-terrain vehicles made by Polaris Industries, their owners, and what people do with their ATVs. Sponsored by Polaris and runs on the network via a brokered-time agreement.
- In Focus on FSN a half-hour series, hosted by Dick Enberg, taking a look at the impact of a particular sports event, mostly told through still photography.
- Mind, Body & Kickin' Moves – a re-edited version of the British martial arts show Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves.
- NASCAR This Morning – a morning program featuring analysis and news around the NASCAR circuit.
- Totally NASCAR – a daily program featuring news around the NASCAR circuit, interviews and race highlights. Many FSN affiliates now carry Around the Track, a similarly formatted version of the program.
- Toughest Cowboy – a series of weekly competitions in which rodeo cowboys attempt to ride in bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding. Each of those three disciplines is a round in the event, and this show tours arenas throughout the United States.
- Ring of Honor Wrestling – a professional wrestling program featuring matches from the Ring of Honor promotion.
Former programming
- 2Xtreem Motorcycle TV – a renovation series focusing on motorcycle customizing, hosted by four-person team of current and former AMA licensed racers and mechanics. The show remains in production and was offered to FSN and its other networks in a brokered programming arrangement.
- 54321 – a short-lived action sports news and variety program hosted by Leeann Tweeden, Chad Towersey, Kip Williamson and Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña.
- Baseball's Golden Age – a 13-episode documentary series profiling the history of baseball from the 1920s to the 1960s, illustrated partly using archived film footage.
- BCS Breakdown – a preview of the week's top college football games, with analysis on their potential influence on the Bowl Championship Series standings; the program was hosted by Tom Helmer, with Gary Barnett and Petros Papadakis as analysts. The program was created through Fox Sports' acquisition of the television rights to the Bowl Championship Series that ran until the 2011 series.
- The Best Damn Sports Show Period – a late-night panel discussion program featuring analysis of sports headlines and interviews.
- Beyond the Glory – a biographical program focusing on events and notable athletes in sports.
- The Chris Myers Interview – an interview program featuring one-on-one discussions with sports figures, hosted by Chris Myers.
- The Dan Patrick Show – a simulcast of the sports talk radio program hosted by Dan Patrick; the program moved to NBC Sports Network, Root Sports, and the Audience Network in 2012.
- FSN Across America – a newsmagazine program featuring in-depth stories and interviews. Original co-host Carolyn Hughes was released by FSN citing a violation of a morals clause in Hughes's contract following the discovery of her affair with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe in 2004; the show was cancelled shortly afterward.
- The FSN Baseball Report – a daily baseball analysis program aired during the Major League Baseball season.
- FSN Final Score – a half-hour national sports news program strictly focusing on game highlights that ran from July 3, 2006, to 2011; the program was originally anchored by FSN veterans Van Earl Wright, Barry LeBrock and Andrew Siciliano, later joined by newcomers Greg Wolf and Danyelle Sargent.
- FSN Pro Football Preview – a weekly analysis program featuring previews of the week's upcoming National Football League games.
- Goin' Deep – an hour-long newsmagazine series focusing on contentious issues in sports; the program was originally hosted by Joe Buck and later by Chris Myers.
- I, Max – a talk show hosted by Max Kellerman; the program was cancelled due to multiple factors, including Kellerman taking time away from the sports television industry after his brother's murder and creative differences regarding the show's future direction.
- The Last Word – a nightly sports analysis and discussion program originally hosted by Wallace Matthews and Jim Rome, the latter of whom later took over as the program's sole host.
- The Official BCS Ratings Show – The weekly program announcing the current Bowl Championship Series standings ; the program was hosted by Tom Helmer, with Gary Barnett and Petros Papadakis as analysts. The program aired on FSN as a result of Fox Sports' acquisition of the television rights to the Bowl Championship Series – a short-lived variety show that ran for several months in 2001; the program poked fun of host Shaun Alexander's lack of recognition despite his accomplishments.
- Sport Science – a weekly program explaining various athletic skills and techniques through scientific methods, many of which analyzed for the program in a performance laboratory at an airport hangar set up by FSN. The concept then moved to ESPN, where Sports Science is a regular SportsCenter segment with some 'best-of' compilation programs.
- Sports Geniuses – a sports trivia game show, hosted by Matt Vasgersian.
- The Sports List – a daily sports news program featuring a countdown of ten stories based on sports topic, hosted by Summer Sanders.
- TNA iMPACT! – a professional wrestling program featuring matches from the promotion then known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling; the program has since moved to several different networks, and the promotion is now known as Impact Wrestling.
- Totally Football – a weekly football analysis program.
- The Ultimate Fan League – a sports trivia game show, hosted by Bil Dwyer.
- You Gotta See This – a video compilation series featuring unusual and amazing highlights from the world of sports.
Teams by network
| Network | NBA | MLB | NHL | Other |
| Fox Sports Arizona | Phoenix Suns | Arizona Diamondbacks | Arizona Coyotes | Phoenix Mercury |
| Fox Sports Carolinas / Fox Sports Southeast | Charlotte Hornets | – | Carolina Hurricanes | — |
| Fox Sports Detroit | Detroit Pistons | Detroit Tigers | Detroit Red Wings | — |
| Fox Sports Florida | Orlando Magic | Miami Marlins | Florida Panthers | — |
| Fox Sports Indiana | Indiana Pacers | – | – | Indiana Fever |
| Fox Sports Kansas City | – | Kansas City Royals | – | Sporting Kansas City |
| Fox Sports Midwest | – | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis Blues | — |
| Fox Sports New Orleans | New Orleans Pelicans | – | – | — |
| Fox Sports North | Minnesota Timberwolves | Minnesota Twins | Minnesota Wild | Minnesota Lynx Minnesota United FC |
| Fox Sports Ohio | Cleveland Cavaliers | Cincinnati Reds | Columbus Blue Jackets | Columbus Crew SC |
| Fox Sports Oklahoma | Oklahoma City Thunder | – | – | — |
| Fox Sports San Diego | – | San Diego Padres | – | — |
| Fox Sports South / Fox Sports Southeast | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta Braves | – | Atlanta Dream Atlanta United FC |
| Fox Sports Southwest | Dallas Mavericks San Antonio Spurs | Texas Rangers | Dallas Stars | — |
| Fox Sports Sun | Miami Heat | Tampa Bay Rays | Tampa Bay Lightning | — |
| Fox Sports Tennessee / Fox Sports Southeast | Memphis Grizzlies | – | Nashville Predators | — |
| Fox Sports West / Prime Ticket | Los Angeles Clippers | Los Angeles Angels | Los Angeles Kings Anaheim Ducks | — |
| Fox Sports Wisconsin | Milwaukee Bucks | Milwaukee Brewers | Minnesota Wild | Minnesota United FC |
| SportsTime Ohio | – | Cleveland Indians | – | — |
| YES Network | Brooklyn Nets | New York Yankees | – | New York City FC |