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FanDuel Sports Network Ohio

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FanDuel Sports Network Ohio
TypeRegional sports network
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaOhio
Indiana
Kentucky
Northwest Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Southwest New York
Nationwide (via satellite)
NetworkFanDuel Sports Network
HeadquartersCleveland, Ohio
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format720p (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerDiamond Sports Group
ParentSinclair Broadcast Group & Entertainment Studios Networks
Sister channelsFanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes
History
LaunchedFebruary 9, 1989 (1989-02-09)
Former namesSportsChannel Ohio (1989–1998)
Fox Sports Ohio (1998–1999, 2008–2021)
Fox Sports Net Ohio (1999–2004)
FSN Ohio (2004–2008)
Bally Sports Ohio (2021–2024)
Links
Websitefanduelsportsnetwork.com
Availability
Streaming media
FanDuel Sports Network appwww.www.fanduelsportsnetwork.com/
(U.S. cable internet subscribers only; requires login from participating providers to stream content; some events may not be available due to league rights restrictions)
DirecTV StreamInternet Protocol television
FuboTVInternet Protocol television

FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (formerly Bally Sports Ohio) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group as part of the FanDuel Sports Network chain.

The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Cleveland and Cincinnati, which are broadcast on separate programming feeds, as well as Columbus.

FanDuel Sports Network Ohio is available on cable providers (plus U-Verse and DirecTV) throughout Ohio, as well as parts of Indiana, Kentucky, northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Tennessee, border communities of West Virginia, and extreme southwestern New York; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

History

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Former logo

The channel originally launched on February 9, 1989, as SportsChannel Ohio. It launched as an affiliate of SportsChannel, a slate of regional sports networks operated as a joint venture between Cablevision and NBC. SportsChannel Ohio initially held the broadcast games from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Indians. The channel also aired select Cincinnati Reds games produced by SportsChannel Cincinnati, Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball and football games, and Ohio State Buckeyes sporting events (with the exception of football and basketball).[1]

In 1997, News Corporation and Liberty Media purchased a 40% interest in Cablevision's sports properties including the SportsChannel America networks (as well as Madison Square Garden and its NBA and NHL team tenants, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers) in a deal worth $850 million, forming the venture National Sports Partners to run the owned-and-operated regional networks.[2][3] As part of a gradual rebranding of the SportsChannel networks that began that month, SportsChannel Ohio was rebranded as Fox Sports Ohio in January 1998.

The channel was then rebranded as Fox Sports Net Ohio in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Ohio, through the networks' de-emphasis of the brand.

In February 2005, News Corporation (which spun off most of its entertainment properties into 21st Century Fox in July 2013) acquired Cablevision's ownership stakes in Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Florida, following an asset trade in which Fox sold its interest in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks and the Rangers, to Cablevision, in exchange for acquiring sole ownership of the two networks. The channel reverted to the Fox Sports Ohio moniker in 2008

On December 14, 2017, as part of a merger between both companies, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire all 22 regional Fox Sports networks from 21st Century Fox, including Fox Sports Ohio, sister network SportsTime Ohio, and Fox's 50% stake in the network's Cincinnati sub-feed. However, on June 27, 2018, the Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN.[4] On May 3, 2019, it was announced that Diamond Sports Group (a partnership between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group) would acquire the channels as part of an agreement with Disney.[5][6]

The sale was completed on August 23, 2019.[7] The network continued to operate under the Fox Sports name until March 31, 2021, when they were relaunched as Bally Sports as part of a sponsorship deal between Diamond and casino operator Bally's Corporation.[8][9][10]

2010s logo as Fox Sports Ohio

On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[11] On October 21, 2024, the channel was rebranded as "FanDuel Sports Network" as part of a new agreement between Diamond and FanDuel Group.[12][13][14][15]

Former Logo

Feeds

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The network operates regional feeds for the Cleveland and Cincinnati markets, both branded as Bally Sports Ohio (but with the latter feed disambiguated in some electronic program guides and online television listings services as "Bally Sports Cincinnati"), which broadcast different events depending on the market. This arrangement can cause event conflicts in the Columbus market, which is located between Cincinnati and Cleveland. In the event of conflicting events between the two regional feeds (typically between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Blue Jackets and Cincinnati Reds, and the Reds and Cavaliers), cable providers in Central Ohio will carry the other game on an alternate channel.

Programming

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FanDuel Sports Network Ohio holds the exclusive regional pay television rights to the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers (since 1990) and the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets (since 2000). The channel also carries a select number of college basketball games involving the University of Dayton and Northern Kentucky University.[16][17] The network formerly held the local rights to college basketball games featuring Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati through the 2019-20 season.

The channel formerly broadcast Cleveland Indians games from the network's launch as SportsChannel Ohio, until Fox Sports Ohio lost the rights as a result of the team starting eventual sister network SportsTime Ohio in March 2006. Despite this move, Reds games continued to be blacked out in most of Northeast Ohio, the designated market area of the now-Guardians. When Reds games air in the rest of Ohio, the Cleveland feed airs generic national Fox Sports Networks programming unless a local Cleveland event is scheduled. Although Fox Sports Ohio and STO came under common ownership following Fox's purchase of the latter in 2012, Bally Sports Ohio does not share broadcast rights to any sporting events with Bally Sports Great Lakes and vice versa (unlike arrangements that exist between Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast, and Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Sun), with both networks maintaining their own respective team television contracts. From 2019 to 2021, Columbus Crew games were split between Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio, although those telecasts were blacked out in the Cincinnati area due to the presence of FC Cincinnati.

On October 19, 2016, Fox Sports and the Reds announced an extension of their broadcast agreement to the end of the 2032 season. The deal included the Reds taking an equity stake in the Cincinnati sub-feed of Fox Sports Ohio.[18][19] In November 2024, amid the Diamond Sports bankruptcy, the Reds agreed to exit the contract and would sign with MLB Local Media for the 2025 season instead.[20]

FanDuel Sports Network Ohio was also the broadcaster for the AHL's Cleveland Monsters until 2024 when the Monsters signed a new deal with Gray Television.[21]

Notable on-air staff

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Current

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Cleveland Cavaliers

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Columbus Blue Jackets

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  • Steve Mears – play-by-play
  • Jody Shelley – sideline reporter/color commentary
  • Dave Maetzold - in-game/locker room reporter
  • Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre - pregame/intermission/postgame (Blue Jackets Live) co-host
  • Brian Giesenschlag – pregame/intermission/postgame (Blue Jackets Live) co-host

College sports

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Former staff

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Cincinnati Reds

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  • John Sadak - play-by-play
  • Chris Welsh – primary color commentary/fill in co-host Reds Live
  • Jeff Brantley – color commentary (select games)
  • Barry Larkin – color commentary (home games)
  • Jim Day – sideline reporter/Alternative play by play
  • Brian Giesenschlag – co-host Reds Live
  • Sam LeCure – co-host Reds Live/Cincinnati Reds color commentary (select games)
  • Annie Sabo – Fill in co-host Reds Live

Columbus Crew

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  • Neil Sika – play-by-play[22]
  • Jordan Angeli – color commentary[23]
  • Brett Hiltbrand – sideline reporter/pregame/halftime/postgame host (Crew Live)[24]


References

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  1. ^ "Warner Cable May Drop SportsChannel" – via AccessMyLibrary.
  2. ^ "Fox putting together national Sports Net // Changes ahead for SportsChannel". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. June 24, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  3. ^ John M. Higgins (June 30, 1997). "National net keys regional deal. (Fox Sports, Liberty Media Corp. challenge ESPN with stake in SportsChannel)". Broadcasting & Cable. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  4. ^ "Disney can buy Fox if it sells 22 regional sports networks, Justice Dept. says". USA Today. June 28, 2018.
  5. ^ Palmeri, Christopher; Sakoui, Anousha (May 2, 2019). "Sinclair to Buy Fox Sports Networks From Disney, WSJ Reports". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 3, 2019). "Sinclair Clinches Disney-Regional Sports Networks Deal, Byron Allen Joins as Partner". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  7. ^ Morona, Joey; clevel; .com (August 23, 2019). "Sinclair's purchase of Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio is a done deal". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  8. ^ Balderston, Michael (January 27, 2021). "Sinclair, Bally Reveal Bally Sports Rebrand for RSNs". TVTechnology. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Farewell, Fox Sports West. Hello, Bally Sports". Los Angeles Times. November 19, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  10. ^ Dachman, Jason (March 30, 2021). "How Sinclair Pulled Off the Gargantuan Bally Sports Networks Rebrand Amid the Pandemic". Sports Video Group. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  11. ^ Bouma, Luke (March 14, 2023). "Bally Sports Just Declared Bankruptcy – The Death of RSNs?". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Steinberg, Brian (October 18, 2024). "FanDuel Takes Over Naming Rights to Diamond Sports RSNs". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "Diamond Sports branded as FanDuel in new deal". ESPN.com. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Paul, Tony. "Bally Sports Detroit set to become FanDuel Sports Network; what you need to know". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Randles, Jonathan (October 16, 2024). "Diamond Seeks Approval to Rebrand From Bally Sports to FanDuel". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "NKU Athletics extends partnership with Bally Sports Ohio; Six basketball games to air in 2022-23". Northern Kentucky University. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "Men's Basketball Announces Non-Conference Television Schedule". University of Dayton Athletics. November 22, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Buchanan, Zach (October 19, 2016). "Reds, Fox Sports Ohio extend partnership through 2032". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  19. ^ Buchanan, Zach (October 19, 2016). "Reds, Fox Sports Ohio extend partnership through 2032". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  20. ^ "MLB to take over Reds broadcasts in 2025". Sports Business Journal. November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  21. ^ "Cleveland Monsters Announce First Rock Entertainment Sports Network Game Telecast And Return Of Monsters OT Studio Show". clevelandmonsters.com. Cleveland Monsters. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  22. ^ "Neil Sika | Columbus Crew".[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Jordan Angeli | Columbus Crew". Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  24. ^ "Brett Hiltbrand | Columbus Crew". Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
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