In the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate an overwhelming percentage of an RSN's advertising income. During the rest of the day, these stations show other sports and recreation programming. These channels are often the source content for out-of-market packages. Most regional sports networks in the United States are either affiliated with Fox Sports Net or Comcast SportsNet (or both), with supplemental programming from networks such as America One or ESPNEWS. In Canada, Rogers Sportsnet operates four regional sports networks. [edit] Fox Sports Net For years, the default RSN for many markets was owned by Fox Sports Net, but an increasing trend is for the teams whose games make up the lucrative programming to own the RSN themselves. This serves two purposes: First, the teams make more money operating an RSN than they would collecting a licensing fee from, for example, Fox Sports Net. Second, by owning their own RSN, teams that must share revenues with other members of their league can mask its broadcast-related profits. Under the old model, a team collects a large fee for licensing its games to the RSN. That fee would then be disclosed and shared with the other teams in the league. Under the new, team-owned RSN model, the team demands only a nominal fee, so the profits for local broadcasting stay with the team. The name of the networks was shortened to Fox Sports (Region/City) with the start of the 2008 college football season as part of a rebranding effort. [edit] Current Fox Sports Net affiliates The current Fox Sports Net affiliates and the major teams they carry are: - Fox Sports Arizona - carries the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, and Phoenix Suns.
- Fox Sports Carolinas - carries the Carolina Hurricanes and Charlotte Bobcats.
- Fox Sports Detroit - carries the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings.
- Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports - carry the Florida Marlins, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Rays, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Fox Sports Houston - carries the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets.
- Fox Sports Indiana - carries the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever.
- Fox Sports Kansas City - carries the Kansas City Royals.
- Fox Sports Midwest - carries the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues.
- Fox Sports North - carries the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Wild.
- FSN Northwest - carries the Seattle Mariners.
- Fox Sports Ohio - carries the Cleveland Cavaliers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Cincinnati Reds.
- Fox Sports Oklahoma - carries the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- FSN Pittsburgh - carries the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins
- Prime Ticket - carries the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Clippers.
- FSN Rocky Mountain - carries the Colorado Rockies.
- Fox Sports South and SportSouth - carry the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta Thrashers.
- Fox Sports Southwest - carries the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Stars.
- Fox Sports Tennessee - carries the Nashville Predators and Memphis Grizzlies.
- FSN Utah - carries the Utah Jazz.
- Fox Sports West - carries the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Kings.
- Fox Sports Wisconsin - carries the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks.
- Note: the Rocky Mountain/Utah, Northwest and Pittsburgh affiliates, owned by DirecTV Sports Networks, still use the older FSN (affiliate) moniker instead of Fox Sports (affiliate).
[edit] Former Fox Sports affiliates Some current networks were once Fox Sports affiliates, and they all still show national Fox Sports Net programs and games, since the markets they serve have no FSN affiliate. They are: [edit] Fox Sports in Los Angeles and Southern California Since The Los Angeles Area and the rest of Southern California have so many sports teams, it has 2 Fox Sports affiliates which split coverage of local sports: Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West. It is the only market that has two 24 hour, full time Fox Sports affiliates. Prime Ticket is also the only Fox Sports Net affiliate not named after the city, state or region it serves, as well as the only affiliate that contains the uses name of its old incarnation (The original Prime Ticket), instead of Fox Sports ("area here"). [edit] Fox Sports Ohio Fox Sports Ohio is unique among the FSN affiliates because it actually has 2 full time 24 hour feeds, one for Cleveland and one for Cincinnati (some television systems improperly call the latter 'Fox Sports Cincinnati' to avoid confusion among viewers). Most programming is exactly the same, including live games. However when 2 teams that it has rights to are playing at the same time, the Cleveland feed carries one game and the Cincinnati feed carries the other. This occurs most often during the NHL and NBA season, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Cleveland Cavaliers play at the same time. When this occurs, the Cavaliers game airs only on the Cleveland feed, while the Blue Jackets game airs on only the Cincinnati feed. Also, Cincinnati Reds games air only on the Cincinnati feed. [edit] Fox Sports Net subfeeds and alternate / overflow feeds Some Fox Sports affiliates have subfeeds to eliminate conflicts when 2 teams that they have rights to are playing at the same time, so they can air both games at once. They are: - FSN Rocky Mountain - has the subfeed FSN Utah
- Fox Sports South - has the subfeeds Fox Sports Tennessee and Fox Sports Carolinas
- Fox Sports Southwest - has the subfeed Fox Sports Oklahoma
Some Fox Sports affiliates have alternate (or overflow) feeds for the same purpose, named after the host network with "Plus" after it (i.e. Fox Sports Detroit Plus). Subfeeds and alternate (overflow) feeds are only used during live games, and are turned off the rest of the time. Some affiliates were once subfeeds but are now full channels. Fox Sports Houston was once a subfeed of Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Kansas City and Fox Sports Indiana were once subfeeds of Fox Sports Midwest, and Fox Sports Wisconsin was once a subfeed of Fox Sports North. [edit] Comcast SportsNet Seeing an opportunity to serve sports fans on a more local level and generate profits, cable giant Comcast began creating their own RSN – Comcast Sportsnet – in the 1990s. - Comcast SportsNet Bay Area serves the San Francisco / Oakland area with rights to San Francisco Giants, San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors games. Formerly known as FSN Bay Area.
- Comcast SportsNet California, based in Northern California with rights to Sacramento Kings and Oakland Athletics games. Sister channel of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. Formerly known as Comcast Sports Net West.
- Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Partner in the network with Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls ownership.
- Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia in Philadelphia. Formed in the late 1990s to take the place of SportsChannel Philadelphia, which first aired in the late 1980s. Has rights to Phillies, 76ers, and Flyers games.
- Comcast SportsNet Northwest, based in Portland, Oregon Has rights to Portland Trail Blazers games.
- Comcast SportsNet New England - formerly FSN New England. Carries the Boston Celtics.
- SportsNet New York, owned by the New York Mets, Time Warner and Comcast, which launched on March 16, 2006.
- Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS), based in Atlanta with sub-regional feeds available. Airs regional college and high school games and other sports. Owned jointly by Comcast and Charter Communications, and only distributed to cable systems. The Comcast 'crescent C' logo is used for the channel's logo despite Charter's co-ownership.
- Comcast SportsNet Washington, formerly known as Home Team Sports (HTS) and Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, based in Washington, D.C.; Fox and Comcast acquired this network from Viacom in 2000 along with Midwest Sports Channel in Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Fox later purchased 100% of MSC in a swap with Comcast for HTS and renamed it FSN North. Has rights to Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals games, many of which are broadcast in High Definition. Also airs many DC United games.
[edit] Alternate feeds on Comcast SportsNet Just like FSN, most Comcast SportsNet affiliates have alternate (or overflow) feeds to avoid conflicts when 2 teams they have rights to are playing at the same time, so they can show both games at once. They are named after the host network with "Plus" after it (i.e. Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus). The alternate (or overflow) feeds are only used during live games and are turned off the rest of the time. Comcast SportsNet Chicago also has a 2nd alternate called Comcast SportsNet Chicago alternate. [edit] Comcast SportsNet in the San Francisco Bay Area Since the San Francisco Bay Area and the rest of Northern California have so many sports teams, it has two Comcast SportsNet affiliates which split coverage of local sports: Comcast SportsNet California and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. It is the only market that has two 24 hour, full time Comcast SportsNet affiliates. Due to the territorial rules set by the National Basketball Association, Golden State Warriors games do not air in the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto television market on CSN Bay Area, while for the same reason, CSN California can not air Sacramento Kings telecasts in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market. [edit] Rogers Sportsnet Rogers Sportsnet, owned by Rogers Communications, is an RSN network serving Canada. It consists of four regional networks, and a national HD network: - Rogers Sportsnet East, which serves the Ottawa region, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Rogers Sportsnet Ontario, which serves all of Ontario excluding the Ottawa region (the HD network for the most part mirrors the Ontario feed).
- Rogers Sportsnet West, which serves Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
- Rogers Sportsnet Pacific, which serves British Columbia and the Yukon.
- Rogers Sportsnet HD, which is a high definition rebroadcast of the Ontario feed with regional variations when necessary.
[edit] Independent regional sports networks The following is a list of regional sports networks which are not part of a larger national network: - Altitude Sports and Entertainment, owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises, owned by Stan Kroenke. Airs Colorado Avalanche hockey, Denver Nuggets basketball, Colorado Mammoth lacrosse, Colorado Rapids soccer, Colorado Springs Sky Sox minor league baseball and other Denver and Rocky Mountain area sports & general interest programming. Altitude's alternate (or overflow) feed is called Altitude 2.
- BCSN, Buckeye Cable Sports Network operated by Block Communications for Toledo, Ohio.
- Catch 47, Tampa Bay sports area network.
- Channel 4 San Diego (4SD), based in San Diego with rights to San Diego Padres and Mountain West and West Coast Conference games. Owned by Cox Communications.
- Comcast Television (Michigan) (abbreviated CTV in on screen graphics, but referred to by its long name orally) airs CCHA hockey games, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football, Michigan High School Athletic Association games of several sports, college and high school magazine shows, the monthly magazine show about the Detroit Tigers Your Tiger Ticket, as well as outdoor sports shows. Also used for Fox Sports Detroit overflow games. Available exclusively on Comcast to Michigan customers.
- Cox Sports Television, based in New Orleans, airs New Orleans Hornets basketball, New Orleans VooDoo arena football, and regional college action. (Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Arkansas).
- ESPN Plus and Raycom Sports syndicate college football and college basketball games to over the air broadcast stations and some cable or satellite channels. Their games are also available on ESPN GamePlan and ESPN Full Court.
- Fighting Sioux Sports Network (FSSN), which is operated by WDAZ-TV and Midcontinent Communications for the Grand Forks, North Dakota area.
- Image Sports Network, covering Erie, Pennsylvania.
- MSG Network or (MSG) - The first regional sports network in The United States. It was launched in 1969 and serves the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its new sister channel is MSG Plus, formerly FSN New York. The alternate (or overflow) feeds of MSG and MSG Plus are called MSG 2, MSG Plus 2, and the Sabres Hockey Network. MSG and MSG Plus carry the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, New York Liberty, and Red Bull New York.
- Metro Sports, Kansas City's 24-hour sports network.
- Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), owned by the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, televises every available game of both teams (320 games annually). Official Network of the Baltimore Ravens, Georgetown Hoyas, George Mason Patriots, UNC Wilmington Seahawks. Partnerships with Big South Conference, BB&T Classic. Regional provider of the Big East Game of the Week (football, men's basketball). Televises more than 520 live major sporting events annually. MASN's alternate (or overflow) feed is called MASN2.
- New England Sports Network (NESN), which is owned by the Boston Red Sox (80%) and Boston Bruins (20%). Broadcasts Red Sox and Bruins games, the Beanpot, Boston College Basketball, Quinnipiac University athletics, and other live programming.
- SportsTime Ohio (STO), launched in March 2006 and owned by the Cleveland Indians. Began as a gametime-only network, now broadcasting 24 hours a day.
- Time Warner Cable SportsNet, a regional sports network operated by Time Warner Cable in the upstate New York cities of Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown, Binghamton, and Buffalo.
- Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES), which is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises LLC with 40% owned by Goldman Sachs. Carries the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets.
[edit] One Conference College Networks The Southeastern Conference explored starting its own network [1], but a recent deal by the University of Florida with Sun Sports, [2] and a long term deal between the SEC and the ESPN family of networks [3] have ended its likelihood. ESPN Plus later reached a deal with the SEC for the syndicated SEC Network for football and basketball games. [edit] Defunct networks - Empire Sports Network (Upstate New York). Ceased broadcasting March 7, 2005 upon the collapse of its parent company Adelphia Communications and the sale of their principal customer, the Buffalo Sabres.
- Sports Time, which broadcast home games of the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, and St. Louis Cardinals in 1984 and 1985. Not to be confused with the current SportsTime Ohio.
- Sports View, which was the cable home of the Milwaukee Brewers for three seasons (1984-86).
- Carolinas Sports and Entertainment Television (C-SET), which broadcast Charlotte Bobcats games in the 2004-05 season.
- Arizona Sports Programming Network/"Cox 9": Named for the channel number on which it appeared on local cable systems, ASPN/COX 9 (owned by Cox Communications, the incumbent cable operator for the Phoenix area) aired Phoenix Firebirds baseball games and Phoenix Suns home games throughout its long history. In 2003, the channel removed all of its professional sports and moved to cable channel 7 (which resulted in the renaming of the channel) and FSN Arizona picked up the cable/satellite rights.
- BlazerVision: This network aired Portland Trail Blazers games on pay-per-view as late as 2000. It was then replaced by Action Sports Cable Network, which showed other sports events as well. The channel folded for good in November, 2002.
- SportsChannel Los Angeles: This network, formerly Z Channel, aired Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, and Los Angeles Clippers games from 1989 to 1993. Unlike other SportsChannel affiliates, it did not convert to FSN; instead, it folded outright.
- ESPN West: This network was to have shown games of the Anaheim Angels and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim; both teams and the network were then owned by the Walt Disney Company. It was announced in late 1997, but folded in 1998 without broadcasting a single show.
- Victory Sports One: Owned by the Minnesota Twins, it folded in 2004 after only three months on the air, due to the inability of the Twins to reach deals with any Twin Cities area cable system or satellite service. Twins games immediately returned to FSN North.
- Sportsvision / Hawkvision: This network aired Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls, and Chicago Black Hawks games on pay-per-view television in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was once available by converter boxes tuned to channel 60, now WXFT. It then became SportsChannel Chicago and FSN Chicago before it folded in 2006. Now Comcast SportsNet Chicago is in it's place.
- Home Sports and Entertainment: It carried many games of Texas-based baseball and pro basketball teams until it became Prime Sports; it is now FSN Southwest.
- PASS Sports: Detroit-based regional sports channel that presented coverage of professional and college teams in Detroit and Michigan; in 1997, the channel folded after FSN Detroit won the rights to the Detroit Pistons and bought the rights to the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings from PASS. Some current FSN Detroit announcers used to work for PASS.
- SportSouth: Atlanta-based sports channel with professional and college sports coverage from Atlanta and other parts of the South. Originally run in part by Ted Turner, it was sold to Fox and became FSN South in the mid-1990s. As part of the sale, Turner was prohibited from owning another RSN, but used a loophole (by airing some non-sports programming) to launch Turner South, which, on October 13, 2006, was sold to Fox and became a new SportSouth.
- Grizzlies Regional Sports Network: This proposed network for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies folded before its first scheduled game; the team re-signed with FSN South instead.
- Midwest Sports Channel: Became FSN North. See also WCCO-TV.
- PRISM: This Philadelphia-based network was replaced by Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.
- Home Team Sports: Became Comcast Sports Net
- Royals Sports Television Network (Kansas City, western Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Iowa), owned by the Kansas City Royals. After the 2007 MLB season, RSTN ceased operations and all Royals games will be broadcast on FSN Kansas City, a new spinoff of FSN Midwest.
- Comcast Local, also known as CL, aired from 2004–2008. It aired professional, collegiate and high school sports throughout most of Michigan and Indiana. They owned the rights to a number of Big Ten Conference and Mid-American Conference sports telecasts, as well as the Detroit Ignition of the MISL and Canadian Football League games. Merged into a similar channel Comcast Television in Michigan in March 2008.
- Columbus Sports Network (CSN), broadcasting events, features, highlights and news on professional, collegiate, scholastic and amateur sports teams in the Columbus, OH area. Ceased operations in 2008 and now operates an all-infomercial lineup.
[edit] High Definition Many RSNs broadcast select content in High Definition. Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet affiliates have dedicated HD channels, which are used for both local and national HD programming, mainly games. All FSN affiliates use 720p and all CSN affiliates and independent channels use 1080i. [edit] See also [edit] References [edit] External links | Fox Sports | | | Current programs | | | | American cable/satellite networks | | | Owned and operated
regional sports networks | | | | Affiliated regional sports networks | | | | International sports networks | | | | Others | | | | Former programs | | | | Defunct networks | | | |
