FSN (Fox Sports Net)
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The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net, are cable TV networks that were originally owned by separate companies. In addition, Fox Sports Net broadcasts sports news and talk across a range of radio affiliates. The most notable were the SportsChannel networks, which went on the air in 1977 with the original SportsChannel (now FSN New York), and Prime Network, which went on the air in 1983 with the charter member being Home Sports and Entertainment (now FSN Southwest). Fox also purchased SportSouth (now FSN South) from Turner Broadcasting in 1995.
In 1995, News Corporation, which launched the Fox Network in 1986, took over the Prime Network affiliates and renamed them all "Fox Sports Net." In 1997, SportsChannel joined the Fox Sports Net family (except for the Florida affiliate, which joined in 1998).
Starting in September 2004, Fox Sports Net became known simply as FSN.
Fox Sports Net is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, just south of Westwood. In February 2005, NewsCorp (Fox) became 100% owner of FSN, after swapping assets with Cablevision Corporation.
Regional networks (former names in parentheses)
- FSN Arizona (Prime Sports Arizona)
- FSN Bay Area* (SportsChannel Pacific, San Francisco Bay Area) 40% owned by Fox, 60% owned by Comcast
- FSN Chicago* (SportsChannel Chicago) Cablevision recently took 100% ownership of this failing network
- FSN Detroit (Pro-Am Sports System)
- FSN Florida (SportsChannel Florida)
- FSN Midwest (Prime Sports Midwest, St. Louis area, with a sub-feed for Indiana)
- FSN New England* (SportsChannel New England) 50% owned by Comcast
- FSN New York* (SportsChannel New York)
- FSN North (Midwest Sports Channel, Minnesota/Wisconsin split feed)
- FSN Northwest (Prime Sports Northwest, Oregon/Washington)
- FSN Ohio (SportsChannel Ohio, several different feeds depending on where you live in Ohio)
- FSN Pittsburgh (KBL, then Prime Sports KBL)
- FSN Rocky Mountain (Prime Sports Rocky Mountain; Colorado, with a sub-feed for Utah)
- FSN South (SportSouth, several different sub-feeds including Memphis, Nashville, Charlotte and other areas in the South, default feed based in Atlanta)
- FSN Southwest (Home Sports and Entertainment, then Prime Sports Southwest; Texas area)
- FSN West/West 2 (Prime Ticket and SportsChannel LA, Los Angeles area)
Asterisk denotes stations owned by Cablevision through Rainbow Media Group
In its recent parting of ways with Cablevision, Fox now has 100% ownership of the FSN national programming feed as well as National Advertising Partners (NAP) which sells national advertising.
The major regional sports networks that are not part of Fox Sports Net are:
- Sunshine Network (Florida, although it is owned by Fox. May become FSN Florida 2)
- NESN (New England Sports Network), which is owned by the Boston Red Sox 80% and Boston Bruins 20%
- Empire Sports Network (upstate New York). Recently announced that it will be shut down with Sabres to be carried by MSG.
- YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) which is owned by the New York Yankees with 40% owned by Goldman Sachs.
- MSG (Madison Square Garden Network) (New York), owned by Cablevision through Rainbow Media Group
- Comcast Sports Net in Philadelphia, PA
- Comcast Sports Net Mid Atlantic, formerly known as Home Team Sports (HTS), based in Washington, DC; Fox and Comcast acquired this network from Viacom in 2000 along with Midwest Sports Channel in Minneapolis and Milwuakee. Fox later purchased 100% of MSC in a swap with Comcast for HTS and renamed it FSN North.
- Comcast Sports Net Chicago (recently gained rights to Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls from FSN Chicago)
- Comcast SportsNet West, based in the Bay Area with rights to Sacramento Kings games
- CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, based in Atlanta with sub-regional feeds available)
- Altitude Sports (Denver and Rocky Mountain sports)
- Comcast SportsNet West, based in the Bay Area with rights to Sacramento Kings games
- Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), newly formed as part of the settlement between Major League Baseball and the Baltimore Orioles as part of the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington, DC - will begin broadcasting Washington National games in 2005 and the Orioles in 2007 - supposedly replacing or suplanting CSN Mid -Atlantic. Reports state that Orioles owner Peter Angelos has negiotated a large share of the ownership of the new network, perhaps as high as 90%.
External links
- FOX Sports website (http://www.foxsports.com/)
- KaiserBlog RSN weblog (http://www.kaiserblog.blogspot.com/)