Fox Sports Net
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Type | cable television network |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Availability | National, through regional affiliates |
| Owner | News Corporation through Fox Entertainment Group (some affiliates owned by Cablevision) |
| Launch date | 1977 (SportsChannel) 1983 (Prime Network) 1996 (Fox Sports Net) |
| Past names | SportsChannel America, Prime Network (nationally, name varied by region) |
| Website | FoxSports.com (shared with the rest of Fox Sports's US operations) |
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net (FSN), are cable TV networks that were originally owned by separate companies. 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 1996.
In 1996, News Corporation, which launched the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1986, took over the Prime Network affiliates and renamed them all "Fox Sports Net." In 1997, SportsChannel America joined the Fox Sports Net family (except for the Florida affiliate, which joined in 2000).
Starting in September 2004, Fox Sports Net became known simply as FSN, but the name Fox Sports Net is also still in common use.
Fox Sports Net is headquartered in Los Angeles, just south of Westwood. In February 2005, NewsCorp (Fox) became 100% owner of FSN, after swapping assets with Cablevision Corporation, but is still identified in its copyright tag as "Fox Sports Net/National Sports Partners"
In addition to regional programming, Fox Sports Net has some national prime time programming such as The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Chris Myers Interviews. FSN has tried to compete with ESPN in original programming, most notably in 1996, when FSN debuted the Fox Sports National Sports Report, a 30 minute sports news program designed to compete with ESPN's SportsCenter. The program originally began as a two hour program, but was steadily cut back as ratings dropped and costs increased. The last edition of the National Sports Report aired in February 2002. In some markets, FSN airs the Regional Sports Report, usually headlined with the name of the region covered, such as the Midwest Sports Report or Detroit Sports Report. The regional reports began in 2000 to complement the national sports report, but many regional reports were cut in 2002 due to increasing costs.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Regional FSN networks
[edit] Current networks
| Name | Region served | Home to | Former Name | Notes |
| Arizona | Arizona, New Mexico and southern Nevada. | Phoenix Suns (NBA), Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), Phoenix Coyotes (NHL), Phoenix Mercury (WNBA), local coverage of the Pacific 10, Western Athletic, Big Sky, and Mountain West conferences. | PRIME Sports Arizona | New LIVE shows follow Diamondbacks, Coyotes and Suns games each evening, either from their respective sites or the FOX Sports Grill in North Scottsdale. |
| Bay Area | Northern and central California, northern Arizona, northwestern Nevada (including the Lake Tahoe-Reno-Carson City region), and parts of southern Oregon. | San Francisco Giants (MLB), Oakland Athletics (MLB), San Jose Sharks (NHL), Golden State Warriors (NBA), San Jose Stealth (NLL), and local coverage of the Pacific 10, West Coast, Mountain West, and Western Athletic conferences. | SportsChannel Pacific | 40% owned by Fox, 60% owned by Cablevision. |
| Detroit | Michigan (statewide), northwestern Ohio, and northeastern Indiana. | Detroit Tigers (MLB), Detroit Pistons (NBA), Detroit Red Wings (NHL), Detroit Shock (WNBA), and local coverage of the Big Ten and Horizon League athletic conferences. | Pro-Am Sports System (PASS Sports) | Detroit Sports Report is produced by FSN Northwest. |
| Florida | Florida, and parts of southern Alabama and southern Georgia. | Tampa Bay Devil Rays (MLB), Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), Orlando Magic (NBA), Miami Heat (NBA), Florida Marlins (MLB), Florida Panthers (NHL), plus local coverage of the Big East, Atlantic Sun, Conference USA, and Atlantic Coast athletic conferences. | SportsChannel Florida | Shares broadcast rights with co-owned Sun Sports. Last FSN network to discontinue the SportsChannel name. |
| Indiana | Central Indiana | Indiana Pacers (NBA), Indiana Fever (WNBA), Cincinnati Reds (MLB) and local coverage of minor league baseball and collegiate sports featuring the Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Southeastern, Western Athletic, Missouri Valley, and Horizon League conferences. | Formerly part of FSN Midwest | Due to the Pacers moving to FSN fulltime FSN Indiana has become an independent station from FSN Midwest |
| Midwest | Missouri, southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, and western Kentucky. | Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), Kansas City Royals (MLB), St. Louis Cardinals (MLB), St. Louis Blues (NHL), and local coverage of minor league baseball and collegiate sports featuring the Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Southeastern, Western Athletic, Missouri Valley, and Horizon League conferences. | Prime Sports Midwest | FSN Midwest also airs Cardinals games in portions of West Tennessee. Royals coverage is run through the team's RSTN subsidiary, and is not seen in Kansas City on FSN Midwest (instead on Metro Sports); for this reason, some KC-area media outlets refer to FSN Midwest as "FSN St. Louis". |
| New England | Massachusetts, eastern and central Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. | Boston Celtics (NBA), New England Revolution (MLS), and local college sports. | SportsChannel New England | 50% owned by Comcast, 50% owned by Cablevision. |
| New York | New York, northern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, southern Connecticut. | New York Islanders (NHL), New Jersey Devils (NHL), plus local coverage of the Big East, Northeast, and Metro Atlantic athletic conferences. | SportsChannel New York | Co-owned with MSG Network, which carries the New York Knicks (NBA), Buffalo Sabres (NHL), New York Rangers (NHL), New York Liberty (WNBA), Red Bull New York (MLS), plus regional collegiate football and basketball. Owned by Cablevision. |
| North | Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. | Milwaukee Brewers (MLB), Milwaukee Bucks (NBA), Minnesota Twins (MLB), Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA), Minnesota Wild (NHL), Minnesota Swarm (NLL) and Minnesota Lynx (WNBA), plus local coverage of the Big Ten, Conference USA, and Horizon League athletic conferences. | WCCO II, Wisconsin Sports Network, Midwest Sports Channel | Regional subfeeds for the Minnesota/Dakotas region, and for the state of Wisconsin not included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. |
| Northwest | Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, parts of Wyoming, and parts of northern Nevada. | Seattle Mariners (MLB), Seattle SuperSonics (NBA), Seattle Storm (WNBA), Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), plus local coverage of the Pacific 10, Western Athletic, Big Sky, West Coast and Mountain West conferences. | Northwest Cable Sports, Prime Sports Northwest | Produces FSN Detroit's Detroit Sports Report. |
| Ohio | Ohio (with the exception of the Toledo region, where FSN Detroit is carried), parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Northwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and extreme Southwestern New York. | Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA), Cincinnati Reds (MLB), Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL), plus local coverage of the Big East, Southeastern, Atlantic 10, Mid American, Metro Atlantic, Great Midwest, Conference USA, Atlantic Coast, and Missouri Valley athletic conferences. | SportsChannel Ohio | FSN Ohio airs Reds games in Nashville, Tennessee and its surrounding areas, including western North Carolina. |
| Pittsburgh | Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Southwestern New York, western Maryland and eastern Ohio. | Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL), Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB), Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA—via FSN Ohio), Washington Wild Things(Frontier League), plus local coverage of the Big East, Big Ten, Atlantic 10, PIAA, WPIAL and Horizon League athletic conferences. | KBL Sports,Prime Sports KBL. | Produced Midwest Sports Report for FSN Midwest until its move to St. Louis in 2006. |
| Rocky Mountain | Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, western Kansas, western Nebraska, and parts of Nevada and New Mexico. | Colorado Rockies (MLB) and Denver Outlaws (MLL), plus local coverage of the Big 12, Big Sky, Western Athletic, Conference USA, and Mountain West athletic conferences. | Prime Sports Rocky Mountain | A sub-feed for Utah (FSN Utah) carries the Utah Jazz (NBA), Phoenix Coyotes (NHL—via FSN Arizona), Real Salt Lake (MLS) and local collegiate sports. |
| South | Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and most of North Carolina. | Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Memphis Grizzlies (NBA), Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), Atlanta Braves (MLB), Cincinnati Reds (MLB-via FSN Ohio), Nashville Predators (NHL) plus local coverage of Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Conference USA, Big South, and Southern athletic conferences. | SportSouth | Purchased Turner South in May 2006; Turner South carries the Braves, Hawks and the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL). |
| Southwest | Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, parts of New Mexico, and Arkansas. | Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Dallas Stars (NHL), Texas Rangers (MLB), FC Dallas (MLS), San Antonio Spurs (NBA), San Antonio Silver Stars (WNBA), plus local coverage of the Southland, Big 12, and Conference USA athletic conferences. | Home Sports Entertainment, Prime Sports Southwest. | A sub-feed is offered for Southeast Texas (FSN Houston), which operates evenings and weekends, and is home to the Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Dynamo (MLS), Houston Comets (WNBA), and local collegiate sports. |
| West | Southern California, southern Nevada, and Hawaii. | Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (MLB), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Anaheim Ducks (NHL), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS), C.D. Chivas USA (MLS), and local coverage of the Pacific 10, West Coast, Mountain West, Western Athletic, and Big West conferences. | (Original) Prime Ticket, Prime Sports West | Shares programming with FSN Prime Ticket, which serves the same area. |
| Prime Ticket | Southern California, southern Nevada, and Hawaii. | Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (MLB), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Anaheim Ducks (NHL), Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS), C.D. Chivas USA (MLS), and local coverage of the Pacific 10, West Coast, Mountain West, Western Athletic, and Big West conferences. | FSN West 2 | Shares programming with FSN West, which serves the same area. |
[edit] Former FSN networks
| Name | Region served | (Former) Home to | Former Name | Other |
| Chicago | Northern Illinois, northern Indiana, and eastern Iowa. | Chicago Cubs (MLB), Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Chicago Fire (MLS) Chicago Rush, (AFL), Chicago White Sox (MLB), local and national collegiate sports, including those from FSN Detroit. | Sportsvision, SportsChannel Chicago | Closed on June 23, 2006. Was the production and origination point of the Chicago, Ohio, and Bay Area Sports Report programs (all 50% owned by Rainbow Sports/Cablevision). Comcast SportsNet Chicago now occupies the former FSN Chicago facility located at 350 North Orleans Street, and has acquired the rights to air the nationally-distributed FSN programs. |
[edit] Other FSN-owned/affiliated Networks
| Name | Region served | Home to | Former Name | Other |
| Sun Sports | Florida. | Orlando Magic (NBA), Miami Heat (NBA), Florida Marlins (MLB), Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL). | Sunshine Network | Originally a Prime Network affiliate, it is now owned by Fox Sports Net. |
| SportSouth | Georgia, Alabama, parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and parts of North Carolina. | Atlanta Braves (MLB), Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Atlanta Thrashers (NHL). | Turner South | Previously owned by Time-Warner as part of the TBS family, sold to News Corporation (parent company of Fox Sports Net) in 2006. Renamed to SportSouth on October 13, 2006. |
[edit] Fox College Sports (FCS)
FSN also offers Fox College Sports (formerly Fox Sports Digital Networks) for digital cable subscribers. These are three channels (each marked Atlantic, Central, and Pacific) that provide programming (primarily colleigate sports, plus minor league sports) that would be carried from each individual FSN network, as well as each affiliate's regional sports reports and individually-produced programming (such as coaches shows, team magazines, and documentaries). More or less, these three networks are condensed versions of the 22 FSN-affiliated networks, including Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, though the channels also show international events that fit too oddly on FSN or Fox Soccer Channel, such as the Commonwealth Games and the FINA World Swimming Championships.
The FCS Channels offers the FSN feeds on the following channels:
- Atlantic: New England, New York, Pittsburgh, South, Florida, Sun Sports, CSN Mid-Atlantic and MSG Network
- Central: Detroit, Southwest, North, Midwest, Indiana, and Ohio.
- Pacific: Bay Area, Arizona, Rocky Mountain, Northwest, West, and Prime Ticket.
See Regional sports network for those regional sports channels which are not part of Fox Sports Net.
[edit] FOX Boxes
FSN has often been the testing ground for the innovations that FOX comes up with graphically and the source of inspiration that other networks have for their graphics. They were the first U.S. sports channel to introduce the bar score/time graphic on the top of the screen. Since FSN came up with the top-screen bar graphic, many other major networks have abandoned the corner box graphic in favor of the bar.
[edit] Shows seen on FSN nationwide
In 2006, FSN premiered several new shows:
- FSN has unveiled two shows that tie in to college football's Bowl Championship Series, for which four of the five games will be televised by Fox Sports. In September 2006, FSN premiered BCS Breakdown, a preview of that week's top games, with an eye on how they might influence the BCS standings. Tom Helmer is the host, with analysis from Gary Barnett and Petros Papadakis. On October 15, 2006, it debuted The Official BCS Ratings Show, an expansion of the earlier announcement on the broadcast network. The on-air team is the same for this show.
- On June 26, 2006, FSN debuted In Focus, which effectively replaces Beyond the Glory, a program in the vein of Biography and SportsCentury which ran from 2001 until early 2006. This new half-hour takes a look at the impact of a particular sports event, mostly told through the medium of still photography. Dick Enberg is the host.[2]
- On July 3, 2006, FSN debuted FSN Final Score, the first national sports news program on the network since the cancellation of the National Sports Report. FSN veterans Van Earl Wright, Barry LeBrock, and Andrew Siciliano, and Greg Wolf of TVG serve as hosts. Rick Jaffe, the show's executive producer, promised that the half-hour program will focus on showing game highlights, without additional analysis or interviews.[3]
Other shows seen on FSN across the country are The Best Damn Sports Show Period, FSN Pro Football Preview, Totally Football, and The FSN Baseball Report. The Sports List and Beyond the Glory are still seen in reruns in most markets.
In addition, FSN airs an extensive lineup of poker shows, including Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and MansionPoker.net PokerDome Challenge.
These programs once aired on FSN, but have since been canceled:
- I, Max: Talk show hosted by Max Kellerman. A combination of poor ratings and the repercussions of the death of Kellerman's brother caused the show's demise.
- The Last Word: Another talk show. Originally, this had a bicoastal format, with Wallace Matthews hosting in New York City and Jim Rome in Los Angeles. During this show's run, Matthews was removed and Rome hosted by himself.
- Totally NASCAR: A daily show about NASCAR racing. This program received access to race highlights denied to ESPN2's RPM 2Night. Whether this decision was related to RPM 2Night's cancellation in 2003 remains debatable,the show was renamed "AROUND THE TRACK"
- Two game shows: The Ultimate Fan League, hosted by Bil Dwyer; and Sports Geniuses, hosted by Matt Vasgersian.
- You Gotta See This, a compilation of unusual video highlights from the world of sports.
- FSN Across America, Award winning weekly 30 minute sports magazine hosted by Carolyn Hughes,but due to Hughes much publicized indecression with a now former pitcher with the L.A.Dodgers, FSN had no choice but to Fire Hughes for breaking a "Morals Clause" in her contract and cancel the show.
[edit] Pay-per-view
On November 10, 2006, FSN distributed its first pay-per-view event. Evander Holyfield, former heavyweight boxing champion, defeated Fres Oquendo in an unanimous decision at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The fight was also distributed free of charge on the FoxSports.com website outside the United States.
[edit] FSN HD
FSN HD is a high definition simulcast of the best programs from Fox Sportsnet including live sports & series. Each regional channel has its own separate HD feed.
[edit] See also
- Broadcasting of sports events
- Fox Broadcasting Company
- Fox Sports
- Fox Sports en Español
- Fox Soccer Channel
- Fox Sports en Latinoamérica
- Fox Sports World Canada
- Fox Footy Channel
- Comcast SportsNet
- NESN
- List of DirecTV channels
- List of Dish Network channels
