| Sun Sports | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 1988 (as Sunshine Network) |
| Owned by | FOX |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | American English |
| Broadcast area | Florida |
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida |
| Formerly called | Sunshine Network (1988–2004) |
| Sister channel(s) | Fox Sports Florida |
| Website | Sun Sports / Fox Sports Florida |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 653 Main (SD/HD) 656 Plus (HD on 656-1) |
| Dish Network | 422 (SD) 372 (HD) |
| Cable | |
| Available on select cable systems | Check local listings for channels |
Sun Sports is a Florida sports broadcasting network, with its headquarters in Orlando. Launched in 1988 as Sunshine Network, the station is now affiliated with virtually every cable company throughout the state of Florida and can be picked up by some satellite providers around the United States.
Sunshine Network changed its name to Sun Sports in 2004 to reflect its sports-focused programming. Originally an affiliate of Prime Network, it was acquired with the rest of Prime by Fox Sports Net in 1995.
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Sun Sports airs professional, collegiate and high school sporting events. It offers split feeds for the state's regions. Along with sister network Fox Sports Florida it is the cable home to the NBA's Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, and MLB's Tampa Bay Rays. In addition the channel offers baseball, basketball, football, and other sporting events from University of Florida, Florida State University, and the SEC. Longtime partnered with FSU & UF, Sun Sports produces all regular season football games for both schools and airs them statewide on a next-day delay basis. The network also has the rights to the FHSAA Football and Basketball Finals.
Through Sun Sports, South Florida can view Miami Heat basketball, as Central and Northern Florida can view Orlando Magic basketball. Ultimately however, Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida are sister channels, and games can air on either channel depending on who is playing at what time (particularly with the Marlins and Rays, since both teams routinely play at the same time). The two channels do not focus on one region of Florida (it was long rumored that Sun Sports would carry only the North/Central Florida teams, while Fox Sports Florida would carry Miami-area teams) so that the Lightning, Heat, Marlins, Magic,[1] and Florida Panthers are all cable-exclusive.
In 2010, the Miami Marlins moved all their games to Fox Sports Florida, while Tampa Bay had all their games on Sun Sports. Prior to 2009, some Rays games were available on over-the-air stations.
In a manner similar to the Fox Sports network of channels, a small logo bug is shown on the top-right corner of the screen. During the non-team specific programming and nationally-televised sporting events, the logo is shown as SUNSPORTS, with the word SUN colored in yellow. During local sporting events, the logo changes to reflect the teams. During Orlando Magic basketball games, the logo reads SUNMAGIC, with the word SUN colored in a medium blue. For Miami Heat basketball games, the logo is shown as SUNHEAT, with SUN colored in red; the word HEAT also has a flame on the end of the T, which reflects the team's official logo. As for Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games, the logo is SUNLIGHTNING, with the SUN also colored in medium blue. During Tampa Bay Rays baseball games, the logo becomes SUNRAYS, with the SUN colored in Columbia blue. And for Miami Marlins baseball games, the logo reads SUNMARLINS, with SUN also colored in Columbia blue. These localized logos also appear during each team's Live pre- and post-game shows. The same holds true when the respective games are broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.
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