Fox Sports Arizona

Last updated
Fox Sports Arizona
Fox Sports Arizona 2012 logo.png
Type Regional sports network
Country United States
Broadcast area Arizona
New Mexico
Utah
Southern Nevada
Network Fox Sports Networks
Headquarters Phoenix, Arizona
Programming
Language(s) English
Picture format 720p (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
Owner Diamond Sports Group
Parent Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios
History
LaunchedSeptember 1, 1996 (1996-09-01)
Former namesPrime Sports Arizona (1996)
FOX Sports Arizona (1996–2000)
FOX Sports Net Arizona (2000–2004)
FSN Arizona (2004–2008)
Links
Website www.foxsports.com/arizona
Availability
Cable
Comcast Xfinity 258
Cox Communications 1034 (Phoenix/Casa Grande)
1026 (Tucson/Sierra Vista)
1073 (Plus)
Available on select other cable systems in designated broadcast areaConsult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability
Satellite
DirecTV 686
IPTV
Century Link 1762
1763 (Plus)
Streaming media
Fox Sports Go www.foxsportsgo.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)
AT&T TV 686

Fox Sports Arizona (FSAZ) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcasts professional, collegiate and high school sports events, with a primary focus on Phoenix area teams. It is available on most cable providers throughout Arizona; Fox Sports Arizona is also available nationwide on satellite provider DirecTV.

Contents

Overview

The channel originally launched as Prime Sports Arizona on September 1, 1996, serving as an affiliate of the Prime Network. Two months later on November 1, the channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Arizona, after Liberty Media sold the Prime Network to News Corporation, with Prime's regional networks serving as the cornerstone of the new Fox Sports Net chain of regional sports networks (which Liberty originally co-owned in a joint venture with News Corporation). [1]

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 Arizona. However, on June 27, 2018, the Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN. On May 3, 2019, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (through their joint venture, Diamond Holdings) bought Fox Sports Networks from The Walt Disney Company for $10.6 billion. The deal closed on August 22, 2019. [2] [3] On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season the next day, Fox Sports Arizona will be rebranded as Bally Sports Arizona, a new partnership between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Bally Corporation that will result in 18 other Regional Sports Networks being renamed to Bally Sports in their respective regions. [4]

Fox Sports Arizona logo, used from 2008 to 2012. FOX Sports Arizona.png
Fox Sports Arizona logo, used from 2008 to 2012.

Fox Sports Arizona holds the regional cable television rights to three of the four major professional sports franchises in the Phoenix area: the Arizona Diamondbacks (Major League Baseball, with rights to most regular season games), the Phoenix Suns (NBA, with rights to most regular season and early-round playoff games) and the Arizona Coyotes (NHL, also with rights to most regular season and early-round playoff games), as well as the Phoenix Mercury (WNBA). Also, they carry games for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (which also stream live on YouTube) and the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (which are also streamed live on AHL.TV). In addition, Fox Sports Arizona also televises collegiate sports events involving the Arizona State Sun Devils, as well as a number of events from other teams of the Pac-12 Conference.

Fox Sports Arizona formerly held the broadcast rights to select Arizona Wildcats sporting events from its inception until the spring of 2009; the University of Arizona shifted these event telecasts to the Arizona Wildcats Sports Network, beginning in August 2009, which were simulcast on FSA from 2010 until 2012, upon the launch of the Pac-12 Network and its dedicated "Pac-12 Arizona" subfeed network devoted to Arizona and Arizona State University sports.

Other services

Fox Sports Arizona Plus

Fox Sports Arizona launched an alternate feed, Fox Sports Arizona Plus, on April 25, 2008. Created as an overflow active only during instances in which a sporting event that Fox Sports Arizona holds rights to overlaps with another game being broadcast on the primary channel, it was established to resolve scheduling conflicts involving the 2008 NBA Playoffs Game 3 matchup between Phoenix Suns and a scheduled Arizona Diamondbacks game on that date. Fox Sports Arizona Plus was available on select cable providers including Cox Communications and Qwest Choice TV, and via satellite on Dish Network.

On-air staff

Related Research Articles

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Fox Sports South

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Fox Sports West

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Fox Sports Florida Regional sports network serving Florida, United States

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Fox Sports Southeast

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Fox Sports North Regional sports network in the Upper Midwest and Minnesota

Fox Sports North (FSN) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as a Fox Sports Networks affiliate. The channel broadcasts coverage of sporting events involving teams located in the Upper Midwest region, with a focus on professional and collegiate sports teams based in Minnesota.

Fox Sports Midwest American regional sports network

Fox Sports Midwest (FSMW) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcasts regional event coverage of sports teams throughout the Midwestern United States, most prominently, professional sports teams based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Fox Sports Southwest

Fox Sports Southwest (FSSW) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughout the South Central United States. The network is headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Irving, Texas, with master control hubbed at Fox Sports Networks' operations center in Houston, which houses master control operations for its regional networks in the central United States.

Fox Sports Wisconsin (FSWI) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. Operating as the "Wisconsin" sub-feed of Fox Sports North until 2007, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the state of Wisconsin, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Milwaukee. It primarily operates from a studio/office facility in downtown Milwaukee, with secondary offices and production studio/office hub based in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Prime Ticket

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Fox Sports Oklahoma

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Fox Sports Tennessee

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Fox Sports Indiana

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Fox Sports New Orleans

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Diamond Sports Group LLC is an American media and entertainment company operating as a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and partnered with Entertainment Studios. The company operates the Fox Sports Networks, a group of regional sports channels, which will be rebranded as Bally Sports on March 31, 2021.

References

  1. R. Thomas Umstead (July 8, 1996). "Liberty Sports regionals will become Fox Sports net". Multichannel News . The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015 via HighBeam Research.
  2. "Sinclair completes acquisition of regional sports networks from Disney". Bloomberg. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. Littleton, Cynthia. "Sinclair Clinches Disney-Regional Sports Networks Deal, Byron Allen Joins as Partner". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  4. "Bally Sports, Coming March 31". YouTube (Fox Sports Midwest). March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.