Root Sports Utah

Last updated
Root Sports Utah
Type Regional sports network
Country United States
Broadcast area Utah
Nationwide (via satellite)
Network Fox Sports Networks
Programming
Language(s) English
Picture format 720p (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
Owner Liberty Media (1989-2006)
DirecTV Sports Group (2009-2016)
AT&T (2016-2017)
History
LaunchedNovember 1989 (1989-11)
ReplacedJazz Cable Network
ClosedJuly 14, 2017 (2017-07-14)
Replaced by AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
Former namesPrime Sports Network Utah (1989-1990)
Prime Sports Network- Intermountain West (1991-1995)
Prime Sports Intermountain West (1995–1996)
Fox Sports Utah (1996–1999)
Fox Sports Net Utah (1999–2004)
FSN Utah (2004–2011)
Root Sports Utah (2011–2017)

Root Sports Utah was an American regional sports network that was owned by the AT&T Sports Networks subsidiary of AT&T Inc., as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks and is an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout Utah, namely the NBA's Utah Jazz and college teams including the Utah State Aggies, Utah Utes, BYU Cougars, and several other schools. Root Sports Utah was available on cable providers throughout the state of Utah, and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV and Dish Network.

Contents

History

Origins

In 1986, Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) and the Utah Jazz formed a joint-venture to broadcast 20 Jazz games during the 1986-87 season to cable subscribers in five western states starting. The channel, named Jazz Cable Network was ad-supported and offered as a basic service. [1] In addition to the 20 live games, 4 classic games were also aired. Due to a lack of other sports content, the channel was part-time and only operated during the basketball season. [2] The number of games were increased to 25 and then 26 for the 1987–88 and 1988-89 seasons respectively. [3] [4] In 1989, TCI announced a partnership with Bill Daniels to combine the two companies regional sports offerings into the Prime Sports Network. [5]

Network history

The network launched in November 1989 as Prime Sports Network Utah; [6] [7] owned by TCI's Liberty Media, it served as an owned-and-operated outlet of the Prime Network group of regional sports networks. In its first year, the network carried 25 Utah Jazz games. [6] At some point, the network was rebranded as Prime Sports Intermountain West. In 1995, Prime Sports began to carry Utah Grizzlies (IHL) games when the team relocated to the state. [8]

In 1996, News Corporation, which formed a sports division for the Fox network two years earlier after it obtained the broadcast rights to the National Football Conference, acquired a 50% interest in the Prime Network from Liberty Media. [9] On November 1, 1996, News Corporation and Liberty Media relaunched the Prime Network affiliates as part of the new Fox Sports Net group, with the Salt Lake City-based network officially rebranding as Fox Sports Utah. [10] The channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Net Utah in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Utah, through the networks' de-emphasis of the "Fox Sports Net" brand.

On December 22, 2006, News Corporation sold its interest in FSN Utah and sister networks FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Northwest and FSN Rocky Mountain to Liberty Media, in an asset trade in which News Corporation also traded its 38.5% ownership stake in satellite provider DirecTV for $550 million in cash and stock, in exchange for Liberty Media's 16.3% stake in the company. [11]

On May 4, 2009, DirecTV Group Inc. announced it would become a part of Liberty's entertainment unit, part of which would then be spun off into the separate company under the DirecTV name, in a deal in which Liberty would increase its share in DirecTV from 48% to 54%, with Liberty owner John Malone and his family owning a 24% interest. DirecTV would operate its newly acquired FSN-affiliated networks through DirecTV Sports Networks, [12] a new division formed when the split off from Liberty Media was completed on November 19, 2009. [13]

On December 17, 2010, DirecTV Sports Networks announced that its four Fox Sports Networks-affiliated regional outlets – FSN Utah, FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Northwest and FSN Rocky Mountain – would be relaunched under the "Root Sports" brand. [14] The network officially rebranded as Root Sports Utah on April 1, 2011. On April 8, 2016, DirecTV Sports Networks rebranded under the AT&T name as AT&T Sports Networks. [15]

On June 12, 2017, AT&T Sports Networks announced its networks would rebrand under the name AT&T SportsNet Utah, with all network programming and on-air talent remaining intact. [16] [17] On July 14, 2017, Root Sports Utah was merged into AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, while a separate subfeed is still maintained, Utah is no longer part of the branding.

Programming

Roots Sports Utah held the regional cable television rights to the NBA's Utah Jazz. The Jazz signed a new exclusive 12-year agreement with the channel on October 20, 2009, ending the team's broadcasts on KJZZ-TV (channel 14). [18]

The network also carried Colorado Rockies baseball, the annual Tour of Utah cycling event, and a variety of collegiate sporting events, including football and basketball from Mountain West Conference (including local favorite Utah State), Big Sky Conference football (including local favorites Southern Utah and Weber State), West Coast Conference men's basketball (including local favorite BYU), and Pac-12 Conference football and basketball (including local favorite Utah).

On-air staff

Utah Jazz

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Sports Networks</span> American sports channel group (1996–2021)

Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019, following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. A condition of that acquisition imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice required Disney to sell the regional networks by June 18, 2019, 90 days after the completion of its acquisition. Disney subsequently agreed to sell the networks to Sinclair; the transaction was completed on August 22, 2019. The networks continued to use the Fox Sports name only under a transitional license agreement while rebranding options were explored. A rebranding cross-partnership with Bally's Corporation took effect on March 31, 2021, and the networks were rebranded as Bally Sports, ending the Fox Sports Networks branding after 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Media</span> American mass media company

Liberty Media Corporation, commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty, is an American mass media company founded by John C. Malone in 1991. The company has three divisions, reflecting its ownership stakes in Formula One, Sirius XM, and Live Nation Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports Sun</span> American regional sports network

Bally Sports Sun 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 Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local coverage of professional, collegiate and sporting events in the state of Florida, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Miami, Tampa and Orlando. Bally Sports Sun and sister regional sports network Bally Sports Florida are headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with studios located in Tampa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC Sports Regional Networks</span> Group of regional sports networks in the United States

NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were originally established as Comcast SportsNet (CSN), a unit of Comcast's cable television business, beginning with a network in Philadelphia which launched in 1997. Their operations were aligned with the national NBC Sports division following the 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast. NBC Sports Regional Networks' business and master control operations are based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports South</span> American regional sports network

Bally Sports South (BSSO) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports Networks. The network carries regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events from across the Southern United States, along with other sporting events and programming from Bally Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SportsChannel</span> American group of regional sports networks

SportsChannel is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that was owned by Cablevision, which from 1988 until the group's demise, operated it as a joint venture with NBC.

Stadium College Sports was a group of three American sports networks. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group, the three channels aired college and high school sporting events and programming. The channels were divided into three feeds—Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. Programming was drawn from the Bally Sports regional sports networks and Stadium. The channels were shut down on December 31, 2023.

A regional sports network (RSN) in the United States and Canada is a television channel that presents sports programming to a local media market or geographical region.

Prime Sports is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that were owned by Liberty Media, operating from November 1988 to October 31, 1996. While Liberty owned many of these networks, some of Prime's member networks were owned by other companies, and carried programming distributed for the group through affiliation agreements. As a result, Prime-affiliated networks had the right to select Prime Network programs to broadcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports West</span> American regional sports network

Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Sports SoCal. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events in California, focusing primarily on teams based in the Greater Los Angeles area. Bally Sports West is available on cable providers throughout Southern California, the Las Vegas Valley and Hawaii; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports Southeast</span> American regional sports network

Bally Sports Southeast (BSSE) 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 Bally Sports. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the southeastern United States, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Atlanta, Tennessee, and Charlotte.

SportsNet Pittsburgh is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is operated by sister network NESN through common ownership with Fenway Sports Group. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the channel broadcasts local coverage of sports events throughout Greater Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. It is the exclusive home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Root Sports Northwest</span> American regional sports television network

Root Sports Northwest, sometimes branded simply as Root Sports, is an American regional sports network owned by the Seattle Mariners. Headquartered near Seattle in the city of Bellevue, Washington, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Seattle and Portland. It is available on cable providers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

MSG Sportsnet is an American regional sports network owned by MSG Entertainment; it operates as a sister channel to MSG Network. The network serves the New York City metropolitan area, whose reach expands to cover the entire state of New York, Northern New Jersey, Southwestern Connecticut and Northeastern Pennsylvania; MSG Sportsnet carries sports events from several of the New York area's professional sports franchises, as well as college sports events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports Midwest</span> American regional sports network

Bally Sports Midwest 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 Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional event coverage of sports teams throughout the Midwestern United States, most prominently, professional sports teams based in St. Louis, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Sports Southwest</span> Texan regional sports network

Bally Sports Southwest is a Texas-based regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. 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 Bally Sports Networks' operations center in Atlanta, which houses master control operations for its regional networks in the Southeastern United States.

NBC Sports Bay Area is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and the San Francisco Giants, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquartered in San Francisco, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. NBCS Bay Area's sister channel is NBC Sports California. The president of the network is Ted Griggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monumental Sports Network</span> Regional sports network in Washington, D.C.

Monumental Sports Network, formerly NBC Sports Washington, is an American regional sports network owned by Ted Leonsis's Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Mid-Atlantic, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as well as sports news and entertainment programming.

AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain was an American regional sports network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the network broadcast regional coverage of sports events throughout the Rocky Mountain region, mainly focusing on professional sports teams based in the Denver metropolitan area, Utah and Nevada.

AT&T Sports Networks, LLC (ATTSN) was a group of regional sports networks in the United States that primarily own and operate AT&T Sports Networks. It was owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through TNT Sports. Each of the networks carried regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional, collegiate and high school sports teams.

References

  1. ↑ "All that Jazz" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine: 10. October 20, 1986. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Hudson, Bob (November 3, 1986). "Provo cable system to add more channels". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "Basketball 87". Broadcasting Magazine: 52. October 19, 1987. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Basketball 88" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine: 43. October 24, 1988. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "TCI, Daniels, McMullen play ball" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine: 44–45. March 27, 1989. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 Walker, Joseph (November 3, 1990). "53 JAZZ GAMES ON TV THIS SEASON". Deseret News. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Walker, Joseph (November 9, 1989). "TCI NOT CARRYING COMEDY CHANNEL". Deseret News. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "SPORTS BRIEFLY". Deseret News. 15 September 1995. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  9. ↑ 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 9, 2015.
  10. ↑ "FOX SPORTS NET DEBUTS ON NOV. 1". The Columbian . Columbian Publishing Company. Associated Press. September 13, 1996. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  11. ↑ "News Corp. Reaches Deal with Liberty Media". The New York Times . December 22, 2006. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ Todd Spangler (May 4, 2009). "DirecTV, Liberty Media Announce Spin-Off Plan". Multichannel News . Reed Business Information . Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ Mike Reynolds (November 20, 2009). "Liberty Sports Rebrands As DirecTV Sports Networks". Multichannel News. NewBay Media . Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  14. ↑ "'Root Sports' new name for sports networks". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. December 17, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Root Sports regional nets now part of AT&T Sports Networks". Awful Announcing. Ken Fang. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Root Sports regional nets now part of "AT&T Sports Networks"". Awful Announcing. 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  17. ↑ "AT&T SPORTS NETWORKS WILL REBRAND ROOT SPORTS IN SUMMER 2017". ROOT SPORTS. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  18. ↑ "Jazz sign 12-year agreement with FSN Utah". Salt Lake Tribune . MediaNews Group. October 20, 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.