Type of site | Sports broadcasting |
---|---|
Predecessor(s) | Fox Sports Go |
Owner | Diamond Sports Group |
Created by | Sinclair Digital Interactive Solutions |
Parent | Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios |
Launched | April 26, 2021 As Fox Sports Go: October 8, 2013 |
Current status | Active |
The Bally Sports app is the video streaming service of the former Fox Sports Networks, now Bally Sports regional sports networks. The app replaces Fox Sports Go (FSGO), the app of the former Fox Sports Networks. The service is available for customers of select cable and satellite TV providers, as well as the DirecTV Stream over-the-top service.
The service was initially introduced as Fox Sports' TV Everywhere service, including access to content from networks such as Fox Sports 1 and Big Ten Network (the latter already offered under the brand BTN2Go). Super Bowl XLVIII was streamed for free without authentication on personal computers and tablets, but not on mobile phones due to exclusive rights held by Verizon Wireless. [1] The event averaged 1.7 million viewers on the platform. [2]
For regional telecasts on the Fox Sports Networks, NBA games were available, and Major League Baseball games became available starting with the 2016 season, after Fox Sports and MLB came to an agreement for in-market streaming rights in November 2015. [3] Fox reached a similar deal for regional National Hockey League games beginning in the 2016–17 season. [4]
In 2019, Fox Sports Networks was sold to Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, as part of The Walt Disney Company's purchase of Fox's entertainment assets; Fox also sought to divest Fox Sports Networks but were barred from selling them to Disney by federal regulators. [5] The sale included rights to the Fox Sports Go platform; as a result, streaming of national Fox Sports channels (such as Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, and Big Ten Network) and programming was moved exclusively to FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app, leaving Fox Sports Go to only carry content from the regional networks. The national Fox Sports content continued to be listed on the Fox Sports Go main page as external links during an interim brand-licensing period. [6] [7]
On March 10, 2021, the programming from YES Network (which is also partially owned by Sinclair) was separated from FSGO and moved to a dedicated app. [8]
The Fox Sports Go app was scheduled to be relaunched as part of the Bally Sports rebranding of the Fox Sports Networks on March 31, 2021, but the new app was delayed to a then unspecified date. [9] On April 26, 2021, the Bally Sports app was launched. [10]
On June 23, 2022, Bally Sports soft-launched its Bally Sports Plus (or Bally Sports+) direct-to-consumers (DTC) service, which is accessible through the Bally Sports app. The service is available initially in five MLB cities: Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, and Tampa. [11] It launched nationally in the remainder of the networks' footprint on September 26. [12] [13]
On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; its restructuring plan included a proposal for the company to be separated from the Sinclair Broadcast Group into a standalone company. [14] By January 17, 2024, Diamond Sports announced a restructuring agreement after receiving a minority investment from Amazon, and reaching an agreement with the Sinclair Broadcast Group for a $495 million cash payment to settle an earlier lawsuit. Under the deal, the Bally Sports app will be folded into Amazon Prime Video. The restructuring still needs to be approved by the bankruptcy court. [15]
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.
Bally Sports Ohio is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and is operated as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Cleveland and Cincinnati, which are broadcast on separate programming feeds, as well as Columbus.
Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughout northern Ohio, including the Cleveland area.
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.
Bally Sports Florida is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local sports coverage in the state of Florida, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
Bally Sports North is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as a Bally Sports 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.
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.
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.
Bally Sports Wisconsin (BSWI) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Operating as the "Wisconsin" sub-feed of Fox Sports North until 2007, the channel was known as Fox Sports Wisconsin until 2021. It broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the state of Wisconsin, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Milwaukee, namely the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. It primarily operates from a studio/office facility in downtown Milwaukee, with secondary offices and production studio/office hub based in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Major League Baseball games not broadcast exclusively by its media partners are televised by regional sports networks, which present sports programming of interest to their respective region. Most MLB broadcasters are members of chains such as NBC Sports Regional Networks and Bally Sports, although several teams are broadcast by regional networks that are independent of these chains. Some teams own partial or majority stakes in their regional broadcaster.
Bally Sports SoCal 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 West. 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 SoCal is available on cable providers throughout Southern California, the Las Vegas Valley and Hawaii; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
Bally Sports Arizona (BSAZ) was an American regional sports network (RSN). The channel broadcast professional, collegiate and high school sports events, with a primary focus on Phoenix-area teams. It was available on most cable providers throughout Arizona and available nationwide on satellite provider DirecTV.
Bally Sports Kansas City (BSKC) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts coverage of professional, collegiate, and high school sports events both within and outside the Kansas City area. It maintains offices at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Bally Sports Oklahoma is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel provides statewide coverage of sports events within the state of Oklahoma, namely the Oklahoma City Thunder, the state's major college sports teams, and high school sports. Bally Sports Oklahoma is available on cable providers throughout Oklahoma, and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
Fox Sports Tennessee (FSTN) was an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcast regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events in the state of Tennessee, namely the Memphis Grizzlies and Nashville Predators.
Bally Sports Indiana (BSIN) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local professional and high school sports coverage throughout the state of Indiana, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Indianapolis, namely the NBA's Indiana Pacers.
Bally Sports San Diego is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Prior to the team parting ways with the network in 2023, the San Diego Padres owned a 20% stake. It was launched on March 17, 2012.
Bally Sports New Orleans is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local coverage of professional and collegiate sports events within New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.
Diamond Sports Group LLC is an American media and entertainment company operating as a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and partnered with Allen Media Group. The company operates Bally Sports, a group of regional sports channels that was formerly known as the Fox Sports Networks.
The Bally Sports Regional Networks are a group of regional sports networks in the United States owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint-venture company of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group. The naming rights to the network were sold to casino operator Bally's Corporation.