Regional sports network

In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region.

Historically, some RSNs originated as premium channels, however since the 1990s, they have commonly been distributed through the expanded basic programming tiers of cable and IPTV services, packaged alongside other national basic cable networks, and local broadcast stations and public, educational, and government access channels. Satellite providers often require subscribers to purchase a higher programming tier or a specialized sports tier to receive local and out-of-market regional sports networks.

Overview

The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and collegiate sporting events, as those games generate an overwhelming percentage of an RSN's advertising income, in addition to viewership. During the rest of the day, these channels show other sports and recreation programming (such as news programs covering local and national sports; magazine and discussion programs relating to a team or collegiate conference; fishing and hunting programs; and in-studio video simulcasts of sports radio programs); rebroadcasts of sports events that aired as late as the day prior and paid programming may also be shown. These channels are often the source content for out-of-market sports packages.

Regional sports networks are generally among the most expensive channels carried by cable television providers, due to the expense of rights to the local sports they carry; this higher subscriber fees received by television providers through retransmission consent carriage agreements coupled with percentages of other forms of revenue are used to pay local and regional teams for the right to broadcast their games. A typical RSN, as of 2012, carries a monthly retransmission fee of $2 to $3 per subscriber,^[1] lower than the rates providers charge to carry ESPN and premium channels but higher than the rates for other cable networks. These high prices are supported by demand for the often popular local sports teams they carry (particularly those that are member franchises of larger sports leagues such as Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, as well as college teams that have large and loyal fanbases); carriage disputes between distributors and RSNs are often controversial and protracted. The expense of the per subscriber rate led some major providers such as Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS to begin incorporating a fixed "regional sports network fee" as a separate surcharge within its billing statements as early as 2013.^[2][3]

Most regional sports networks in the United States are either affiliated with Fox Sports Networks or the NBC Sports-operated Comcast SportsNet, which produce and distribute supplementary programming – including professional and college sports events involving out-of-market teams, and sports-centered reality and documentary series – for their individual owned-and-operated member networks and any RSNs not under common ownership that receive their "nationally" distributed programming through affiliation agreements. Some RSNs also carry supplemental programming from networks such as America One, AMGTV or ESPNews.

In Canada, Sportsnet operates four regional sports networks, and the otherwise nationally distributed TSN also maintains some regional operations. This differs from the operational structure of RSNs in the United States, which are independently operated from national sports networks (Fox Sports Networks and Comcast SportsNet, for example, do not receive any programming from their respective sister national networks such as Fox Sports 1 and NBCSN, and are run as technically separate entities within their parent companies' sports divisions).

An increasing trend is for the teams whose games make up the lucrative programming to own the RSN themselves. This serves two purposes: first, the teams make more money operating an RSN than they would collecting a licensing fee from an individual network or a group, such as Fox Sports Net. Second, by owning their own RSN, teams that must share revenues with other members of their league can mask its broadcast-related profits. Under the old model, a team collects a large fee for licensing its games to the RSN. That fee would then be disclosed and shared with the other teams in the league. Under the new, team-owned RSN model, the team demands only a nominal fee, so the profits for local broadcasts stay with the team. The owned-and-operated RSN model generally works best in the largest markets where advertising and cable revenue is larger; in smaller or fringe markets, the sale of rights fees is more lucrative.

For example, the New York Rangers and New York Knicks have long co-owned their RSN, MSG; however, they also have purchased the rights to their rivals, the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. MSG also owns the rights to the Buffalo Sabres however the team and ownership controls game production and that has since evolved into a separate MSG sub-channel for the Sabres market called MSG Western New York which is duel controlled and programmed by MSG and Pegula Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Sabres effectively making it an owned and operated RSN. The Sabres once had their own owned-and-operated RSN before, Empire Sports Network, however instability in the Sabres and channel's ownership at the time led to difficulties and Empire was shut down in 2005 in favor of selling the Sabres' rights to MSG.

Fox Sports Networks

For years, the default RSN for many markets was owned by Fox Sports. Fox Sports Networks, which launched on November 1, 1996 as Fox Sports Net,^[4] was created through former parent News Corporation's October 1995 purchase of a 50% equity stake in Liberty Media-owned Prime Sports Networks, co-founded in 1988 by Bill Daniels and Liberty's then-sister company Tele-Communications Inc.^[5] The group expanded further in June 1997, Fox/Liberty Networks, the joint venture company operated by News Corporation and Liberty Media, purchased a 40% interest in the Cablevision-owned SportsChannel group.^[6][7] Fox Sports Networks serve as the regional counterparts to their national sister networks Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2.

As part of a rebranding effort, the collective branding of the networks – which eventually became "FSN (Region/City)" in 2004 – was extended to Fox Sports (Region/City) with the start of the 2008 college football season. The Pittsburgh-, Denver-, Salt Lake City- and Seattle-based affiliates, which were previously sold in 2009 to AT&T Sports Networks through Liberty's spin-off of its DirecTV unit,^[8] were rebranded as Root Sports on April 1, 2011.^[9] These channels largely continue to carry the same local teams and national FSN programs as aired under FSN ownership.

The networks that currently maintain affiliations with or are owned by Fox Sports Networks, and the major teams and athletic conferences the regional networks broadcast are as follows:

Current owned-and-operated outlets

Channel	Region served	Team broadcast rights	Non-professional sports broadcast rights	Notes
Fox Sports Arizona	Arizona New Mexico Utah Southern Nevada	Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB) Arizona Coyotes (NHL) Phoenix Suns (NBA) Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)	Arizona State Sun Devils sports Pac-12 Conference sports
Fox Sports Carolinas	North Carolina South Carolina	Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) Charlotte Hornets (NBA) Carolina Panthers (NFL) (team-related programs only) Atlanta Braves (MLB) (via Fox Sports South) Cincinnati Reds (MLB) (via Fox Sports Ohio)	Atlantic Coast Conference sports Southeastern Conference sports
Fox Sports Detroit	Michigan northwestern Ohio northeastern Indiana northeast Wisconsin	Detroit Tigers (MLB) Detroit Lions (NFL) (team-related programs only) Detroit Pistons (NBA) Detroit Red Wings (NHL)	Mid-American Conference men's basketball Detroit Titans men's basketball Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball Michigan High School Athletic Association championships (for all sports), football playoffs, and girls' and boys' basketball state finals
Fox Sports Florida	Florida southern Alabama southern Georgia	Florida Panthers (NHL) Miami Marlins (MLB) Tampa Bay Rays (MLB) Orlando Magic (NBA)	American Athletic Conference sports Atlantic Sun Conference sports Conference USA sports Atlantic Coast Conference sports
Fox Sports Indiana	central Indiana	Indiana Pacers (NBA) Indiana Fever (WNBA) Cincinnati Reds (MLB) (via Fox Sports Ohio)	Big 12 Conference sports Conference USA sports Southeastern Conference sports Western Athletic Conference sports Missouri Valley Conference sports Horizon League sports
Fox Sports Kansas City	Kansas City metropolitan area western and central Missouri Kansas eastern Nebraska Iowa	Kansas City Royals (MLB) St. Louis Blues (NHL) (via Fox Sports Midwest) Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) (via Fox Sports Oklahoma)	Big 12 Conference sports (University of Kansas and Kansas State University) Missouri Tigers sports Missouri Valley Conference basketball and championships Missouri State High School Activities Association championships
Fox Sports Midwest	Missouri southern Illinois southern Indiana eastern Nebraska eastern Kansas western Kentucky northern Arkansas	St. Louis Cardinals (MLB) St. Louis Blues (NHL)	Saint Louis Billikens sports Missouri Valley Conference basketball Missouri Tigers sports Kansas State Wildcats basketball Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball
Fox Sports New Orleans	Louisiana	New Orleans Pelicans (NBA) Dallas Stars (NHL) (via Fox Sports Southwest) Texas Rangers (MLB) (via Fox Sports Southwest)	Southeastern Conference sports (via Fox Sports South) Louisiana High School Athletics Association championships (rights shared with Cox Sports Television) Conference USA sports
Fox Sports North	Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa North Dakota South Dakota	Minnesota Twins (MLB) Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) Minnesota Wild (NHL) Minnesota Swarm (NLL) Minnesota Lynx (WNBA)	Minnesota Golden Gophers sports Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season games and championships Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs sports North Dakota Fighting Sioux sports Minnesota State Mavericks sports St. Cloud State Huskies sports	Originally launched in 1985 by Midwest Radio and Television, as WCCO II (a spin-off cable channel of CBS affiliate WCCO-TV) and was later relaunched as Midwest Sports Channel in 1989; National Sports Partners (a holding company owned by News Corporation, Liberty Media and Cablevision) acquired the network from Viacom in 2000, as part of its swap of Washington, D.C.-based Home Team Sports to Comcast.
Fox Sports Ohio	Ohio eastern Indiana Kentucky northwestern Pennsylvania southwestern New York	Cincinnati Reds (MLB) Cleveland Browns (NFL) (team-related programs only) Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) Cleveland Monsters (AHL) Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)	Cincinnati Bearcats sports Xavier Musketeers sports
Fox Sports Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) Dallas Stars (NHL) (via Fox Sports Southwest) Texas Rangers (MLB) (via Fox Sports Southwest)	Oklahoma Sooners sports Oklahoma State Cowboys sports Big 12 Conference sports
Fox Sports San Diego	San Diego metropolitan area	San Diego Padres (MLB) San Diego Chargers (NFL) (team-related programs only) Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (via Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (via Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket) Anaheim Ducks (NHL) (via Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket)
Fox Sports South	Georgia Mississippi Alabama Kentucky	Atlanta Braves (MLB) Atlanta Hawks (NBA)	Southeastern Conference sports Atlantic Coast Conference sports Conference USA sports Southern Conference sports Big South Conference sports	Originally owned by Turner Broadcasting System and Liberty Media, News Corporation purchased Turner's interest in 1996, relaunching it as Fox Sports South in 1997. As part of the sale, Turner was prohibited from owning another RSN, but used a loophole (by airing some non-sports programming) to launch Turner South, which, on October 13, 2006, was sold to Fox and took on the SportSouth name.
Fox Sports Southeast	Georgia Tennessee Alabama Mississippi South Carolina parts of North Carolina Elizabeth City micropolitan area Outer Banks	Atlanta Braves (MLB) Atlanta Dream (WNBA) Atlanta Hawks (NBA) Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) Charlotte Hornets (NBA) Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) Nashville Predators (NHL) Cincinnati Reds (MLB) (through Fox Sports Ohio) St. Louis Cardinals (MLB) (through Fox Sports Midwest)	Southeastern Conference sports Atlantic Coast Conference sports Conference USA sports Southern Conference sports Big South Conference sports
Fox Sports Southwest	northern and eastern Texas northern Louisiana New Mexico Arkansas Oklahoma	Texas Rangers (MLB) Dallas Mavericks (NBA) San Antonio Spurs (NBA) Dallas Stars (NHL) FC Dallas (MLS) San Antonio Silver Stars (WNBA)	Big 12 Conference sports Conference USA sports	Originally launched in 1983 as Home Sports and Entertainment, the network eventually joined the Prime Sports group in 1990 (as an affiliate; it became an owned-and-operated network in 1994).
Fox Sports Sun	Florida	Miami Heat (NBA) Miami Marlins (MLB) Orlando Magic (NBA) Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) Tampa Bay Rays (MLB)	Southeastern Conference sports Florida Gators sports Florida State Seminoles sports Florida High School Athletic Association football and basketball state finals
Fox Sports Tennessee	Tennessee northern Alabama	Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) Nashville Predators (NHL) Cincinnati Reds (MLB) (via Fox Sports Ohio) St. Louis Cardinals (MLB) (via Fox Sports Midwest) Atlanta Braves (MLB) (via Fox Sports South)	Southeastern Conference sports
Fox Sports West Prime Ticket	Southern California Southern Nevada Hawaii	Anaheim Ducks (NHL) Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (MLB) Los Angeles Kings (NHL)	Big West Conference sports West Coast Conference sports
Fox Sports Wisconsin	Wisconsin western Upper Peninsula of Michigan eastern Minnesota northwestern Illinois Iowa	Milwaukee Brewers (MLB) Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) Minnesota Wild (NHL) (via Fox Sports North)	Wisconsin Badgers hockey Western Collegiate Hockey Association Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sports Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournaments Big East Conference football and basketball) ((through FSN and ESPN Plus) Big 12 Conference football and basketball) (through FSN and ESPN Plus) Pac-12 Conference football and basketball) ((through FSN and ESPN Plus)
SportsTime Ohio	Ohio eastern Indiana Kentucky northwestern Pennsylvania southwestern New York	Cleveland Indians (MLB) Ohio Machine (MLL)	Mid-American Conference sports Notre Dame Fighting Irish football and basketball University of Akron football Cleveland State Vikings basketball Horizon League basketball Ohio High School Athletic Association playoff and championship events
YES Network	New York metropolitan area northern New Jersey northeastern Pennsylvania southern Connecticut	New York Yankees (MLB) Brooklyn Nets (NBA) New York City FC (MLS) Staten Island Yankees (New York-Penn)	Ivy League football and basketball Big 12 Conference basketball (through ESPN Plus) Atlantic Coast Conference football and basketball (through FSN)

Current affiliates

Channel	Owner	Region served	Team broadcast rights	Non-professional sports broadcast rights
MASN2	Baltimore Orioles (90%) Washington Nationals (10%)	Maryland Washington, D.C. Virginia eastern and central North Carolina West Virginia south central Pennsylvania Delaware	Washington Nationals (MLB) Baltimore Orioles (MLB) (serves as overflow network for both teams)
Root Sports Northwest	Seattle Mariners (60%) AT&T Sports Networks (40%)[10]	Washington Oregon Alaska	Seattle Mariners (MLB) Seattle Seahawks (NFL) (preseason games and team-related programs only) Seattle Sounders FC (MLS) Portland Timbers (MLS) Utah Jazz (NBA) (via Root Sports Utah) Western Hockey League	Western Athletic Conference sports Big Sky Conference sports Mountain West Conference sports West Coast Conference sports
Root Sports Pittsburgh	AT&T Sports Networks	Western, central and northeastern Pennsylvania West Virginia (except eastern panhandle counties near metro D.C.) eastern Ohio western Maryland extreme eastern Kentucky	Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB) Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)	Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League high school football California University of Pennsylvania Vulcans football and basketball American Athletic Conference basketball (via ESPN Plus) Northeast Conference basketball Atlantic Coast Conference basketball (via Raycom Sports) Big 12 Conference women's basketball Pac-12 Conference basketball
Root Sports Rocky Mountain	AT&T Sports Networks	Colorado Wyoming Southern Idaho western Kansas western Nebraska northeastern Nevada western South Dakota	Colorado Rockies (MLB)	Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey Big 12 Conference football and basketball Big Sky Conference sports Western Athletic Conference sports Conference USA sports Mountain West Conference sports
Root Sports Utah	AT&T Sports Networks	Utah	Utah Jazz (NBA)	Utah Utes sports Utah State Aggies sports Big 12 Conference football, baseball and basketball Big Sky Conference football, baseball and basketball Western Athletic Conference football, baseball and basketball Conference USA football, baseball and basketball Mountain West Conference football, baseball and basketball

Former Fox Sports affiliates

Some current networks were once owned-and-operated by Fox Sports Net, and continue to carry Fox Sports Networks-distributed national game telecasts and non-event programs, since the markets they serve do not have an FSN affiliate:

Channel	Notes/status
Fox Sports Houston	Shut down in 2012, after losing the broadcast rights to the Houston Rockets and Houston Astros to Comcast SportsNet Houston (which was later relaunched as Root Sports Southwest, although not an FSN affiliate, in 2014).
FSN Bay Area	Sold to Comcast and relaunched as Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in 2008.
FSN Chicago	Shut down in 2006, after losing the broadcast rights to the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls to Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
FSN New England	Sold to Comcast and relaunched as Comcast SportsNet New England in 2008.
FSN New York	Sold to Cablevision and relaunched as MSG Plus in February 2008; now owned by The Madison Square Garden Company.

Alternate feeds and channels

Fox Sports Ohio

Fox Sports Ohio is unique among the regional Fox Sports Networks as it operates in two full-time 24-hour feeds, one for Cleveland and one for Cincinnati (some television providers improperly refer to the latter "Fox Sports Cincinnati" to avoid confusion among viewers); the Cincinnati feed formerly operated as a separate channel, SportsChannel Cincinnati, until it was converted into a subfeed of Fox Sports Ohio following Fox's acquisition and integration of the SportsChannel group into FSN in 1998. National programming is exactly the same on both feeds. However, only the Cincinnati feed carries Reds games, which are prohibited from airing in most of northeast Ohio because of territorial restrictions. Both feeds carry Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Cavaliers broadcasts, although not all air on both because of conflicts. Reds games televised by the Cincinnati feed are also broadcast on Fox Sports Indiana and Fox Sports Tennessee.

Fox Sports Networks subfeeds and alternate / overflow feeds

Some Fox Sports affiliates maintain subfeeds to eliminate scheduling conflicts when two teams that the individual network has rights to are playing at the same time, in order to air both games at once. Fox Sports affiliates that operate these alternate feeds are:

Channel	Subfeed(s)
Root Sports Rocky Mountain	Root Sports Utah
Fox Sports South	Fox Sports Tennessee Fox Sports Carolinas
Fox Sports Southwest	Fox Sports Oklahoma Fox Sports New Orleans

Some Fox Sports affiliates have alternate (or overflow) feeds for the same purpose, named after the host network with "Plus" as a suffix (for example, Fox Sports Detroit Plus). In most cases, subfeeds and alternate feeds are only used during live game telecasts, and are replaced with the main feed's programming the rest of the time; however, these alternate feeds may provide sports-related programming (such as analysis programs that are not aired as a pre-game or post-game show) which may be exclusive to that feed.

Some affiliates once operated merely as subfeeds, but have since become full-fledged regional channels in their own right. Fox Sports Kansas City and Fox Sports Indiana were once subfeeds of Fox Sports Midwest, and Fox Sports Wisconsin once operated as a subfeed of Fox Sports North.

Comcast SportsNet (NBC Sports Regional Networks)

Seeing an opportunity to serve sports fans on a more local level and generate profits, cable conglomerate Comcast began creating their own RSN – Comcast SportsNet – in the late 1990s. The groundwork of this group was laid as a result of Comcast's March 1996 purchase of 66% equity in Philadelphia-based event organizer Spectacor, automatically giving it ownership of its two professional team franchises;^[11][12] this led to the creation of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which launched on October 1, 1997.^[13]

Ironically, CSN would purchase a small number of RSNs previously owned by Fox Sports Networks, and acquired the local rights to professional teams that FSN regional networks carried (in two markets, the latter situation resulted in Fox Sports shutting down their networks). With the January 2011 Comcast merger with NBCUniversal, NBC Sports has taken operational control of these networks and they are expected to become overtime more integrated with their sister national sports network, NBCSN.

Channel	Region served	Team broadcast rights	Non-professional sports broadcast rights	Notes
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area	San Francisco Bay Area Northern California Central California Southern Oregon Nevada	San Francisco Giants (MLB) Golden State Warriors (NBA) San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)	Stanford Cardinal sports California Golden Bears sports Pac-12 Conference sports West Coast Conference sports Mountain West Conference sports Western Athletic Conference sports	Serves the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area; formerly part of Fox Sports Networks from 1998 to 2007.
Comcast SportsNet California	northern California central California parts of Oregon parts of Nevada	Oakland Athletics (MLB) Sacramento Kings (NBA) San Jose Sharks (NHL) San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)	California Golden Bears sports San Francisco Dons sports Sacramento State Hornets sports Saint Mary's Gaels sports UC Davis Aggies sports Pacific Tigers sports Nevada Wolf Pack sports San Jose State Spartans sports	Based in Northern California; sister channel of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area; formerly known as Comcast Sports Net West.
Comcast SportsNet Chicago	Chicago metropolitan area northern and central Illinois Iowa northern Indiana Kenosha County, Wisconsin southwestern Michigan	Chicago Cubs (MLB) Chicago White Sox (MLB) Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) Chicago Bulls (NBA) Chicago Fire S.C. (MLS)	Northern Illinois Huskies football Illinois State Redbirds basketball UIC Flames basketball	Owned by Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal (20%), the family of Chicago Cubs owner J. Joseph Ricketts (20%), Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf (40%), and Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz (20%).
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic	Maryland Virginia Washington, D.C. southern Pennsylvania eastern West Virginia southern Delaware Hampton Roads Outer Banks	Washington Capitals (NHL) Washington Wizards (NBA) Washington Redskins (NFL) (preseason games only) D.C. United (MLS) Washington Mystics (WNBA) Chesapeake Bayhawks (MLL)	Atlantic Coast Conference football and basketball Colonial Athletic Association sports	Formerly known as Home Team Sports (HTS), based in Washington, D.C.; Fox and Comcast acquired this network from Viacom in 2000, along with Minneapolis-based Midwest Sports Channel. Fox later purchased 100% of MSC in a swap with Comcast for HTS and renamed it FSN North.
Comcast SportsNet New England	Massachusetts eastern and central Connecticut Vermont Maine New Hampshire Rhode Island	Boston Celtics (NBA) New England Revolution (MLS) Boston Cannons (MLL) Maine Red Claws (D-League)	Formerly part of SportsChannel from 1984 to 1998 and Fox Sports Networks from 1998 to 2007.
Comcast SportsNet Northwest	Washington Oregon	Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) Portland Winterhawks (WHL) Vancouver Canucks (NHL) (through Sportsnet Pacific) Portland Thunder (AFL) Tacoma Rainiers (PCL)	University of Oregon Ducks sports	Based in Portland, Oregon.
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia	Philadelphia metropolitan area eastern Pennsylvania southern New Jersey	Philadelphia Phillies (MLB) Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) Philadelphia Union (MLS)	Philadelphia Big 5 basketball Atlantic 10 Conference football and basketball Colonial Athletic Association sports	Formed in 1997, effectively replacing SportsChannel Philadelphia (an RSN which first launched in 1990) and PRISM (a premium channel that first launched in 1976).[13] It was the first Comcast SportsNet channel to launch and (through its ownership by Flyers and 76ers parent Comcast Spectacor) was a pioneer in team-owned sports networks.
SportsNet New York	New York metropolitan area New York State Connecticut northern New Jersey	New York Mets (MLB) New York Jets (NFL) (team-related programs only)	Big East Conference sports Sun Belt Conference sports University of Connecticut Huskies sports	Owned by the New York Mets (65%), Charter Communications (27%) and Comcast (8%).

Alternate feeds on Comcast SportsNet

As with FSN, most Comcast SportsNet affiliates have alternate/overflow feeds to avoid conflicts when two sports teams that the respective regional network has rights to broadcast are playing simultaneously, in order to allow both games to air simultaneously. These feeds are named after the host network with the suffixed "Plus" at the end of the name (for example, Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus). The alternate/overflow feeds are only used during live game telecasts and are replaced with the main feed's programming at all other times. Comcast SportsNet Chicago also maintains a second alternate feed called Comcast SportsNet Chicago alternate or Plus 2. CSN Chicago Plus now operates as a full-time channel, with repeats of programs previously broadcast on the main feed when a live event is not being telecast.

The CSN alternate channels are also used to show college football and basketball games distributed by Fox Sports Networks.

Comcast SportsNet in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley

Since a large number of sports teams exist within the San Francisco Bay Area and the rest of Northern California, Comcast SportsNet maintains two owned-and-operated outlets which split coverage of local sports: Comcast SportsNet California and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. It is the only market served by Comcast SportsNet where two 24-hour, full-time CSN affiliates operate. Due to the territorial rules set by the National Basketball Association, Golden State Warriors games do not air in the Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto television market on CSN Bay Area, while for the same reason, CSN California cannot air Sacramento Kings telecasts in the San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose market.

Sportsnet

Sportsnet (formerly known as CTV Sportsnet and Rogers Sportsnet) is owned by the Rogers Media division of Toronto-based Rogers Communications. Although it is considered a national channel with multiple feeds for regulatory purposes, in practice its four main channels act as a set of RSNs, albeit with a significant portion of common national programming. The four channels are:

• Sportsnet East – Serving the Ottawa region, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador; carries coverage of the Montreal Canadiens.
• Sportsnet Ontario – Serving all of Ontario, excluding the Ottawa region; carries coverage of the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Sportsnet West – Serving Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories; carries coverage of the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers (although blacked out in Manitoba due to the Winnipeg Jets).
• Sportsnet Pacific – Serving British Columbia and the Yukon; carries coverage of the Vancouver Canucks.

Through the separate Sportsnet One licence, Rogers also operates three part-time regional "companion channels", which provide coverage of additional regional NHL broadcasts which are not able to air on Sportsnet's main regional channels.

Rogers is also a shareholder in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which owns Leafs TV, a channel devoted entirely to the Toronto Maple Leafs and its farm team, the Toronto Marlies (and is restricted to the Leafs' broadcast territory). MLSE also operates NBA TV Canada, which is distributed nationally but focuses much of its programming on the MLSE-owned Toronto Raptors and farm team Raptors 905.

TSN/RDS

On August 25, 2014, The Sports Network (TSN), another Canadian sports channel, split its singular national feed into four regional feeds in a manner similar to Sportsnet. These feeds are primarily used to broadcast regional NHL games,^[14] but may also be used to provide alternative and common national programming.^[15]

While each region has a primary TSN channel, due to overlaps in NHL territories it is possible in some parts of Ontario to access additional regional games from one non-primary channel. These situations are noted as they occur below.^[16]

• TSN1 – Primarily serves British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon. TSN does not hold regional television rights to Alberta's NHL teams nor the Vancouver Canucks, but the network does carry a Canucks-oriented midday program produced by TSN Radio station CKST (which holds the team's radio rights).
• TSN3 – Primarily serves Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Carries coverage of the Winnipeg Jets (this coverage is also available in Northwestern Ontario, where TSN4 is primary).
• TSN4 – Primarily serves Ontario, excluding eastern Ontario. Carries coverage of the Toronto Maple Leafs (also available in parts of eastern Ontario outside of the Ottawa Valley, where TSN5 is primary).
• TSN5 – Primarily serves eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Carries coverage of the Ottawa Senators (also available in parts of south-central Ontario east of the immediate Toronto area, where TSN4 is primary).

Prior to the launch of these channels, regional NHL games whose rights were held by TSN (which, at that point, consisted solely of the Jets and Montreal Canadiens) were broadcast on special part-time channels exclusive to the team's television region.^[17] TSN parent company Bell Canada still carries the Buffalo Sabres' regional telecasts in this manner in that team's Canadian territory.^[18]

Bell Media also owns Réseau des sports (RDS) and RDS2, French language sports networks that are licensed to serve all of Canada, but in practice focus on the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec (as there are relatively few francophones outside that province). Prior to the 2014–15 season, RDS could air Canadiens games on a national basis, as it was also the national French-language rightsholder of the National Hockey League in Canada. With Rogers' acquisition of the exclusive national programming rights to the NHL, and its decision to sub-license French rights to Quebecor Media's TVA Sports, RDS and RDS2's coverage of the Canadiens and Senators are now restricted to parts of Eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.^[19]

Spectrum Sports

Spectrum Sports is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks that are primarily owned and operated by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Time Warner Cable in May 2016.

Channel	Owner	Region served	Team/conference broadcast rights	Notes
Spectrum Sports	Charter Communications	Tampa Bay metropolitan area and Greater Orlando	South Florida Bulls sports UCF Knights basketball and football Florida High School Athletic Association semi-finals and finals	Network maintains separate feeds for the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas.
Spectrum Sports	Charter Communications	Kansas City metropolitan area Lincoln, Nebraska	Kansas Jayhawks sports Big 12 Conference sports Missouri Valley Conference sports Summit League sports NAIA sports
Spectrum Sports	Charter Communications	Ohio parts of northern Kentucky western Pennsylvania	Columbus Crew (MLS) Columbus Clippers (IL) Toledo Mud Hens (IL) Dayton Flyers basketball Miami RedHawks hockey Mid-American Conference college football and basketball Ohio High School Athletic Association sports
Spectrum Sports	Charter Communications	Upstate New York	Buffalo Bisons (IL) Rochester Knighthawks (NLL) Rochester Razorsharks (PBL) Rochester Red Wings (IL) Rochester Rhinos (USL) New York Mets (MLB) (via WPIX/New York City) Rochester Americans (AHL) Syracuse Chiefs (IL) Syracuse Crunch (AHL) New York Knicks (NBA (via MSG Network) Eastern College Athletic Conference hockey Syracuse Orange football, basketball and lacrosse Buffalo Bulls football (home games only) Canisius Golden Griffins hockey and basketball Niagara Purple Eagles hockey and basketball RIT Tigers ice hockey Colgate Raiders sports	The first Time Warner sports channel, founded in 2003. Network maintains separate feeds for Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown, Binghamton and Buffalo, due to broadcasting restrictions imposed by sports leagues and conferences.
Spectrum Sports	Charter Communications	Wisconsin	Milwaukee Panthers sports
Spectrum SportsNet Spectrum Deportes	Los Angeles Lakers (50%) Charter Communications (50%)	Southern California Central California Las Vegas Valley Hawaii	Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)	Launched in October 2012, these regional sports networks (each respectively broadcasting in English and Spanish) were formed out of a 20-year broadcast agreement signed by the Lakers and Time Warner Cable (the primary cable operator in most of Southern California) on February 14, 2011, in which all Lakers games not slated to be nationally televised by ABC or TNT would air locally on two new channels, each with separate English and Spanish-language broadcast teams. The two networks are also available on Cox Communications, DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, and Frontier FiOS.
Spectrum SportsNet LA	Guggenheim Baseball Management (50%) Charter Communications (50%)	Greater Los Angeles Area Coachella Valley Hawaii	Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB)	Launched in February 2014, SportsNet LA was formed out of a 25-year broadcast agreement signed by the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable on January 28, 2013, in which all Dodgers games not nationally televised by Fox or ESPN would air locally on a dedicated network.[20]
Spectrum Sports		Texas	FC Dallas (MLS)	Subfeeds: Dallas / Waco, Austin / San Antonio.
Spectrum Sports		North Carolina South Carolina		Subfeeds: Charlotte, Raleigh, Columbia.

Independent regional sports networks

The following is a list of regional sports channels which are not part of a larger national network:

Channel	Owner	Region served	Team/conference broadcast rights	Notes
Altitude Sports and Entertainment	Kroenke Sports Enterprises	Colorado Utah Kansas Montana Nebraska New Mexico Nevada South Dakota Wyoming	Colorado Avalanche (NHL) Denver Nuggets (NBA) Colorado Mammoth (MLL) Colorado Rapids (MLS) Colorado Springs Sky Sox (PCL) Colorado Eagles (CHL) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference sports	Network also broadcasts other Denver and Rocky Mountain area sports, and general interest programming. Altitude operates an alternate (or overflow) feed known as Altitude 2.
Buckeye Cable Sports Network	Block Communications	Toledo, Ohio	Toledo Mud Hens (IL) Bowling Green Falcons sports Toledo Rockets sports
Channel 4 San Diego (4SD)	Cox Communications	San Diego metropolitan area	Mountain West Conference sports West Coast Conference sports	Formerly carried San Diego Padres games from 1997 to 2011.
Comcast Television (CTV)	Comcast	Michigan	Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and playoff games Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football Mid-American Conference football Michigan High School Athletic Association sports	Available exclusively on Comcast-operated systems in Michigan; Comcast Television also carries college and high school magazine shows, Your Tiger Ticket (the Detroit Tigers' monthly magazine program), as well as outdoor sports programs.
Cox Sports Television	Cox Communications	Louisiana Texas Florida Arkansas	New Orleans Zephyrs (PCL) New Orleans Saints (NFL) (preseason games only) Southern Conference sports Louisiana High School Athletics Association championships	Was formerly the television home of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans), from 2002 to 2012; the team signed a new broadcast agreement with Fox Sports in 2012, helping launching Fox Sports New Orleans. Based in New Orleans.
Hometown Sports Indiana		Indianapolis, Indiana	Indianapolis Indians (IL) Indy Fuel (ECHL) Indianapolis Greyhounds sports Wabash Little Giants sports Franklin Grizzlies sports (mostly football) Marian Knights sports (mostly football) Indiana High School Athletic Association sports events	Slated to shut down October 1, 2016.[21]
Image Sports Network		Erie, Pennsylvania	Erie Explosion (PIFL) Gannon Golden Knights sports Mercyhurst Lakers sports Edinboro Fighting Scots sports
Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN)	Baltimore Orioles (90%) Washington Nationals (10%)	Maryland Washington, D.C. Virginia eastern and central North Carolina West Virginia south central Pennsylvania Delaware	Washington Nationals (MLB) Baltimore Orioles (MLB) Baltimore Ravens (NFL; preseason games and team-related programs only) Georgetown Hoyas sports George Mason Patriots sports UNC Wilmington Seahawks sports Big South Conference sports Big East Conference football and men's basketball	The channel televises all Orioles and Nationals not broadcast on a national network (around 320 games annually). Televises more than 520 live major sporting events annually. MASN operates an alternate feed, MASN 2. MASN also simulcasts a 20-game package of Orioles games on Baltimore CBS O&O station WJZ-TV, as well as a 20-game package of Nationals games on Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate WUSA-TV.
Midco Sports Network	Midcontinent Communications	South Dakota North Dakota western Minnesota	South Dakota Coyotes sports South Dakota State Jackrabbits sports University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux sports (via Fighting Sioux Sports Network)	Midco Sports Network also broadcasts sports events from many other smaller colleges in the Dakotas and Minnesota; the network maintains two overflow feeds.
MSG Network	The Madison Square Garden Company	New York metropolitan area New York State	New York Knicks (NBA) New York Rangers (NHL) New York Liberty (WNBA) New York Red Bulls (MLS) Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball Northeast Conference basketball America East Conference basketball Atlantic Coast Conference basketball	Launched in 1977, as the second regional sports network in the United States. MSG 2 serves as an alternate (or overflow) feed.
MSG Western New York	The Madison Square Garden Company / Pegula Sports and Entertainment	Western New York	Buffalo Sabres (NHL) Buffalo Bills (NFL) (Preseason and team-related programs only) New York Knicks (NBA (via MSG Network)	Launched in 2016. Replaced MSG in the Buffalo Sabres broadcast market. Duel managed/programmed by MSG and PSE. MSG WNY Sabres telecasts are shown in Canada on the Sabres Hockey Network
MSG Plus	The Madison Square Garden Company	New York metropolitan area New York State	New York Islanders (NHL) New Jersey Devils (NHL) New York Lizards (MLL)	Originated as Cablevision Sports 3 in 1976 as the first regional sports network in the United States; as SportsChannel New York, it became the flagship of the SportsChannel group from 1984 to 1998; formerly part of Fox Sports Networks from 1998 to 2008. MSG Plus 2 serves as the network's main overflow feed.
NESN (New England Sports Network)	New England Sports Ventures (Fenway Sports Group (80%) Delaware North (20%)	New England	Boston Red Sox (MLB) Boston Bruins (NHL) Pawtucket Red Sox (IL) Beanpot tournament Boston College Eagles basketball Quinnipiac Bobcats sports Hockey East college hockey Atlantic Coast Conference football and basketball (via Fox Sports Networks) Conference USA sports (via the American Sports Network) Patriot League sports (via the American Sports Network)
Oc 16 Sports	Oceanic Time Warner Cable (Charter Communications)	Hawaii	Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football	Maintains a separate channel devoted to local Hawaiian athletics as the exclusive broadcast home of the University of Hawaii, and carries other live programming.
Root Sports Southwest	AT&T Sports Networks (AT&T Inc.)	Houston Astros (MLB) Houston Rockets (NBA) Houston Dynamo (MLS) Houston Dash (NWSL) Conference USA football (mainly Houston Cougars, Rice Owls, UTEP Miners, SMU Mustangs and Tulane Green Wave) Mountain West Conference sports	As with other Root Sports networks, Root Sports Southwest also airs The Dan Patrick Show and The Rich Eisen Show.
SWX Right Now	Cowles Publishing Company (The KHQ Television Group)	Inland Northwest	Spokane Shock (AFL) Spokane Chiefs (WHL) Eastern Washington Eagles football and basketball Gonzaga Bulldogs men's and women's basketball Idaho Vandals football Whitworth University football and basketball Big Sky Conference football	Network also broadcasts high school sports events and local minor league baseball, hockey and horse racing events; SWX also carries programming from ONE World Sports.
TV2 Sports	Service Electric	Lehigh Valley	Lehigh Valley IronPigs sports Reading Phillies sports	Also broadcasts local high school sports involving eastern Pennsylvania schools.
TW3	Time Warner Cable (Charter Communications)	Capital District of New York Saratoga County south Adirondack County Mohawk Valley most of Berkshire County, Massachusetts	Albany Devils (AHL) New York Yankees (MLB) (via WWOR-TV/New York City) Albany Great Danes sports Siena Saints sports Union Dutchmen ice hockey RPI Engineers men's ice hockey American Athletic Conference football and basketball America East Conference sports
TWC TV	Time Warner Cable (Charter Communications)	Maine New Hampshire	Maine Red Claws (D-League)

College networks

Channel	Owner	Notes
Big Ten Network (BTN)	Big Ten Conference (50%) Fox Cable Networks (50%)	Big Ten Network exclusively airs sports events sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, involving all fourteen of the conference's member universities. Big Ten Network operates four overflow feeds for overlapping football telecasts.
BYU Television (byutv)	Brigham Young University	BYU Television airs many Brigham Young University Cougars, BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii sporting events, including live and encore broadcasts of BYU football games under a unique agreement with ESPN (BYU is an NCAA FBS independent in football). The university-owned national network's main purpose (since its launch in 2000) is to air programming and films pertaining to both BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with BYU sports serving as a secondary form of programming.
Pac-12 Network	Pac-12 Conference	Dedicated to sanctioned sporting events and other programming involving the Pac-12 Conference, the Pac-12 Networks consists of a national feed and six regional networks: Pac-12 Los Angeles (dedicated to the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California), Pac-12 Washington (dedicated to University of Washington and Washington State University), Pac-12 Oregon (dedicated to University of Oregon and Oregon State University), Pac-12 Bay Area (dedicated to the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University), Pac-12 Arizona (dedicated to the University of Arizona and Arizona State University), and Pac-12 Mountain (dedicated to the University of Colorado and the University of Utah).[22] The national network was available in at least 48 million homes at time of launch,[23] while the regional networks are available throughout their respective region within the Pac-12's designated territory.[24] The Pac-12 Networks are the first owned fully by a conference without support from outside groups (Big Ten Network is a 49% owned by Fox Cable Networks and MountainWest Sports Network was owned in conjunction with CBS Corporation and Comcast).
Longhorn Network	University of Texas at Austin ESPN IMG College	The network is dedicated to sports events and other programming relating to the University of Texas at Austin; the arrangement has caused controversy among other members of the Big 12 Conference and by Texas A&M University, alleging the network could give UT-Austin a perceived recruiting advantage. Proposals to air University Interscholastic League high school football games on the network were shelved due to these factors.
SEC Network	ESPN Inc. (The Walt Disney Company, 80%; Hearst Corporation, 20%)	The Southeastern Conference first explored starting its own 24-hour cable network in 2007,[25] however a content deal between the University of Florida and Fox-owned Sun Sports,[26] and a long-term deal between the SEC and ESPN Inc.[27] suspended the proposal. ESPN Plus later reached an agreement with the SEC to broadcast conference football and basketball games via the syndicated sub-service SEC TV, under an arrangement basically identical to that of past SEC rightsholders Raycom/Lincoln Financial/Jefferson-Pilot Sports. As part of a 20-year broadcast agreement reached between the SEC and ESPN in May 2013, ESPN launched the SEC Network, as a cable/satellite network devoted to Southeastern Conference sports, on August 14, 2014.[28]

Defunct networks

Channel	Owner	Region served	Description
Arizona Sports Programming Network/"Cox 9"	Cox Communications	Phoenix, Arizona	Named for its designated channel slot on local cable providers, ASPN/Cox 9 (owned by Cox, the dominant cable operator in the Phoenix area) aired Phoenix Firebirds baseball and Phoenix Suns NBA home games throughout its history. In 2003, the channel removed some of its professional sports telecasts and became Cox7 (moving to basic cable channel 7), with Fox Sports Arizona acquiring the regional cable television rights to the events.
BlazerVision		Portland, Oregon	A pay-per-view network which aired Portland Trail Blazers games as late as 2000. It was then replaced by the Action Sports Cable Network, which carried other sports events, in addition to Blazers telecasts. The channel folded permanently in November 2002.
Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television (C-SET)	Robert L. Johnson Time Warner Cable	Charlotte, North Carolina	Operating from October 2004 to June 2005, the channel mainly broadcast NBA games involving the Charlotte Bobcats.
Columbus Sports Network (CSN)	United Media Acquisitions	Columbus, Ohio	The channel broadcast events, features, highlights and news on professional, collegiate, scholastic and amateur sports teams in the Columbus area; CSN ceased operations in 2008 and was replaced by an all-infomercial service.
Comcast Local (CL)	Comcast	Michigan Indiana	Operating from 2004 to 2008, the channel aired professional, collegiate and high school sports throughout most of Michigan and Indiana. Comcast Local held the rights to a number of Big Ten Conference and Mid-American Conference sports telecasts, as well as games from the Detroit Ignition of the MISL and Canadian Football League. It was merged into a similar Michigan-based channel, Comcast Television, in March 2008.
Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS)	Comcast (50%) Charter Communications (50%)	Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia	Launched in 1999 and based in Atlanta, the network carried sporting events from the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA, the Gwinnett Braves and its parent minor league, the Southern League as well as the South Atlantic League as well as college sports events from the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Sun Belt Conference, Conference USA and Atlantic Sun Conference. Distributed exclusively to cable providers, the network also maintained sub-regional feeds throughout its coverage area. The former Comcast "crescent C" corporate logo was used for the channel's logo despite Charter's co-ownership. Comcast Sports Southwest operated as a subfeed that mainly broadcast in the Houston area. Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast shut down on June 1, 2014, following the loss of its marquee Southeastern Conference sports programming to the SEC Network.[29]
Empire Sports Network	Adelphia Communications Corporation	Upstate New York parts of northern Pennsylvania parts of eastern Ohio	Operated from 1991 until March 7, 2005, folding upon the collapse of its parent company Adelphia Communications and the sale of the channel's principal sports team, the Buffalo Sabres.[30][31]
ESPN West	ESPN Inc. (The Walt Disney Company, 80%; Hearst Corporation, 20%)	unlaunched	A proposed network that was to have televised games featuring the Anaheim Angels and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim; both teams and the network were owned at the time by ESPN majority parent The Walt Disney Company. The Los Angeles Clippers were also approached to join the network, but ultimately elected to remain with Fox Sports' Southern California networks. Announced in late 1997, the network folded in 1998 prior to launch.[32]
Grizzlies Regional Sports Network		unlaunched	A proposed network that was slated to carry NBA games and related programming on the Memphis Grizzlies; it folded before its first scheduled game, and the team opted to instead renew its contract with Fox Sports South.
Hawkvision	Bill Wirtz	Chicago metropolitan area	Operating for several months in 1992, Hawkvision was a subscription television service that carried NHL games from the Chicago Black Hawks, after network founder Bill Wirtz halted local broadcasts of home games on the belief that it would broadcasting the regular season events was unfair to the team's season-ticket holders.[33]
Pro-Am Sports System (PASS Sports)	William Wischman (1982–1984) Tom Monaghan (1984–1992) Post-Newsweek Stations (1992–1997)	Detroit, Michigan	Launched in 1984, PASS carried coverage of professional and college teams in Detroit and Michigan; in 1997, the channel folded after Fox Sports Detroit won the rights to the Detroit Pistons, with PASS subsequently elling the rights to the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings to that network.[34] Some current announcers for Fox Sports Detroit formerly worked for PASS. Was co-owned and operated with Post-Newsweek station and NBC affiliate WDIV, which was also the over-the-air TV home of the Tigers from 1975 to 1994.
PRISM	Spectacor/20th Century Fox (1976–1981) Spectacor (1981–1983) Rainbow Media/The Washington Post Company (1983–1985) Rainbow Media/The Washington Post Company/CBS (1985–1987) Rainbow Media (1987–1997)	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Launched in 1976 by Spectacor as a regional premium television service that featured a mix of movies, sports and some children's programming. Initially carrying all of its programming commercial-free, sports telecasts began to include commercials in 1984 (all non-sports programs remained commercial-free for the remainder of the network's run). The channel held rights to sporting events from the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, and regional minor league and college sporting events. PRISM, along with Sportschannel Philadelphia, were replaced by Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia in October 1997.
Royals Sports Television Network	Kansas City Royals	Kansas City metropolitan area western Missouri Kansas Nebraska Oklahoma Iowa	Launched in 2003, it served as a regional network/syndicator of Kansas City Royals game telecasts; RSTN ceased operations after the 2007 Major League Baseball season, with Fox Sports Midwest acquiring the regional television rights to the Royals, resulting in the creation of Fox Sports Kansas City as a spin-off network to broadcast the games.
SportsChannel Los Angeles	Rainbow Media	Southern California	Launched in 1990, replacing the locally based movie service Z Channel, SportsChannel Los Angeles inherited its predecessor's premium service model; the network broadcast Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, and Los Angeles Clippers games. Due to low subscribership and failed attempt at converting into a part-time basic service that required professional and college sports events to be purchased on a pay-per-view basis, the network folded outright in 1992.
Sports Time	Anheuser-Busch Multimedia Inc. Tele-Communications Inc.	Midwestern United States	Not to be confused with the current SportsTime Ohio, and operating from 1984 to 1985, this network broadcast home games involving the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals in 1984, and selected home games of the St. Louis Blues in 1984–85.
Sports View		southeastern Wisconsin	Operating from 1984 to 1986, this regional sports network served as the cable home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Sportsvision	Jerry Reinsdorf, Eddie Einhorn, and Fred Eychaner	Chicago metropolitan area	Sportsvision was a subscription television services that carried Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls games during the 1980s; some game telecasts also aired on ONTV, which aired during that timeframe on WSNS-TV (channel 44). A converter box was required to view the telecasts over WSNS and WPWR (channel 60, now on channel 50; its former channel is now occupied by WXFT-DT); Sportsvision then transitioned into a basic cable channel, relaunching as SportsChannel Chicago (later FSN Chicago).
Victory Sports One	Minnesota Twins	Minneapolis-Saint Paul	Victory Sports One folded in 2003 after only three months on the air, due to the inability of the Twins to reach deals with any cable or satellite providers in the team's immediate designated territory; the Twins subsequently moved its game telecasts back to Fox Sports North.[35]

High definition

Nearly all regional sports networks broadcast at least select programming content in high definition. Fox Sports Networks and Comcast SportsNet's owned-and-operated networks and affiliates maintain dedicated HD channels, which are used to broadcast both local and national HD programming, mainly game telecasts. All Fox Sports affiliates transmit HD programming in the 720p resolution format native to 21st Century Fox-owned networks; all CSN affiliates and independent channels transmit in 1080i.

Regional syndicators

Some telecasts (especially in U.S. college sports) are broadcast by ad-hoc syndicated packages, which can be picked up on a network of broadcasters that may consist of either individual over-the-air stations, regional sports networks, or a mixture of both.

ESPN was originally intended to focus on sports in Connecticut, but chose to broadcast nationally when it debuted in 1979 when it was discovered by the network's founders that it would be less expensive to broadcast nationwide on satellite as opposed to regionally through microwave transmission.^[36] ESPN formerly served as a college sports syndicator via ESPN Regional Television—formerly branded on-air as ESPN Plus, but later using conference-oriented brands such as SEC Network (not to be confused with the SEC Network cable channel which served as its de facto replacement), and Big East Network.

Raycom Media also produces and syndicates college football and basketball games, primarily Atlantic Coast Conference games under the brand ACC Network, through Raycom Sports. While these telecasts are mainly distributed within the home markets of Atlantic Coast Conference teams, the games are distributed to broadcast television stations and regional cable channels in markets outside of the conference's designated territory.

In 2014, television station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group established its own sports syndicator known as the American Sports Network (ASN), primarily syndicating broadcasts of college football and basketball from mid-major conferences (some of which were previously associated with ESPN Plus) to stations that it owns and operates.^[37][38] In 2015, Sinclair also acquired regional rights to Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake, with ASN handling production and distribution of team telecasts within its designated market.^[39]

See also

• Sports channel
• Broadcasting of sports events

References

1. Dave Warner (April 17, 2013). "The High Cost Of Regional Sports Networks". What You Pay For Sports. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
2. Mike Farrell (December 22, 2014). "Time Warner Cable to Initiate Sports Fee in January". Multichannel News. NewBay Media. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
3. David Lazarus (May 2, 2014). "Trapped into paying extra for cable TV sports". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
4. R. Thomas Umstead (July 8, 1996). "Liberty Sports regionals will become Fox Sports net". Multichannel News. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved April 13, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
5. "FOX AND LIBERTY OUTLINE PLANS FOR NEW CABLE VENTURE". Sports Business Journal. Advance Publications. November 1, 1995. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
6. "Fox putting together national Sports Net // Changes ahead for SportsChannel". Chicago Sun-Times. June 24, 1997. Retrieved April 13, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
7. John M. Higgins (June 30, 1997). "National net keys regional deal. (Fox Sports, Liberty Media Corp. challenge ESPN with stake in SportsChannel)". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved April 13, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
8. "Liberty Sports Rebrands As DirecTV Sports Networks". Multichannel News. NewBay Media. November 20, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
9. "'Root Sports' new name for sports networks". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. December 17, 2010.
10. Nick Eaton (April 16, 2013). "Update: Mariners buy, will control Root Sports Northwest TV network". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
11. Michael Sokolove; Jayson Stark and Michael L. Rozansky (March 20, 1996). "Comcast Buying 76ers And Flyers Phils Also May Get Involved With Firm". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Knight Ridder. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
12. Bill Fleischman (July 22, 1997). "New Sportsnet Reels In Sixers". Philadelphia Daily News. Knight Ridder. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
13. Rose DeWolf (August 25, 1997). "Starz On The Horizon Goodbye Prism & Sports Channel; What's Next Depends On Where You Hang The Clicker". Philadelphia Daily News. Knight Ridder. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
14. "Sens, Lets, and Leafs featured regionally on TSN's feeds". TSN.ca. Bell Media. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
15. Sean Fitz-Gerald (May 6, 2014). "TSN counters Rogers NHL deal with three new channels filled with alternative sports content". National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
16. "TSN Frequently Asked Questions". TSN.ca. October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
17. "Jets game broadcasts moving to TSN3". Winnipeg Free Press. FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
18. Bill Potrecz (October 9, 2013). "Sabres ring in Canadian television deal". St. Catharines Standard. Quebecor. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
19. Steve Faguy (August 18, 2014). "NHL broadcast schedule 2014-15: Who owns rights to what games". Fagstein. Retrieved August 23, 2014. Bell's TSN Habs channel has been shut down.
20. Mike Axisa (January 28, 2013). "Dodgers announce deal with Time Warner, launch of SportsNet LA". CBS Sports. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
21. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/95361/wrtv-drops-local-sports-net-for-grit-diginet
22. Ted Miller. "Pac-12 Announces deal for national, regional networks". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
23. Jon Wilner (August 10, 2012). "Pac-12 Networks: News and notes from the Stevenson teleconference". San Jose Mercury News. Media News Group.
24. Dirk Facer (July 28, 2011). "Pac-12 creates its own network". Deseret News.
25. Glenn Guilbeau (June 9, 2007). "SEC explores launching its own TV Network". USA Today. Gannett News Service.
26. John Ourand; Michael Smith (July 14, 2008). "Florida rights deal may rule out SEC channel". Sports Business Journal. Advance Publications.
27. Mike Reynolds (August 25, 2008). "ESPN Scores 15-Year SEC Deal". Multichannel News. Reed Business Information.
28. Richard Sandomir (May 3, 2013). "SEC Will Start TV Network in 2014". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
29. Rodney Ho (March 14, 2014). "CSS Sports shutting down June 1". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
30. Matt Glynn (January 20, 2005). "Adelphia Folding Empire; Sabres Land on MSG". The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 16, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
31. "Fall Of The Empire: Adelphia To Shut Down Sports Network". Sports Business Daily. Advance Publications. January 20, 2005. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
32. Plans Dropped For 'ESPN West' – CBS, 14 July 1998
33. Len Ziehm (February 27, 2002). "All playoff games will be televised". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 29, 2007.
34. R. Thomas Umstead (September 1, 1997). "Fox Sports secures Detroit franchise". Multichannel News. Cathers Business Information. Retrieved April 16, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
35. "TV Sports: Twins Return To FSN North". Mediaweek. AllBusiness. May 17, 2004. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
36. Miller & Shales, pp. 7–8
37. Ryan Sharrow (July 17, 2014). "Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch American Sports Network". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
38. Deborah McAdams (July 17, 2014). "Sinclair Launches Sports Network". TV Technology. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
39. "KMYU/KUTV: The New Home Of Real Salt Lake; All 26 non-National MLS Regular Season Games Available on Free, Over-the-Air TV". Real Salt Lake. January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.

External links

• Kaiser's Blog – Info on RSN history and some regions.