FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports) was a group of regional sports networks in the United States owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group). The networks carried regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional, collegiate, and high school sports teams. Through its owned-and-operated networks and several other affiliates, its programming was available to all or part of at least 33 states.
The networks were known as Fox Sports Networks and operated by News Corporation for most of their existence. They were acquired by Diamond Sports from the Walt Disney Company in 2019. After the acquisition, Diamond sold naming rights to the channels to casino operator Bally's Corporation, resulting in their relaunch as Bally Sports on March 31, 2021. In 2023, Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; during the bankruptcy, the company began to lose some of its sports rights to competing broadcast television, streaming, and part-time "direct-to-distributor" operations.
In October 2024, Diamond rebranded the channels as FanDuel Sports Network. Diamond Sports Group exited bankruptcy, and rebranded as Main Street Sports Group, on January 2, 2025. By January 2026, Main Street suffered from more financial difficulties, with unsuccessful attempts to sell the company to DAZN, and the nine Major League Baseball teams under contract with Main Street terminating their agreements due to missed rights payments.
In February 2026, the company began to issue notices of dismissals and closures under the WARN Act. The following month, the Los Angeles Angels announced an agreement to buy out Main Street's ownership in the West channel In April 2026, continuing it as a team-owned RSN. Main Street confirmed that it would begin to close FDSN following the conclusions of the 2025–2026 NBA and NHL seasons; with the final live FDSN-produced sporting event being an NHL playoff game on April 30. Since then, some television providers had removed the channels from their lineups.
On September 30, 2026, FDSN ceased all operations.
Contents
History
Beginnings
The networks of FanDuel Sports Network originate from several of the networks dating to the 1980s and 1990s, as affiliates of the Prime Network (and to a lesser degree SportsChannel). In 1996, News Corporation and Liberty Media (the owner of Prime Network) announced that the Prime Sports networks would be rebranded under the new "Fox Sports Net" brand; the Prime Sports-branded affiliates were relaunched as Fox Sports Net on November 1, 1996. In 1997, News Corp and Liberty Media also purchased a 40% stake in Cablevision/NBC's SportsChannel networks which led those networks being rebranded as part of Fox Sports Net in early 1998 and bringing the total number of owned or affiliate networks to 18. In the years that followed, a series of other acquisitions and launches of new networks (along with a few closures) resulted in 22 owned and operated networks.
Acquisition by Diamond Sports Group from Disney
On December 14, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced their intent to acquire 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion after the spin-off of certain businesses into a new entity (Fox Corporation). While the acquisition was originally slated to include Fox Sports' regional operations (which presumably would have been realigned with Disney's ESPN division), the Justice Department ordered that they be divested within 90 days of the completion of the acquisition due to the concentration of the market that ESPN would hold.
Sinclair Broadcast Group was mentioned as the most likely buyer for the other FSN networks, but would need the assistance of a private equity firm to help raise the cash needed for the purchase. The group's other sports properties included Stadium, a national sports network distributed via over-the-air digital television and internet streaming (in partnership with the Chicago White Sox's investment arm Silver Chalice), Tennis Channel, as well as Marquee, a then-upcoming RSN devoted to the Chicago Cubs.
On May 3, Sinclair announced that, via its subsidiary Diamond Sports Group, it had agreed to purchase the networks for $10.6 billion, pending regulatory approval. At the same time, it was also revealed that Allen Media Group would hold an equity stake in the company and serve as a "content partner". At the time the acquisition, FSN held exclusive broadcasting rights to 42 professional teams (including 16 National Basketball Association teams, 14 Major League Baseball teams, and 12 National Hockey League teams), and the channels collectively generated $3.8 billion in 2018, across nearly 75 million subscribers.
The sale was completed on August 22, 2019, and included 21 of the 22 networks. The networks continued to temporarily use the Fox Sports branding under a transitional license agreement with Fox Corporation; Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley stated that there were plans to eventually rebrand them under either a new name or to "partner with a brand that wants more exposure". There were also plans to increase non-event programming and emphasize sports betting in its programming.
Due to a clause in the original sale, Yankee Global Enterprises had a right of first refusal to purchase Fox's share in YES Network. On August 29, 2019, an investor group including the Yankees, Sinclair, Amazon, and Blackstone purchased Disney's 80% stake in the network for $3.47 billion. Sinclair continued to hold a 20% share of the network.
Rebranding as Bally Sports
On November 17, 2020, it was reported by Sportico that Sinclair was considering rebranding the networks via a naming rights agreement, and was reportedly in talks with multiple companies involved in sports betting. The next day, Sinclair announced that it had entered into an agreement with casino operator Bally's Corporation to acquire the naming rights under a ten-year deal. This agreement included integration of Bally's content on the channels and other Sinclair properties (including its television stations, Stadium, and Tennis Channel), and a warrant giving Sinclair the option to acquire a 14.9% stake in Bally's Corporation, and up to 24.9% if performance criteria were met.
On January 27, 2021, Sinclair announced that the networks would be rebranded as Bally Sports on March 31. Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports Tennessee were discontinued, with any unique sports programming moved to the Bally Sports South and Southeast channels. To better reflect their target markets, Prime Ticket and SportsTime Ohio were also rebranded as Bally Sports SoCal and Bally Sports Great Lakes, respectively.
In preparation for the rebrand, new studio sets were constructed at all of FSN's outlets, while Drive Studio produced a new on-air graphics package built upon its existing work for Marquee. On-air graphics feature a new consistent score bug in the bottom-left of the screen, which is combined into the ticker; the ticker area can also be used to display in-game statistics. Executive vice president Michael Connelly explained that the configuration was designed to eventually allow for the integration of sports betting-related information such as lines and props.
On Opening Day, the newly rebranded channels aired a joint special, Bally Sports Big Opening Day. It was produced by Stadium, hosted by Michael Kim, Bally Sports SoCal's Kristina Pink and Bally Sports Southeast's Eric Collins, and featured coverage of teams and events across Bally Sports and Sinclair's sports networks.
On May 2, 2022, Diamond Sports Group assembled a board of five directors, consisting of Bob Whitsitt, Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley, Randy Freer, a former Fox Sports/Hulu executive, Mary Ann Turcke, a former COO of the NFL, and David Preschlack (previously President of the NBC Sports Regional Networks); Preschlack would be elected CEO of Diamond on December 5.
Bankruptcy and spin-off
On February 15, 2023, Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports, failed to make a $140 million interest payment, instead opting for a 30-day grace period to make the payment. 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. Diamond's first-lien lenders would not be affected as part of the restructuring support agreement, but other creditors planned to convert their debt into equity.
On March 20, 2023, Steve Rosenberg resigned as president of Diamond Sports Group, and chief financial officer David DeVoe was appointed to the role of COO.
On April 28, 2023, the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced they had signed a five-year agreement with Gray Media to replace Bally Sports Arizona as its local television partners. After the announcement, Diamond Sports Group accused the team of breaching its contract and bankruptcy law, stating that the team was making an "improper effort" to "change their broadcasting partner without permitting Diamond to exercise our contractual rights." In response, Suns CEO Josh Bartlestein stated that plans with their deal would continue, describing Diamond's position as "totally inaccurate". On May 10, 2023, the bankruptcy judge voided the Suns contract with Gray, ruling that the Suns violated Diamond's contractual right of first refusal. He ordered the parties into arbitration. The Phoenix Mercury's deal was not affected. On July 14, 2023, the deal became official when Diamond declined to match Gray's contract offer.
Diamond missed a rights payment to the San Diego Padres in mid-March 2023, which was eventually made on March 29. On May 31, 2023, Diamond missed a second payment to the team; as Bally Sports San Diego was a joint venture between the Padres and Diamond, it was technically not in bankruptcy, and this missed payment did not have the same bankruptcy protections that Diamond's other missed payments had. As a result, the Padres' media rights were returned to Major League Baseball effective immediately, and the team became the first move its regional games to the league's new in-house broadcasting unit MLB Local Media.
On June 1, 2023, after a two-day-long hearing, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond to pay the other Major League Baseball teams their missed payments in full within five days. On June 14, 2023, Diamond rejected its contract with Raycom Sports to distribute a package of Atlantic Coast Conference games, freeing Raycom to sell the package to other networks. A month later, Raycom announced that The CW had acquired the rights.
Post-bankruptcy, closure (2025–2026)
On January 2, 2025, Diamond Sports Group exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy and rebranded as Main Street Sports Group. The equity stake that Sinclair Broadcast Group, Diamond Sports Group's then corporate parent, was terminated, and a group of lenders including Hudson Bay Capital Management and PGIM became the new owners of Diamond Sports Group. Shortly afterward, former ESPN producer Norby Williamson joined the company as head of production.
Diamond re-engaged with the Cincinnati Reds, and announced on January 13, 2025 that they had renewed their contract for the 2025 season. In April 2025, FDSN announced that it would premiere Golic/Golic, a studio show hosted by former ESPN personalities Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr.; the program succeeded the GoJo and Golic show they hosted while under contract with DraftKings. The show reunited the duo with Williamson, who had overseen their Mike & Mike and Golic and Wingo shows while at ESPN. On October 27, 2025, FDSN premiered a weeknight studio show, FanDuel Sports Network Countdown Live; hosted by former ESPN anchor Stan Verrett, the program would feature previews of the night's events with contributions from personalities from the FDSN channels.
In December 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported that DAZN Group was planning to acquire a majority stake in Main Street. Afterwards, Sports Business Journal reported that Main Street had missed a payment to the St. Louis Cardinals and that the company would be forced to dissolve operations at the end of the 2025–26 NBA and NHL season if the deal with DAZN were unsuccessful by the end of January 2026. In January, Sports Business Journal reported that Main Street had missed payments to most of its NBA teams. As a result, Main Street and the teams with missed payments entered a 15-day grace period. Two days later, SBJ reported that talks with DAZN were halted and all MLB teams except the Rays had not received payments on-time.
The nine MLB teams under contract with Main Street terminated their contracts with the company in January 2026; seven of them announced in February 2026, that they would move to MLB Local Media, with the Detroit Tigers' parent company Ilitch Sports Entertainment announcing that the co-owned Detroit Red Wings would also partner with MLB Local Media for distribution via a joint "Detroit SportsNet" channel. The Atlanta Braves announced their own direct-to-distributor operation known as BravesVision in partnership with Gray Media subsidiary Raycom Sports, and on March 9, 2026, it was announced that the Los Angeles Angels had finalized an agreement to acquire FanDuel Sports Network West from Main Street outright. The Indoor Football League withdrew from an agreement that would have had a substantial portion of IFL games carried across the network. Golic/Golic was canceled, and aired its last episode on March 31; the Golics later returned to ESPN Radio in August 2026.
Networks
Former national programming
U.S. Army Bowl
Athletes Unlimited
American Association of Professional Baseball
Overtime Select women's basketball
Foul Territory baseball show
Up & Adams
3ICE
Atlantic Coast Conference telecasts (including college basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, softball, baseball and field hockey; produced by Raycom Sports in tandem with FanDuel Sports Network, these telecasts were distributed through separate agreements)
Missouri Valley Conference telecasts (including college basketball, soccer, lacrosse, softball, baseball and field hockey games; produced by LTN Global Communications in tandem with FanDuel Sports Network, distributed exclusively in the Midwest and Southeast)
AutoNation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic (produced by FanDuel Sports Network)
College football games (produced by then-sister network Stadium and distributed by FanDuel Sports Network)
College basketball games (produced by Stadium and distributed by FanDuel Sports Network)
Golic & Golic
Inside the Association (produced by Stadium)
Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off (college hockey, produced by FanDuel Sports Network)
Ring of Honor Wrestling
Related services
Direct-to-customer streaming service
Formerly named Bally Sports+, FanDuel Sports Network's over-the-top subscription streaming platform offers livestreams and market-specific video-on-demand content from its individual regional networks. In addition to offering live game telecasts from the FanDuel Sports Network regional networks, the service also provides game replays, team-centered studio programs, outdoor programming, and selected programs syndicated to the network's national and regional feeds.
In December 2020, Sinclair announced plans to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service based around the linear Bally Sports networks. The service was originally targeted for a 2021 launch, though it was delayed due to Bally Sports needing to negotiate over-the-top streaming rights with the teams. Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley stated that the service was meant to target cord cutters, whom the company felt were underserved in the regional sports market.
Bally Sports+ was soft-launched on June 23, 2022, initially available to customers residing in the service areas of Bally Sports networks in Kansas City, Detroit, Florida, Wisconsin, and Florida/Sun, the five markets where Bally Sports was able to negotiate streaming rights to the local MLB team. The service launched three weeks after NESN launched NESN 360, the first DTC streaming service ever offered by an American regional sports network, on June 1.
The service, which was sold for $19.99/month or $189.99/year, uses the same infrastructure as the Bally Sports app, and was initially available on smartphones and tablet devices. Due to regional rights restrictions, the service was only available to users in markets serviced by a network owned or affiliated with Bally Sports.
In August 2022, Bally Sports announced that Bally Sports+ would expand to the rest of its markets on September 26, 2022. The service was rebranded simply to FanDuel Sports Network upon the October 2024 rebranding.