Beginnings The networks of FanDuel Sports Network have a long history, with the origins of 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 officially relaunched as Fox Sports Net on November 1 of that year. 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 (initially dubbed "new Fox", but ultimately named
Fox Corporation). While the acquisition was originally slated to include Fox Sports' regional operations (which, presumably, would have been re-aligned 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 officially 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". 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
the Blackstone Group purchased Disney's 80% stake in the network for $3.47 billion. Sinclair's share of the network is 20%.
FuboTV dropped the channels in January 2020, and
YouTube TV and
Hulu + Live TV followed in October 2020. On November 4, 2020, Sinclair took a $4.23 billion write-down on the FSN purchase.
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 10-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 June 23, 2022, Bally Sports soft-launched a direct-to-consumer service known as
Bally Sports Plus (or Bally Sports+) in selected markets. It launched nationally in the remainder of the networks' footprint on September 26.
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. During its bankruptcy, Diamond has missed payments to the
Arizona Diamondbacks,
Texas Rangers,
Cleveland Guardians and
Minnesota Twins of
Major League Baseball (MLB), the
Arizona Coyotes of the
National Hockey League (NHL), the
Orlando Magic of the
National Basketball Association (NBA), and to
Raycom Sports for its
ACC on Regional Sports Networks package and the
Orange Bowl for its
Orange Bowl Classic men's
college basketball tournament. Diamond also entered grace periods for their payments to the
San Diego Padres and
Cincinnati Reds of MLB, which they eventually made. On May 31, 2023, Diamond officially missed a second payment to the Padres, and the Padres' television rights were returned to Major League Baseball. Because
Bally Sports San Diego, which aired Padres games, is a
joint venture between the Padres and Diamond it is technically not in bankruptcy. Therefore, this missed payment did not have the same bankruptcy protections that Diamond's other missed payments had. 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. Bally Sports gave up the rights to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 18, 2023. Furthermore, with
Bally Sports Arizona also losing local broadcast rights to both the
Phoenix Suns and
Phoenix Mercury to
Gray Television (via
KTVK and
KPHE-LD, respectively) in April of that year and then the
Arizona Coyotes to
Scripps Sports (via
KASW) in early October, Diamond Sports Group ultimately shut down Bally Sports Arizona on October 21, 2023, becoming the first official casualty of the bankruptcy. Bally Sports San Diego would shut down next by liquidating assets to the Padres following a settlement made in April 2024. 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 bought the rights. On November 6, 2023, Diamond Sports and the National Basketball Association reached a one-year agreement that will result in the contracts for NBA teams airing on Diamond expiring after the
2023–24 NBA season. Across the board, all NBA teams airing on Diamond Sports will receive a 16% reduction in the money they receive from Diamond Sports, but will be able to sell 10 games to local
over-the-air networks. On December 20, 2023, Diamond Sports and the National Hockey League reached a similar agreement to the NBA's November 6 deal that will also result in the contracts for all NHL teams airing on Diamond expiring after the
2023–24 NHL season, pending approval by the bankruptcy court. On 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 was to be folded into
Amazon Prime Video. The restructuring would still need to be approved by the bankruptcy court. Diamond Sports Group officially filed its reorganization plan on March 1, 2024. As part of the plan, Diamond would end its naming rights deal with
Bally's Corporation. On May 1, 2024,
Comcast and
Midco dropped the Bally Sports networks as part of a
carriage dispute.
Optimum did the same on July 1, 2024. On July 2,
Scripps Sports, the sports division of the E. W. Scripps Company, announced a deal with the
Florida Panthers, which would put games over the air on WSFL-TV beginning in the
2024–25 season. On July 3, 2024, Diamond Sports Group filed a motion requesting that its contract with the
Dallas Stars be terminated. On July 8, the Stars subsequently announced that it would partner with A Parent Media Co. to stream all of its games for free via the team-run streaming service
Victory+ beginning in the
2024–25 season. On July 29, 2024, Comcast reached a new carriage agreement, allowing Bally Sports to be carried on the
Xfinity "Ultimate TV" tier rather than on the basic service. On August 23, 2024, Diamond Sports announced it had reached amended regional broadcast agreements with nine NHL teams and thirteen NBA teams through at least the 2024–25 season, including reductions to rights fees; the agreement will expire if Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy plan is not approved by the court. Diamond also terminated its contracts with the
Dallas Mavericks and
New Orleans Pelicans (with the latter having reached an agreement with Gray Television). It was later reported that Amazon had pulled out of its planned investment, citing that its value had been lessened by Diamond's loss of rights to multiple teams since the announcement, and that the company was prioritizing its recent
investments in national broadcast rights to properties such as the NBA. On August 27, the Anaheim Ducks announced that it would move to
KCOP-TV and Victory+. The Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Texas Rangers' contracts with Diamond expired at the end of their 2024 regular seasons. On October 8, 2024,
MLB Local Media announced that it would assume the rights to the Brewers, Guardians, and Twins beginning in the 2025 season. MLB Local Media's rights to the Guardians in particular, starting with the
2025 MLB season, would later lead to
the Great Lakes channel being the first (and currently only) casualty for the recently renamed FanDuel Sports Network on March 1, 2025, due to the Great Lakes channel having no other local teams to air games for the recently rebranded channel. On October 2, 2024, Diamond Sports announced its intention to renegotiate its contracts with the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays. If the teams are unable to agree to a new contract with Diamond, their contract will be rejected. The Atlanta Braves are the only team not affected by the announcement.
Rebranding to FanDuel Sports Network, exiting bankruptcy On October 16, 2024, it was revealed in a court filing that Diamond had reached a new sponsorship agreement with
FanDuel Group, under which it intends to rebrand Bally Sports as the FanDuel Sports Network (FDSN); on October 18, 2024, Diamond officially announced the rebranding, which took effect October 21. Under the agreement, FanDuel will have the option to take a minority equity stake of up to 5% once Diamond Sports exits bankruptcy. The branding will be downplayed within programming related to high school sports. The same day, it was reported that the Miami Marlins had successfully renegotiated with Diamond to stay on FDSN. the agreement also provides options for FanDuel TV to syndicate its original programs (such as
Up & Adams with
Kay Adams) on FDSN, and FanDuel to resell the FDSN over-the-top service (formerly Bally Sports+) via its platforms. MLB and the Atlanta Braves filed a joint objection on November 8, citing concerns over the company's future economic viability, and a lack of transparency. The same day, the Reds announced a mutual agreement to exit its current contract with Diamond. On November 14, 2024, after MLB and the Atlanta Braves withdrew their objection, Diamond's reorganization plan was approved by the bankruptcy court. The company also announced that it had successfully renegotiated with the Braves, Tigers, Angels, Marlins, Cardinals, and Rays to stay on FDSN. By contrast, the Reds announced that they had reached an agreement with MLB Local Media to assume the rights for their local broadcasts beginning with the 2025 season. Following the approval of its reorganization, Diamond re-engaged with the Reds; on January 13, 2025, the Reds announced that they too had renegotiated with FDSN for the 2025 season. That contract also granted an extension to the team's over-the-top distribution rights. On January 2, 2025, Diamond Sports Group exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy and rebranded as Main Street Sports Group. Shortly afterward, former ESPN producer
Norby Williamson joined the company as head of production. In April 2025, FDSN announced that it would premiere
Golic/Golic, a new 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 new 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 .
Further financial issues, anticipated closure In December 2025, Main Street Sports Group began to miss scheduled rights fee payments, amid reports that the company was negotiating a sale to British sports streaming company
DAZN. It was reported that the company would be forced to cease operations if it could not complete the transaction with DAZN by the end of January 2026.
Puck News reported that, following failures in making rights payments to its MLB, NHL, and NBA teams, Main Street Sports Group intended to wind down operations after the conclusion of the 2025–26 NHL and NBA seasons, in April 2026. In February 2026, Main Street issued
WARN Act notifications within each state it operates, indicating that it would begin laying off employees and permanently closing offices starting in the middle of April. 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 similar operation known as
BravesVision, 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 cancelled, and aired its last episode on March 31. On April 2, 2026, a Main Street spokesperson confirmed that, barring a "strategic transaction", the company had begun to wind down its operations; the exact timetable for each network was dependent on whether they carried an NHL team that had made the
2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, with NBA-only networks beginning to wind down after the conclusion of the regular season on April 12 (as of the 2025–26 season, all first round games are now exclusive national broadcasts), and networks carrying NHL teams in the playoffs winding down in mid-May following the first round. The final live telecast to air across any of the channels occurred on April 30, 2026, which saw the
Minnesota Wild defeat the
Dallas Stars to move on to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. ==Networks==