Beginnings The original Prime Ticket (currently FanDuel Sports Network West) was launched on October 19, 1985, and became one of the leading regional sports networks in the United States. Rival network
SportsChannel Los Angeles ceased operations on December 31, 1992, which would eventually create a need for a new regional sports network. After SportsChannel's closure, Prime Ticket acquired the broadcast rights to the
Los Angeles Angels and
Los Angeles Clippers which had previously broadcast on SportsChannel. However, the
Los Angeles Dodgers opted not to make a deal with Prime Ticket, instead staying off cable for the next four seasons. The network would retain the Prime Ticket name until it was rebranded in 1994 as Prime Sports West and later then Fox Sports West in 1996 when it joined
Fox Sports Net.
Fox Sports West 2 On January 27, 1997, Fox Sports Net launched an additional channel,
Fox Sports West 2, to provide the broadcast of 40 Los Angeles Dodgers games. The Dodgers had not had any local cable broadcasts of their games since the 1992 season. Additionally, Los Angeles Clippers and
Anaheim Ducks games were moved from Fox Sports West, as well as
UCLA and
USC basketball games that were not part of Fox's existing
Pac-10 package. Other new programming included coverage of other college sports at UCLA and USC, high school basketball and football, and
horse racing from
Santa Anita and
Hollywood Park Initially Fox Sports West 2 did not have widespread cable coverage, leading to many complaints and a failed lawsuit by the Ducks seeking to return their games back on Fox Sports West. Four months after it launched the new network had secured deals to reach 1.1 million subscribers, representing less than one-fourth the coverage of its parent network. In 2000, Fox Sports West 2 was rebranded as
Fox Sports Net West 2, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner. In 2004, this was shortened to
FSN West 2.
As Prime Ticket On April 3, 2006, FSN West 2 was rebranded as FSN Prime Ticket; the rebranding was intended to reduce the perception that FSN West 2 was an inferior network, and also served as an homage to FSN West's original
Prime Ticket branding. The rebrand came amid an expanded investment into local programs across both channels, including new high school sports programming, and the replacement of the
Southern Carolina Sports Report with team-specific post-game shows. On June 20, 2011, Commissioner of Baseball
Bud Selig rejected a proposed contract extension between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Prime Ticket, citing concerns that the deal was structured in a way that most of the proceeds would end up being assigned to beleaguered Dodgers owner
Frank McCourt and not the team's operations. Both Fox Sports West and the Dodgers were involved in separate lawsuits over the team's broadcast rights as well as the sale of the club. On January 10, 2012, Fox and the Dodgers reached a settlement in court, clearing the way for the sale of the team. Fox's exclusive negotiating period with the Dodgers expired on November 30, 2012 – leaving the team open to competing offers. In January 2013,
Time Warner Cable signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, establishing a new team-specific channel known as
SportsNet LA. In 2014, Prime Ticket began broadcasting
Arizona Diamondbacks games via
Fox Sports Arizona for viewers in the Las Vegas Valley.
As Bally/FanDuel Sports Network SoCal On December 14, 2017, as part of a merger between both companies,
The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire all 22 regional Fox Sports networks from
21st Century Fox, including Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. However, on June 27, 2018, the
Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of
ESPN. On May 3, 2019,
Sinclair Broadcast Group and
Entertainment Studios (through their joint venture,
Diamond Holdings) bought
Fox Sports Networks from
The Walt Disney Company for $10.6 billion. The deal closed on August 22, 2019. On November 17, 2020, Sinclair announced an agreement with casino operator
Bally's Corporation to serve as a new
naming rights partner for the FSN channels. Sinclair announced the new Bally Sports branding for the channels on January 27, 2021. On March 31, 2021, the channel was rebranded as Bally Sports SoCal, dropping the "Prime Ticket" branding in the process. On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On August 27, 2024, the
Anaheim Ducks cut ties with Bally Sports SoCal, and announced agreements with
Victory+ and
Fox Television Stations to carry its regional games for free on a
FAST channel and
KCOP-TV. On October 21, 2024, the network rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network West as part of a new sponsorship with
FanDuel, following Diamond's exit from bankruptcy as Main Street Sports Group. In February 2026, amid financial difficulties at Main Street Sports Group, it was reported that the company planned to shut down all of its networks following the conclusion of the current NBA and NHL seasons, after having terminated its contracts with the MLB teams it held rights to. On March 9, 2026, the
Los Angeles Angels announced that they would acquire FanDuel Sports Network West from Main Street outright, with an aim to maintain continuity and existing distribution agreements. The SoCal channel was not mentioned, and it is not yet known if the Clippers will join the Angels-owned venture or pursue a different broadcast arrangement for 2026–27 onward. In a transitional move, it was announced on March 18 that the
Los Angeles Kings would move the remainder of its regional games for the 2026–26 season to FanDuel Sports Network SoCal; the Angels-owned channel renewed its rights to the Kings for the 2026–27 season. ==Programming==