FanDuel Sports Network Indiana is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of FanDuel Sports Network. The channel broadcasts local professional and high school sports coverage throughout the state of Indiana, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Indianapolis, namely the NBA's Indiana Pacers.
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Central Indiana Nationwide (via DirecTV; games only) |
| Network | FanDuel Sports Network |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (Diamond Sports Group)[1] |
| Sister channels | FanDuel Sports Network Midwest |
| History | |
| Launched | November 1, 2006 |
| Replaced | Fox Sports Midwest (within designated broadcast area) |
| Former names | FSN Indiana (2006–2008) Fox Sports Indiana (2008–2021) Bally Sports Indiana (2021-2024) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability (some events may air on overflow feed FanDuel Sports Network Indiana Extra due to event conflicts) | |
| Streaming media | |
| FanDuel Sports Network app | www.fanduelsportsnetwork.com/ (U.S. cable internet subscribers only; requires login from participating providers to stream content; some events may not be available due to league rights restrictions) |
| DirecTV Stream | Internet Protocol television |
| FuboTV | Internet Protocol television |
The channel is available on cable providers throughout Central Indiana, and is also available nationwide on DirecTV.
History
edit
FanDuel Sports Network was launched as FSN Indiana was launched on November 1, 2006, as a spin-off channel of Fox Sports Midwest, after the regional sports network obtained the exclusive regional cable television rights to broadcast games from the Indiana Pacers NBA franchise. The first live sporting event broadcast on FSN Indiana featured the Pacers at the Charlotte Bobcats on the day of launch at 7PM. The game was preceded by the special Beyond the Glory:Reggie Miller and a one hour pregame show.[2]
A high definition simulcast feed of Fox Sports Indiana, launched on December 17, 2007, which broadcasts in the 720p format. Originally, the channel broadcast most of its Pacers game telecasts as well as Cincinnati Reds games from Fox Sports Ohio, and games and events broadcast nationally by Fox Sports Networks in HD. Today, nearly all programming is in HD.
On October 16, 2009, Dish Network removed Fox Sports Indiana and sister networks Fox Sports Midwest and Fox Sports Kansas City in a carriage dispute over a proposed increase in retransmission consent revenue paid by the satellite provider.[3] The dispute lasted for one year, with all three channels being restored on October 29, 2010, through the signing of a new carriage agreement.
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 Indiana. 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.[4] The deal closed on August 22, 2019.[5] 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.[6] On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, Fox Sports Indiana was rebranded as Bally Sports Indiana, resulting in 18 other Regional Sports Networks renamed Bally Sports in their respective regions.[7] The first live sporting event shown on Bally Sports Indiana was the Pacers-Heat game at 7 PM on that day. It was preceded by the "Pacers Live" pregame show at 6:30 PM.[8]
On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.[9]
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; on October 18, 2024, Diamond officially announced the rebranding, which will take effect October 21.[10][11] 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.[12][13]
Programming
editFanDuel Sports Network Indiana holds the regional cable television rights to the Indiana Pacers. The channel also broadcasts select Major League Baseball games from its sister regional networks, airing Cincinnati Reds games televised by FanDuel Sports Network Ohio,[14] St. Louis Cardinals game telecasts originating from FanDuel Sports Network Midwest and Detroit Tigers games from FanDuel Sports Network Detroit to areas of the state within the home television territories of those teams as defined by Major League Baseball.[15]
FanDuel Sports Network Indiana also broadcasts athletic events from the Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana High School Athletic Association.[16]
On December 10, 2016, FanDuel Sports Network Indiana, then Fox Sports Indiana aired the first edition of Basketball Day Indiana, which comprised several high school, college and professional basketball games featuring Indiana-based teams.[17] The event was broadcast annually until 2021.[18]
| Region served | MLB | NBA | NHL | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (FanDuel Sports Network Ohio) |
Detroit Tigers (FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) |
St. Louis Cardinals (FanDuel Sports Network Midwest) |
Indiana Pacers | Detroit Pistons (FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) |
St. Louis Blues (FanDuel Sports Network Midwest) | |
| Central Indiana |  |
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| Southwest Indiana | |
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| Fort Wayne | |
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Former Programming
editFanDuel Sports Network Indiana previously had right to the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. It has carried telecasts of events and conference magazine programs from the Atlantic 10 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, Western Athletic Conference, and Horizon League. Additionally, it aired weekly magazine programs for Notre Dame's football and men's basketball teams.
Notable on-air staff
editIndiana Pacers
edit- Chris Denari – Pacers play-by-play
- Quinn Buckner – Pacers analyst
- Eddie Gill – Pacers analyst (home games)
- Jeremiah Johnson – Pacers reporter
Indiana Fever
edit- Pat Boylan – Fever play-by-play
- Debbie Antonelli – Fever analyst
References
edit- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (June 27, 2018). "Justice Department Approves Disney's Acquisition of 21st Century Fox With Divestiture of Regional Sports Networks". Variety. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ "Pacers Programming On FSN Indiana Tips Tonight". Indiana Pacers. FSN Indiana. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Dish Network Now Has the Hockey Blues". TVPredictions.com. October 16, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 3, 2019). "Sinclair Clinches Disney-Regional Sports Networks Deal, Byron Allen Joins as Partner". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
- ^ "Sinclair completes acquisition of regional sports networks from Disney". Bloomberg. August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^ Novy-Williams, Eben (November 19, 2020). "Bally's Buys Sinclair RSN Naming Rights As Part of Sports Betting Push". Sportico.com. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ "Bally Sports, Coming March 31". YouTube (Fox Sports Midwest). March 17, 2021. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ Newell, Nat (March 31, 2021). "Pacers broadcasts will look different on Bally Sports Indiana starting Wednesday". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Bouma, Luke (March 14, 2023). "Bally Sports Just Declared Bankruptcy – The Death of RSNs?". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (October 18, 2024). "FanDuel Takes Over Naming Rights to Diamond Sports RSNs". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Diamond Sports branded as FanDuel in new deal". ESPN.com. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ Paul, Tony. "Bally Sports Detroit set to become FanDuel Sports Network; what you need to know". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ Randles, Jonathan (October 16, 2024). "Diamond Seeks Approval to Rebrand From Bally Sports to FanDuel". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ "Fox Sports Indiana Announces 2011 Cincinnati Reds Telecast Schedule" (PDF). Fox Sports Indiana. March 21, 2011.
- ^ "Cardinals on FSN". St. Louis Cardinals. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009.
- ^ "About Bally Sports Indiana". www.ballysports.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "Basketball Day in Indiana": Embrace Hoosier Hysteria This Saturday - Ashlew Fowler, WIBC, December 7, 2016
- ^ Sims, Chris (January 7, 2020). "Basketball Day Indiana to feature 27 hours of hoops for Hoosiers". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 19, 2021.