 | |
| Type | Regional sports network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | |
| Network | FanDuel Sports Network |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | November 1989 (36 years ago) (1989-11) |
| Former names |
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| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability (some events may air on overflow feed FanDuel Sports Network Midwest 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 |
FanDuel Sports Network Midwest is an Americanregional sports network owned byMain Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) operated as an affiliate ofFanDuel Sports Network. The channel broadcasts regional event coverage of sports teams throughout theMidwestern United States, most prominently, professional sports teams based inSt. Louis, Missouri.
FanDuel Sports Network Midwest is available oncable providers throughout eastern andcentralMissouri,Western andSouthernIllinois,Nebraska, andIowa; it is also available nationwide onsatellite viaDirecTV.
The channel originally launched byTCI andBill Daniels in November 1989 as Prime Sports Network Midwest (also referred to as Prime Sports Midwest), serving as an affiliate of thePrime Network. The network was originally based inIndianapolis and held rights to 25 home games of theIndiana Pacers.[2] Originally seen mainly within Indiana, the channel began expanding its cable provider coverage westward in 1994. FollowingLiberty Media's sale of the Prime Network toNews Corporation, the channel became a member of the newly formedFox Sports Net (then a joint venture between Liberty Media and News Corporation) and rebranded as Fox Sports Midwest (FSMW) on November 1, 1996.[3][4] The channel was then rebranded as Fox Sports Net Midwest in 1999, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Midwest, through the networks' de-emphasis of the brand.
In the spring of 2006, Fox Sports Midwest obtained the exclusive regional cable television rights to broadcastNBA games involving the Indiana Pacers. This resulted in the channel creating a spin-off regional sports network channel,Fox Sports Indiana, for the primary purpose of airing games from the Pacers and theWNBA'sIndiana Fever; Fox Sports Indiana launched on November 1, 2006, at the start of the team'sregular season.
In the fall of 2007, Fox Sports Midwest signed an exclusive long-term agreement to broadcast games from theKansas City Royals (this followed the team's decision to dissolve theRoyals Sports Television Network, a regional television syndication service for the team's game broadcasts). On January 24, 2008, the network formally announced that it would spin off its subfeed for theKansas City market into a separate channel,Fox Sports Kansas City, to avoid scheduling conflicts with Fox Sports Midwest'sSt. Louis Cardinals game coverage.[5] The mainSt. Louis-based feed reverted to the Fox Sports Midwest moniker that same year.
On July 15, 2010, Fox Sports Midwest signed a new television contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, giving the channel exclusive regional broadcast rights to the team's games beginning with the2011 season, ending the team's local broadcasts in the St. Louis market onNBC affiliateKSDK (channel 5).[6]
On July 30, 2015, Fox Sports Midwest and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a long-term television rights agreement. The new agreement began in 2018 and will run 15 seasons through the 2032 season.[7] The deal will guarantee the St. Louis Cardinals more than $1 billion, including a 30% equity stake in the network.[8]
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 from21st Century Fox, including Fox Sports Midwest. However, on June 27, 2018, theJustice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership ofESPN. On May 3, 2019,Sinclair Broadcast Group andEntertainment Studios (through their joint venture,Diamond Holdings) boughtFox Sports Networks fromThe Walt Disney Company for $10.6 billion.[9] The deal closed on August 22, 2019.[10] On November 17, 2020, Sinclair announced an agreement with casino operatorBally's Corporation to serve as a newnaming rights partner for the FSN channels. Sinclair announced the new Bally Sports branding for the channels on January 27, 2021. On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the2021 Major League Baseball season, Fox Sports Midwest was rebranded as Bally Sports Midwest, resulting in 18 other Regional Sports Networks renamed Bally Sports in their respective regions.[11]
On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed forChapter 11 Bankruptcy.[12]
On October 16, 2024, it was revealed in a court filing that Diamond had reached a new sponsorship agreement withFanDuel Group, under which it intends to rebrand Bally Sports as theFanDuel Sports Network; on October 18, 2024, Diamond officially announced the rebranding, which will take effect October 21.[13][14] 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.[15][16]
FanDuel Sports Network Midwest holds the exclusive regional cable television rights toMajor League Baseball games from theSt. Louis Cardinals andNHL games from theSt. Louis Blues. As the St. Louis region is claimed by both theNBA'sIndiana Pacers andMemphis Grizzlies, select games from FanDuel Sports Network Indiana and FanDuel Sports Network South are carried, either as repeats, on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest Plus, or on the main channel if a Blues or SLU game is not scheduled that night. The channel also broadcasts college athletics, including men's basketball games from theMissouri Valley Conference andSt. Louis Billikens.
FanDuel Sports Network Midwest maintains a total of 6 feeds (not including 5 additional feeds for FanDuel Sports Network Indiana and FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City). In addition to Cardinals and Blues games which are available in all regions except Nebraska, select games produced by neighboring FanDuel Sports networks are also carried in some areas. The Kansas City Royals (produced by FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City) are offered in most regions outside of the Cardinals exclusive market area. Since the entire coverage area lacks an NBA team, games from two of the following teams are offered in each region: Indiana Pacers,Memphis Grizzlies,Minnesota Timberwolves, andOklahoma City Thunder.[17]
| Region served | MLB | NBA | NHL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | Kansas City Royals (FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City) | Indiana Pacers (FanDuel Sports Network Indiana) | Memphis Grizzlies (FanDuel Sports Network Southeast) | Minnesota Timberwolves (FanDuel Sports Network North) | Oklahoma City Thunder (FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma) | St. Louis Blues | |
| St. Louis |  |  | | | | | |
| Northeast Missouri | | | | | | | |
| Southeast Missouri | | | | | | | |
| Central/Downstate Illinois | | | | | | | |
| Southwest/Mid-Missouri | | | | | | | |
| Northern Iowa | | | | | | | |
| Southeastern Iowa | | | | | | | |
| East Central Iowa | | | | | | | |
| South Central Iowa | | | | | | | |
| Central Iowa | | | | | | | |
| Southwestern Iowa | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska | | | | | | | |
Until the creation of theSEC Network in 2014, FanDuel Sports Network Midwest also screened a substantial amount ofMissouri Tigers programming, including select football games, basketball, and occasional Olympic sports telecasts. It aired weekly Mizzou magazine shows, as well as football and men's basketball coaches' shows. It also filled a similar role for theNebraska Cornhuskers until they joined the Big Ten Conference (which too hasits own TV channel) in 2012, and like for Mizzou it aired university-produced ancillary programming for the Huskers. Additionally, the network carriedSIUE Cougars men’s basketball through the 2017-18 season,Kansas State Wildcatsmen’s andwomen’s basketball (simulcasted from sister network Fox Sports Kansas City) through the 2018-19 season, and a limited schedule ofCreighton Bluejays men’s basketball games through the 2019-20 season. The Creighton games were aired through a sub-licensing deal with then-sister networkFox Sports 1 in which some games not of national interest are distributed to their regional sports network partners,CBS Sports Network and the ESPN family of networks as part of the "new" Big East's television contract. Syndicated coverage of football and men’s and women’s basketball from theACC,Big 12,Big East,Big Ten,Conference USA,Pac-12,SEC, andWCC also aired on the network until all of those conferences ultimately discontinued their syndication packages to regional sports networks at various points throughout the past two decades.
FanDuel Sports Network Extra is an overflow feed of FanDuel Sports Network Midwest that was launched in October 2011 as Fox Sports Midwest Plus. Bally Sports Kansas City and Bally Sports Indiana also operate their own Bally Sports Extra overflow feeds to resolve scheduling conflicts with Bally Sports Midwest-televised events that are simulcast on the two channels.[18][19]
The St. Louis Cardinals have one of the largest geographic territories for an MLB team, with includes all or part of 10 states and partially overlaps the territories of 9 other teams. As a result, FanDuel Sports Network provides Cardinals games to neighboring Bally Sports networks (in addition to Bally Sports Indiana and Kansas City) in areas where FanDuel Sports Network Midwest is not carried. Most games appear onFanDuel Sports Network South orFanDuel Sports Network Southeast in parts of westernKentucky, westernTennessee, and northernMississippi, with the remaining games available on an alternate channel. InArkansas andOklahoma games are broadcast onFanDuel Sports Network Southwest Extra/Bally Sports Oklahoma Extra.[20]
