 | |
| Type | Regional sports network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Alabama Georgia Kentucky Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Nationwide (via satellite) |
| Network | FanDuel Sports Network |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Main Street Sports Group |
| Sister channels | FanDuel Sports Network Southeast |
| History | |
| Launched | August 29, 1990 (35 years ago) (1990-08-29) |
| Former names | SportSouth (1990–1997) Fox Sports South (1997–1999, 2012–2021) Fox Sports Net South (1999–2004) FSN South (2004–2008) FS South (2008–2012) Bally Sports South (2021–2024) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability (DirecTV may air some events on an overflow feed 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 South is an Americanregional sports network owned byMain Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate ofFanDuel Sports Network. The network carries regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events from across theSouthern United States, along with other sporting events and programming from FanDuel Sports Network andFanDuel TV.
FanDuel Sports Network South is available oncable providers throughoutAlabama,Georgia,Kentucky,Mississippi,North Carolina,South Carolina andTennessee. It is also available nationwide onsatellite viaDirecTV.
FanDuel Sports Network South was originally launched on August 29, 1990, asSportSouth, under the ownership of theTurner Broadcasting System, in conjunction with business partnersTele-Communications Inc. (TCI) andScripps-Howard Broadcasting.[1] At its launch, the channel held the regional cable television rights to theAtlanta Braves,Atlanta Hawks andCharlotte Hornets. Shortly after Turner completed its merger withTime Warner, SportSouth was purchased byNews Corporation's Fox Cable Networks in the winter of 1996. The channel was integrated into the recently formedFox Sports Net group of regional sports networks, and was officially rebranded asFox Sports South in January 1997.[2] The channel's name was amended to "Fox Sports Net South" in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner).
In 2002, Fox Sports South began producing theSouthern Sports Report from itsMidtown Atlanta studios, as part of the collective FSN networks' expansion of "regional sports reports" to complement theNational Sports Report, both formatted as daily news programs focusing on sports news and highlights. The Atlanta studios served as a production hub for the regional sports reports broadcast on other FSN networks, often utilizing the same anchors (with Terry Chick being the most prominent). TheSouthern Sports Report was discontinued in 2005; around the same time, FSN South began producing a similar program,Around The South, which focused on sports stories across the region. In 2004, the channel shortened its name toFSN South, through the networks' de-emphasis of the Fox Sports Net brand.
On February 23, 2006, News Corporation purchased the general entertainment cable channelTurner South from the Turner Broadcasting System for $375 million.[3] After the deal was completed, the channel dropped all remaining entertainment programming and converted into a sports-exclusive channel as it became part of the Fox Sports Networks group, adopting the "SportSouth" name formerly used by Fox Sports South. FSN South, which effectively became a sister network to the new SportSouth (which was renamed Fox Sports Southeast in October 2015[4]), reverted to the Fox Sports South moniker in 2008.
In 2008, SportSouth acquired the partial television rights to theAtlanta Braves, splitting the telecasts with Atlantaindependent stationWPCH-TV (channel 17), which ceased distributing the station's Braves telecastsnationally after its separation from its companionsuperstation feedTBS (which became a conventional cable network) in October 2007.[5] After Turner turned over the operations of WPCH to theMeredith Corporation under alocal marketing agreement in 2011, production of the Braves telecasts was transferred fromTurner Sports to Fox Sports South, in a deal in which the channel would produce a package of 45 regular season games each year for WPCH.
On February 28, 2013, Fox Sports South and SportSouth reached a deal with the Braves to acquire the 45 additional Atlanta Braves games beginning with the2013 season, ending the team's contract with WPCH-TV and marking the first time in 40 years that the team's game telecasts were not available on broadcast television in the Atlanta market.[6][7] In July 2013, News Corporationspun off the Fox Sports Networks and most of its other U.S. entertainment properties into21st Century Fox.
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 South and sister network Fox Sports Southeast. 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 from The Walt Disney Company for $10.6 billion.[8] The deal closed on August 22, 2019.[9] 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.[10] On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the2021 Major League Baseball season, Fox Sports South and sister network Fox Sports Southeast was rebranded asBally Sports South andBally Sports Southeast, resulting in 18 other Regional Sports Networks renamed Bally Sports in their respective regions.[11] The first live sporting event on the regional network was the opening-day coverage of the Braves visiting thePhillies on April 1. The game was preceded by the "Braves Live" pregame show.[12]
On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed forChapter 11 Bankruptcy.[13]
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.[14][15] 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.[16][17]
FanDuel Sports Network South's coverage area includes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and most of Kentucky. It is, by far, the largest coverage by area and total market reach of any Bally Sports affiliate. As such, the channel is often separated into several sub-regional feeds for the purposes of adhering to the various professional leagues' home territory rules.
For example,Memphis Grizzlies games are only seen in Tennessee, most of Kentucky, northern Mississippi and northern Alabama.Nashville Predators games are available in those markets plus Georgia. Meanwhile,Charlotte Hornets andCarolina Hurricanes games are only seen in North and South Carolina. Neither team's games are seen elsewhere within FanDuel Sports Network South's coverage area, although Predators games are occasionally rebroadcast in North Carolina. The Atlanta Hawks also have restrictions preventing games from being carried in most of the Carolinas, parts of Mississippi, and all of Kentucky.[18]
In some areas select games from neighboring FanDuel Sports Networks are carried on either FDSN South or an alternate channel. These include games from theSt. Louis Cardinals (FanDuel Sports Network Midwest),[19]Indiana Pacers (FanDuel Sports Network Indiana),[20]Cincinnati Reds (FanDuel Sports Network Ohio), andNew Orleans Pelicans (Bally Sports New Orleans [before 2024]).
In October 2008, Fox decided to split Fox Sports South into three separate channels to offer more localized sports coverage. It launched separate respective feeds for the Carolinas and most of Tennessee,Fox Sports Carolinas andFox Sports Tennessee.[21] Fox Sports considered these feeds as separate networks, which maintained their own sub-sites within the main Fox Sports Local website. These channels were collapsed back into the Bally Sports South name when it launched on March 31, 2021, with a common non-gametime schedule, but the separate feeds otherwise continue.
| MLB | NBA | NHL | WNBA | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves | Cincinnati Reds (FanDuel Sports Network Ohio) | St. Louis Cardinals (FanDuel Sports Network Midwest) | Atlanta Hawks | Charlotte Hornets | Memphis Grizzles | Indiana Pacers (FanDuel Sports Network Indiana) | New Orleans Pelicans (WVUE FOX8) | Carolina Hurricanes | Nashville Predators | Atlanta Dream | ||
| Network(see note) | South/Southeast | South/Southeast | South/Southeast | Southeast | Southeast | Southeast | South | South | South | South | South/Southeast | |
| Georgia | (all markets including Atlanta) |  |  | | | | | | | | | |
| Alabama | (excluding Huntsville and Mobile) | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Huntsville | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mobile | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kentucky | (excluding Western Kentucky) | | Available on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio | | | | | | | | | |
| Western Kentucky | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mississippi | (excluding Biloxi/Gulfport, Memphis and New Orleans) | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Biloxi/Gulfport | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Northern Mississippi (Memphis) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| North Carolina | Charlotte, Asheville(excluding Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties), Greensboro-High Point | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Greenville | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Raleigh-Durham | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Carolina | Charleston, Augusta, Savannah, Greenville/Spartanburg(Abbeville, Anderson, and Oconee counties only) | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Columbia, Greenville/Spartanburg(excluding Abbeville, Anderson, and Oconee counties), Myrtle Beach | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tennessee | Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Memphis, Jackson | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: In Kentucky, eastern North Carolina, and parts of Mississippi, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast is not available. In these areas all games are shown on FanDuel Sports Network South or an alternate channel.
FanDuel Sports Network South holds the exclusive regional cable television rights to theAtlanta BravesMajor League Baseball franchise; theAtlanta Hawks,Charlotte Hornets andMemphis Grizzlies of theNBA; and theCarolina Hurricanes andNashville Predators of theNHL. The channel also provides coverage ofmen's college basketball from theDavidson Wildcats and theMissouri Valley Conference, including regional coverage of theMurray State Racers andBelmont Bruins. Due to the naming rights deal withFanDuel, select programming from FanDuel TV is included in the schedule.
