 The network's logo before Fox ownership as SportsTime Ohio. | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Cleveland/NorthernOhio Central Ohio NorthwesternPennsylvania SouthwestNew York National (via satellite) |
| Network | FanDuel Sports Network |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Main Street Sports Group |
| Sister channels | FanDuel Sports Network Ohio |
| History | |
| Launched | March 12, 2006 (19 years ago) (2006-03-12) |
| Closed | March 1, 2025 |
| Replaced by | MLB Local Media (Guardians coverage) |
| Former names | SportsTime Ohio (2006–2021) Bally Sports Great Lakes (2021–2024) FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes (2024–2025) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| FanDuel Sports 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 |
SportsTime Ohio was an Americanregional sports network which was last known asBally Sports Great Lakes. At the time it left the air, the network was owned byMain Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as an affiliate ofFanDuel Sports Network in its final days asFanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes. The channel, which was a sister network toFanDuel Sports Network Ohio, broadcast statewide coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughoutNortheastOhio, includingCleveland.
The network available from mostcable providers in the region, and select providers in other portions of Ohio (includingColumbus), NorthwestPennsylvania, and extremeWestern New York. It was also available nationwide onsatellite viaDirecTV, as well as outside Ohio onAT&T U-verse with game coverage pre-empted.
The channel was launched on March 12, 2006, asSportsTime Ohio; it was founded by the family ofCleveland Indians ownerLarry Dolan, becoming the second regional sports network in the Cleveland area, afterFox Sports Ohio (which launched in February 1989 asSportsChannel Ohio). SportsTime Ohio assumed the regional cable television rights toMajor League Baseball games involving the Indians from Fox Sports Ohio, which had served as the exclusive local broadcaster of the Indians from 2002 to 2005, when it was majority-owned byCablevision Systems Corporation (a New York-based company owned by Dolan's brother,Charles) until an asset trade with then-Fox Sports Net parentNews Corporation who also owned20th Century Fox andFox News. Jim Liberatore, former President of Fox Sports owned Speed Channel helped start the network and served as its first President. His knowledge of the cable industry served a vital role in the success the network enjoyed while so many other team facilitated network launches failed across the country.
Starting off as rivals withGannett-ownedWKYC providing studio operations for the cable channel, the two networks would soon become corporate sisters, when on December 3, 2012, the Indians announced that it would sell SportsTime Ohio to Fox Sports Ohio parentFox Entertainment Group. The deal was finalized four weeks later on December 28.[1] Fox retained SportsTime Ohio's existing staff despite coming under common ownership with Fox Sports Ohio, with Katie Witham becoming a traveling reporter with the team. Now under new ownership, the network became a member ofFox Sports Networks.
In April 2013, at the beginning of the2013 Major League Baseball season, SportsTime Ohio transitioned to theFox Sports branding and imagery, but maintained the SportsTime Ohio branding (following the model of FSN's similar secondary channelsSun Sports,SportSouth, andPrime Ticket).[2]
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 SportsTime Ohio, sister network Fox Sports Ohio, and Fox's 50% stake in the network's Cincinnati sub-feed. However, on June 27, 2018, theJustice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership ofESPN.[3] 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. The deal closed on August 22, 2019, thus putting SportsTime Ohio and Fox Sports Ohio under common ownership with several Sinclair stations in Ohio and Pennsylvania (though none in Cleveland itself).[4][5][6][7]
On November 17, 2020, Sinclair announced an agreement with casino operatorBally's Corporation to serve as a newnaming rights partner for the FSN channels.[8] Sinclair announced the new Bally Sports branding for the channels on January 27, 2021. On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the start of the2021 Major League Baseball season, SportsTime Ohio was rebranded asBally Sports Great Lakes,[9] with all other former Fox Sports Networks also rebranded as "Bally Sports" accompanied by a regional description appropriate for each network.[10] The first live sporting event to air on Bally Sports Great Lakes under the Bally banner was the opening-day coverage of the Indians visiting the Tigers on April 1, which was preceded up by theIndians Live pregame show.[11]
On February 15, 2023, Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports Great Lakes, failed to make a $140 million interest payment, instead opting for a 30-day grace period to make the payment.[12] On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports Group filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[13]
During its bankruptcy, Diamond missed a payment to theCleveland Guardians.[14] On April 5, 2023,Major League Baseball, on behalf of the Guardians, filed an emergency motion asking the bankruptcy judge to order Diamond to pay the Guardians fully or give its media rights back to the MLB. Diamond argued that because ofcord-cutting the contract rate for the media rights of the teams was too high. A hearing on the matter was set for May 31, 2023.[15] As an interim, on April 19, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond Sports to pay 50% of what the Guardians were owed.[16] On June 1, 2023, after a two day long hearing, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond to pay the Guardians fully within five days.[17]
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, took effect on October 21.[18][19] Though Bally Sports Great Lakes did take on a new name on-air as FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes for its last few months, it never originated any local sports coverage under the name, as the Guardians season ended two days before with their loss in the2024 ALCS. The team had already moved to distribution throughMLB Local Media on October 9 starting with the 2025 season, as Diamond did not renew their agreement as part of the bankruptcy.[20]
On March 1, 2025, FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes was shut down with a message saying "Thank you for your loyal viewership over the years. Please check your local listings to access broadcasts of the Cleveland Guardians".
FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes held the exclusive regional cable television rights to theCleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball from 2006 to 2024, when the Guardians announced a new deal withMLB Local Media.[21] It is also the pay-TV outlet of theCleveland Browns. The network was the primary TV outlet forCleveland Monsters hockey[22] until 2024, with a new deal withGray Television[23] and was a secondary broadcaster ofColumbus Crew soccer.[24]
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