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| Type | Regional sports network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Southern California Las Vegas Valley Hawaii Nationwide (via satellite) |
| Network | Bally Sports |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles,California |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English Spanish (viaSAP) |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Main Street Sports Group |
| Sister channels | FanDuel Sports Network West |
| History | |
| Launched | January 27, 1997; 28 years ago (1997-01-27) |
| Replaced | SportsChannel Los Angeles |
| Former names | Fox Sports West 2 (1997–1999) Fox Sports Net West 2 (1999–2004) FSN West 2 (2004–2006) Prime Ticket (2006–2021) Bally Sports SoCal (2021–2024) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| 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 SoCal is an Americanregional sports network owned byMain Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group) and operated as part ofFanDuel Sports Network, along with itssister networkFanDuel Sports Network West. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events inCalifornia, focusing primarily on teams based in theGreater Los Angeles area. Bally Sports SoCal is available oncable providers throughoutSouthern California, theLas Vegas Valley andHawaii; it is also available nationwide onsatellite viaDirecTV.
The network holds the regional broadcast rights to theLos Angeles Clippers of theNational Basketball Association andWest Coast Conference men's and women's basketball. The network also broadcast theLos Angeles Dodgers ofMajor League Baseball until 2014, when broadcasts moved toSpectrum SportsNet LA, and broadcast theAnaheim Ducks of theNational Hockey League until 2024, when broadcasts moved toVictory+ andKCOP-TV.
The original Prime Ticket (currently Bally Sports West) was launched on October 19, 1985, and became one of the leading regional sports networks in the United States. Rival networkSportsChannel Los Angeles ceased operations on December 31, 1992, which would eventually create a need for a new regional sports network.[1] After SportsChannel's closure, Prime Ticket acquired the broadcast rights to theLos Angeles Angels andLos Angeles Clippers which had previously broadcast on SportsChannel.[2] However, theLos 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 joinedFox Sports Net.[3]
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 andAnaheim Ducks games were moved from Fox Sports West, as well asUCLA andUSC basketball games that were not part of Fox's existingPac-10 package. Other new programming included coverage of other college sports at UCLA and USC, high school basketball and football, andhorse racing fromSanta Anita andHollywood Park[4][5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
In 2000, Fox Sports West 2 was rebranded asFox 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 toFSN West 2.
On April 3, 2006, FSN West 2 rebranded asFSN Prime Ticket (later shortened to simplyPrime Ticket), beginning with the Dodgers season opener against theAtlanta Braves atDodger Stadium. The change was primarily made as a response to perception of viewers that Fox Sports West 2 was an inferior network. The network adopted a new philosophy to concentrate more on local originally-produced content (such as thedocumentary seriesBefore the Bigs andIn My Own Words, and team-themedInsider shows) and less on supplemental national programming provided by Fox Sports Net.[8] FSN West reverted to the Fox Sports West moniker in 2008.
On June 20, 2011, Commissioner of BaseballBud 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 ownerFrank McCourt and not the team's operations.[9] 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.[10][11] On January 10, 2012, Fox and the Dodgers reached a settlement in court, clearing the way for the sale of the team.[12] Fox's exclusive negotiating period with the Dodgers expired on November 30, 2012 – leaving the team open to competing offers.[13] In January 2013,Time Warner Cable signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, establishing a new team-specific channel known asSportsNet LA.
In 2014, Prime Ticket began broadcastingArizona Diamondbacks games viaFox Sports Arizona for viewers in the Las Vegas Valley.
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 West and Prime Ticket. 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.[14] The deal closed on August 22, 2019.[15]
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.[16] On March 31, 2021, coinciding with the2021 Major League Baseball season, the Prime Ticket name was retired again as the channel rebranded toBally Sports SoCal,[17][18] resulting in 18 other Regional Sports Networks renamed Bally Sports in their respective regions.[19]
On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed forChapter 11 Bankruptcy.[20]
On August 27, 2024, theAnaheim Ducks announced partnerships withKCOP-TV, aMyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Fox, and direct-to-consumer streaming service Victory+, ending their tenure with Bally Sports. The deal with KCOP includes 65 Ducks games to televise in the Los Angeles regional market per year marking the return of hockey broadcasts to a Fox station.[21]
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.[22][23] 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.[24][25]
On July 30, 2025,Spectrum SportsNet becomes the new broadcast partner of the CIF-Southern Section high school football Game of the Week presented by the Southern California Ford Dealers. The new contract is for three years, replacing the contract the CIF-Southern Section had with Prime Ticket and its successors, Bally Sports SoCal and FanDuel Sports Network SoCal.
In the Los Angeles market, in the case of scheduling conflicts, FanDuel Sports Network SoCal will move a scheduled telecast of a Clippers or Ducks (prior to 2024-25 season) game toKCOP-TV (Channel 13), the localMyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station and former sister station to the two networks. Select Ducks games were also shown on Bally Sports West prior to the2024–25 NHL season.[26] Those KCOP Clippers and Ducks (prior to 2024-25 season) telecasts may also be streamed via theBally Sports app for those outside of the Los Angeles DMA; Prior to the 2016-17 season, Ducks games were not streamed on the application, as Fox Sports and the National Hockey League did not come to a streaming rights agreement until the summer of 2016.
FanDuel Sports Network SoCal maintains widespread cable carriage inSan Diego County. However, the two major providers in the area,Time Warner Cable andCox Communications, refused to carry Prime Ticket since its launch in 1997; both cable providers claim that the network has asked for carriage fees they deemed to be too expensive for carriage on their expanded basic tiers. The network remained available on cable systems acquired by Time Warner Cable in 2006 as part of theAdelphia bankruptcy, which had carried Prime Ticket since 2001.
On March 17, 2012, as part of a contract signed with FSN to acquire the local cable rights to theSan Diego Padres, Fox Sports Networks created a separate regional network for the San Diego market,Fox Sports/Bally Sports San Diego, which closed in April 2024.[27] Despite that channel's launch, Bally Sports West's availability never changed and it remains available on cable providers in the San Diego area. Bally Sports San Diego often duplicated Bally Sports SoCal's own schedule outside Padres games, which meant all programming on both channels was available to all viewers and both channels were folded into carriage agreements.
Bally Sports West and Bally Sports SoCal maintain widespread cable carriage in theLas Vegas Valley, though with the inaugural season of theVegas Golden Knights, Kings games began to beblacked out on Prime Ticket/FDSN SoCal in the2017–2018 NHL season, ceding toScripps Sports's coverage of Golden Knights games onKMCC; Kings games remain available throughESPN+ inSouthern Nevada.
