Bally Sports is no more.
On October 21, the Diamond Sports regional networks will officially be rebranded as the FanDuel Sports Network after the bankrupt parent and the largest sportsbook in the United States were able to strike an agreement on a new naming rights deal for the fledgling network.
Bally Sports is no more. Diamond Sports Group announced that it will be rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network starting Monday as part of “a broad, long-term commercial partnership.” Terms of the naming rights agreement were not disclosed.
USA Today
After a judge approved an amended agreement made with the leagues last month in the wake of Diamond Sports’ filing for bankruptcy in March of last year, the newly dubbed FanDuel Sports Network will reportedly have the broadcasting rights for 13 NBA teams and eight NHL teams across 16 regional sports networks during the 2024-25 season. Additionally, FanDuel will also offer a direct-to-customer streaming service for cord-cutters as well as syndicated FanDuel TV shows outside of broadcasted games.
“Collaborating with FanDuel provides a tremendous pathway for Diamond to elevate the fan experience and deepen the incremental value we provide for our team, league and distribution partners,” Diamond Sports Group CEO David Preschlack said in a statement. “This partnership reinforces opportunities to further strengthen the close connection our RSNs have with local fans, including enhancing our (direct-to-consumer) offering for a growing digital audience. In the meantime, having finalized agreements with the NBA, NHL and our key distributors, we remain focused on moving our business forward and driving value for our team partners and our stakeholders.”
The markets that the FanDuel Sports Network will continue to cover include:
FanDuel Sports Network Detroit: Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings
FanDuel Sports Network Florida: Miami Marlins, Orlando Magic
FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes: Cleveland Guardians*
FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City: Kansas City Royals
FanDuel Sports Network Indiana: Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever
FanDuel Sports Network Midwest: St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues
FanDuel Sports Network North: Minnesota Twins*, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Lynx
FanDuel Sports Network Ohio: Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Cavaliers, Columbus Blue Jackets
FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Thunder
FanDuel Sports Network SoCal: Los Angeles Clippers
FanDuel Sports Network South: Atlanta Braves, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Dream
FanDuel Sports Network Southeast: Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Dream
FanDuel Sports Network Southwest: Texas Rangers*, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Wings
FanDuel Sports Network Sun: Miami Heat, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Sports Network West: Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Kings
FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin: Milwaukee Brewers*, Milwaukee Bucks
*Contract with Diamond Sports Group ended after 2024 season
Given that this is all still Diamond Sports under the hood, there’s no telling if any of the broadcasts and coverage will be any better with the new FanDuel branding or if this will end up being better for teams across the three leagues. From a fan perspective, it was almost impossible to find Bally on any cable provider or streaming service making the Bally Sports App the only option to watch your local sports teams in any of the aforementioned markets. And if you were stuck using the app, you often had trouble logging in or dealt with poor video quality or a lagging broadcast.
