Fox Sports Indiana
Fox Sports Indiana is an American regional sports network that is owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcasts local professional and high school sports coverage throughout the state of Indiana, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Indianapolis, namely the NBA's Indiana Pacers.
| Fox Sports Indiana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | November 1, 2006 |
| Network | Fox Sports Networks |
| Owned by | Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (Diamond Sports Group)[1] |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Central Indiana Nationwide (via DirecTV; games only) |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Formerly called | Fox Sports Midwest (within designated broadcast area, on cable) |
| Replaced | Fox Sports Midwest Fox Sports Kansas City |
| Website | www |
Availability (some events may air on overflow feed Fox Sports Indiana Plus due to event conflicts) | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 671-4 (SD/HD) |
| Cable | |
| Comcast (Indianapolis) | 28 or 44 Fox Sports Indiana (SD) 1673 Fox Sports Indiana (HD) 81 or 82 Fox Sports Indiana Plus (SD) |
| Charter Communications (Indianapolis) | 47 or 64 (SD) 747 or 1411 (HD) |
| Available on select other cable systems in Central Indiana | Consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability |
| IPTV | |
| AT&T U-verse | 749 (SD) 1749 (HD) |
| Streaming media | |
| Fox Sports Go | www.foxsportsgo.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) |
| Sling TV | Internet Protocol television |
The channel is available on cable providers throughout Central Indiana, and is also available nationwide on DirecTV.
History
Fox Sports Indiana was launched on November 1, 2006 as a spin-off channel of Fox Sports Midwest, after the regional sports network obtained the exclusive regional cable television rights to broadcast games from the Indiana Pacers NBA franchise.
On October 16, 2009, Dish Network removed Fox Sports Indiana and sister networks Fox Sports Midwest and Fox Sports Kansas City in a carriage dispute over a proposed increase in retransmission consent revenue paid by the satellite provider.[2] The dispute lasted for one year, with all three channels being restored on October 29, 2010 through the signing of a new carriage agreement.
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 from 21st Century Fox, including Fox Sports Indiana. However, on June 27, 2018, the Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN. On May 3, 2019, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (through their joint venture, Diamond Holdings) bought Fox Sports Networks from The Walt Disney Company for $10.6 billion.[3] The deal closed on August 22, 2019. [4]
Programming
Fox Sports Indiana holds the regional cable television rights to the Indiana Pacers, and the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. The channel also broadcasts select Major League Baseball games from its sister regional networks, airing Cincinnati Reds games televised by Fox Sports Ohio[5], St. Louis Cardinals game telecasts originating from Fox Sports Midwest and Detroit Tigers games from Fox Sports Detroit to areas of the state within the home television territories of those teams as defined by Major League Baseball.[6]
Fox Sports Indiana sources its collegiate sports programming from Fox Sports Midwest, and carries the channel's telecasts of events and conference magazine programs from the Atlantic 10 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, Western Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and Horizon League. Additionally, it airs weekly magazine programs for Notre Dame's football and men's basketball teams.
On December 10, 2016, Fox Sports Indiana aired the first edition of Basketball Day Indiana, which comprised several high school, college and professional basketball games featuring Indiana-based teams.[7] The second edition will be held on January 6, 2018.[8]
Other services
Fox Sports Indiana HD
Fox Sports Indiana is a high definition simulcast feed of Fox Sports Indiana, launched on December 17, 2007, which broadcasts in the 720p format. The channel broadcasts most of its Pacers game telecasts as well as Cincinnati Reds games from Fox Sports Ohio, and games and events broadcast nationally by Fox Sports Networks in HD.
Notable on-air staff
Indiana Pacers
- Chris Denari – Pacers play-by-play
- Quinn Buckner – Pacers analyst
- Austin Croshere – Pacers analyst (home games)
- Jeremiah Johnson – Pacers reporter
Indiana Fever
- Pat Boylan – Fever play-by-play
- Debbie Antonelli – Fever analyst
References
- Littleton, Cynthia (June 27, 2018). "Justice Department Approves Disney's Acquisition of 21st Century Fox With Divestiture of Regional Sports Networks". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- "Dish Network Now Has the Hockey Blues". TVPredictions.com. October 16, 2009.
- Littleton, Cynthia. "Sinclair Clinches Disney-Regional Sports Networks Deal, Byron Allen Joins as Partner". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
- "Sinclair completes acquisition of regional sports networks from Disney". Bloomberg. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- "Fox Sports Indiana Announces 2011 Cincinnati Reds Telecast Schedule" (PDF). Fox Sports Indiana. March 21, 2011.
- "Cardinals on FSN". St. Louis Cardinals. Major League Baseball.
- "Basketball Day in Indiana": Embrace Hoosier Hysteria This Saturday - Ashlew Fowler, WIBC, 7 December 2016
- Fox Sports Indiana will use RedZone-like coverage for Basketball Day Indiana - David Rogers, Awful Announcing, 2 January 2018