Fox Sports Ohio

Fox Sports Ohio is an American regional sports network that is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and is operated as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Cleveland and Cincinnati, which are broadcast on separate programming feeds, as well as Columbus.

Fox Sports Ohio
LaunchedFebruary 9, 1989 (1989-02-09)
(soft launch)
September 1, 1989 (1989-09-01)
(official launch)
Owned byDiamond Sports Group (Sinclair Broadcast Group/Entertainment Studios)[1]
Cincinnati Reds (50% stake in Cincinnati sub-feed)[2]
Picture format720p (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
SloganWe Are Fox Sports
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Broadcast areaOhio, Indiana, Kentucky, northwest Pennsylvania, West Virginia, southwest New York
National (via satellite)
HeadquartersCleveland, Ohio
Formerly calledSportsChannel Ohio (1989–1998)
Fox Sports Ohio (1998–2000)
Fox Sports Net Ohio (2000–2004)
FSN Ohio (2004–2008)
Sister channel(s)SportsTime Ohio
Websitewww.foxsports.com/ohio
Availability
Satellite
DirecTVCleveland feed:
660 (SD)
660–1 (HD)
Cincinnati feed:
661 (SD)
661–1 (HD)
Dish NetworkCleveland feed:
412-21 (SD & HD)
Cincinnati feed:
412-17 (SD & HD)
Cable
Available on most Ohio cable systems and select cable systems elsewhere in designated broadcast areaConsult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability
IPTV
AT&T U-verseCleveland feed:
734 (SD)
1734 (HD)
Cincinnati feed:
732 (SD)
1732 (HD)
Streaming media
Fox Sports Gowww.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)
Hulu with Live TVInternet Protocol television

Fox Sports Ohio is available on cable providers throughout Ohio, as well as parts of Indiana, Kentucky, northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Tennessee, border communities of West Virginia, and extreme southwestern New York; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV and Dish Network.

History
Former logo

The channel originally launched on February 9, 1989, with an official launch on September 1 of that year as SportsChannel Ohio. It launched as an affiliate of SportsChannel, a slate of regional sports networks operated as a joint venture between Cablevision and NBC. SportsChannel Ohio initially held the broadcast games from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Indians. The channel also aired select Cincinnati Reds games produced by SportsChannel Cincinnati, Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball and football games, and Ohio State Buckeyes sporting events (with the exception of football and basketball).[3]

In 1997, News Corporation and Liberty Media purchased a 40% interest in Cablevision's sports properties including the SportsChannel America networks (as well as Madison Square Garden and its NBA and NHL team tenants, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers) in a deal worth $850 million, forming the venture National Sports Partners to run the owned-and-operated regional networks.[4][5] As part of a gradual rebranding of the SportsChannel networks that began that month, SportsChannel Ohio was rebranded as Fox Sports Ohio in January 1998.

The channel was then rebranded as Fox Sports Net Ohio in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Ohio, through the networks' de-emphasis of the brand.

In February 2005, News Corporation (which spun off most of its entertainment properties into 21st Century Fox in July 2013) acquired Cablevision's ownership stakes in Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Florida, following an asset trade in which Fox sold its interest in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks and the Rangers, to Cablevision, in exchange for acquiring sole ownership of the two networks. The channel reverted to the Fox Sports Ohio moniker in 2008.

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 Ohio, sister network SportsTime Ohio, and Fox's 50% stake in the network's Cincinnati sub-feed. However, on June 27, 2018, the Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN.[6] 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.[7] The deal would also bring Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio under common ownership with Sinclair stations WSYX/WTTE/WWHO in Columbus and WKRC-TV/WSTR-TV in Cincinnati, bringing possible synergies with those stations; Sinclair also owns or operates WNWO-TV in Toledo, WKEF/WRGT-TV in Dayton, WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio and WCHS-TV/WVAH-TV in Charleston, West Virginia within Fox Sports Ohio/SportsTime Ohio's coverage area.[8][9] On August 23, 2019, the deal was completed.[10]

Feeds

The network operates regional feeds for the Cleveland and Cincinnati markets, both branded as Fox Sports Ohio (but with the latter feed disambiguated in some electronic program guides and online television listings services as "Fox Sports Cincinnati"), which broadcast different events depending on the market. This arrangement can cause event conflicts in the Columbus market, which is located between Cleveland and Cincinnati. In the event of conflicting events between the two regional feeds (typically between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Blue Jackets and Cincinnati Reds, and the Reds and Cavaliers), cable providers in Central Ohio will carry the other game on an alternate channel.

Programming

Fox Sports Ohio holds the exclusive regional cable television rights to the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers (since 1990), MLB's Cincinnati Reds (since 1991), the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets (since 2000), Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew SC (since 2019),[11] and a select number of the AHL's Cleveland Monsters games. The channel also carries a select number of college basketball games involving the Xavier Musketeers (since 2005),[12] and the Cincinnati Bearcats (since 2008).[13]

The channel formerly broadcast Cleveland Indians games from the network's launch as SportsChannel Ohio, until Fox Sports Ohio lost the rights as a result of the team starting (eventual sister channel) SportsTime Ohio in March 2006. Despite this move, Reds games continue to be blacked out in most of Northeast Ohio, the designated market area of the Indians. When Reds games air in the rest of Ohio, the Cleveland feed airs generic national Fox Sports Networks programming unless a local Cleveland event is scheduled. Although Fox Sports Ohio and STO came under common ownership following Fox's purchase of the latter in 2012, Fox Sports Ohio does not share broadcast rights to any sporting events with SportsTime Ohio and vice versa (unlike arrangements that exist between Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast, and Fox Sports Florida and Fox Sports Sun), with both networks maintaining their own respective team television contracts.

On October 19, 2016, Fox Sports and the Reds announced an extension of their broadcast agreement to the end of the 2032 season. The deal includes the Reds taking an equity stake in the Cincinnati sub-feed of Fox Sports Ohio.[2]

Notable on-air staff

Current

Cincinnati Reds
  • Thom Brennaman – Cincinnati Reds play-by-play
  • Jeff Brantley – Cincinnati Reds color commentary (select games)
  • Jim Day – co-host Reds Live for home games, Cincinnati Reds sideline reporter, fill-in play-by-play (2015–present)
  • Doug Flynn – co-host Reds Weekly
  • Brian Giesenschlag – co-host Reds Live
  • Dan Hoard – Fill-in host Reds Live
  • Sam LeCure – Fill-in host Reds Live
  • Jeff Piecoro – co-host of Reds Live and host of Reds Weekly, fill-in sideline reporter for home games (2015–present)
  • Chris Welsh – Cincinnati Reds primary color commentary

Cleveland Cavaliers

Columbus Blue Jackets
  • Jeff Rimer – Columbus Blue Jackets play-by-play
  • Jody Shelley – Columbus Blue Jackets sideline reporter/color commentary
  • Dave Maetzold - Columbus Blue Jackets in-game/locker room reporter
  • Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre - Columbus Blue Jackets pregame/intermission/postgame (Blue Jackets Live) co-host
  • Brian Giesenschlag - Columbus Blue Jackets pregame/intermission/postgame (Blue Jackets Live) co-host

College and high school sports
  • Tom Gelehrter – Cincinnati Bearcats basketball play-by-play for non-conference games
  • Dan Hoard - host for Inside Bearcats Football and Inside Bearcats Basketball
  • Terry Nelson – Cincinnati Bearcats basketball analyst for non-conference games, Analyst for Inside Bearcats Basketball
  • Tony Pike – Inside Bearcats Football
  • John Cooper – analyst for Game Time with Ryan Day'* Jim Lachey – analyst for Game Time with Ryan Day
  • Chris "Beanie" Wells – analyst for Game Time with Ryan Day
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References
  1. Justice Department Approves Disney’s Acquisition of 21st Century Fox With Divestiture of Regional Sports Networks
  2. Buchanan, Zach (October 19, 2016). "Reds, Fox Sports Ohio extend partnership through 2032". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  3. "Warner Cable May Drop SportsChannel" – via AccessMyLibrary.
  4. "Fox putting together national Sports Net // Changes ahead for SportsChannel". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. June 24, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  5. John M. Higgins (June 30, 1997). "National net keys regional deal. (Fox Sports, Liberty Media Corp. challenge ESPN with stake in SportsChannel)". Broadcasting & Cable. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  6. "Disney can buy Fox if it sells 22 regional sports networks, Justice Dept. says". USA Today. June 28, 2018.
  7. Littleton, Cynthia. "Sinclair Clinches Disney-Regional Sports Networks Deal, Byron Allen Joins as Partner". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  8. "Fox Regional Sports Network sale nears conclusion as final round bids come due April 15". Fox Business. March 25, 2019.
  9. Palmeri, Christopher; Sakoui, Anousha (May 2, 2019). "Sinclair to Buy Fox Sports Networks From Disney, WSJ Reports". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  10. Morona, Joey; clevel; .com (August 23, 2019). "Sinclair's purchase of Fox Sports Ohio and SportsTime Ohio is a done deal". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  11. "Columbus Crew score Fox Sports local broadcast deal". SportsPro Media. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  12. "Xavier, FSN extend TV agreement". The Cincinnati Enquirer. E. W. Scripps Company. November 4, 2004.
  13. "FSN Ohio and UC Enter Into Exclusive Cable Programming Partnership". University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics. August 7, 2008.
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