Hornets, Hurricanes TV games switching from FOX Sports to Bally. What that means for you
A changing of channel names was inevitable and now it’s upon nearly cable subscribers who tune in to Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Hurricanes games.
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Bally’s Corporation unveiled Wednesday new names for Sinclair-owned FOX regional sports networks (RSNs) and a new Bally Sports logo.
As part of the rebranding, FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast will be renamed Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast, respectively, in the coming months. Last year, Sinclair signed an 10-year, $85 million deal with Bally’s casinos for FOX RSN naming rights as the media conglomerate moved to capitalize on sports gamification. Wednesday’s brand announcement is the latest product of that deal.
“Rolling out Bally’s iconic logo across Sinclair’s regional sports networks is a rewarding first step in a transformational partnership that is going to revolutionize the U.S. sports betting, gaming and media industries,” a statement from Bally’s CEO George Papanier said.
What that means for Hornets and Hurricanes fans who have cable is that channel names will change. A Sinclair spokesperson confirmed that there will be no changes to local channel numbers, nor to the teams seen on each network. Only the name of the network will change locally for viewers.
Carolina sports fans will see games for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL), Atlanta Braves (MLB), Atlanta United (MLS), Atlanta Dream (WNBA) and the ACC on Bally Sports South (previously FOX Sports South, and FOX Sports Carolinas for Hurricanes).
Atlanta Braves, United and Dream games will also be broadcast on Bally Sports Southeast, in addition to Charlotte Hornets games (NBA). Hornets games were previously broadcast on FOX Sports Southeast.
Hornets streaming options still lacking
The network name change should be a minor shift for local professional sports fans with cable. For those without cable, the struggle continues to stream Hornets games on any platform other than AT&T TV NOW. The FOX RSNs that broadcast the games were not available on FuboTV, Hulu, SlingTV or YouTube TV at the start the 2021 season as carriage disputes with Sinclair persisted. There was no update as to whether that would change given the recent Bally rebranding announcement.
In a statement to the Tampa Bay Times Wednesday, Sinclair said it remained “committed to reaching a fair agreement with both Hulu and YouTube TV to carry the FOX RSNs,” but there appeared to be no progress in those conversations.
“At no time have we demanded exorbitant fees for these channels,” the statement said. “Instead, we have consistently offered both pay TV providers extremely fair deals in line with what hundreds of other TV services have agreed to and continue to agree to. We have yet to see that same commitment from either provider to put consumers first.”
“Unfortunately, at this point we have no choice but to conclude that neither Disney (which owns Hulu) nor Google (which owns YouTube) is willing to engage in good-faith discussions or return the RSNs to their platforms,” the statement concluded.
Sinclair is reportedly in the process of developing a sports app to replace the FOX Sports Go app to address its direct-to-consumers streaming needs, but no timeline has been announced for the rollout. Sinclair acquired FOX Regional Sports Networks in 2019.
