21 Fox Sports Regional Networks Rebranded As Bally Sports

Ballys Monkey Knife Fight

Sinclair Broadcast Group rebranded its regional sports networks (RSNs) as Bally Sports less than six months after the two agreed to a long-term strategic partnership.

Sinclair has been moving quickly to put its stamp on the sports market since it purchased the Fox Sports RSNs from Disney in August 2019. Its rebrand came just in time for Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Opening Day, the first full MLB season since the deal due to COVID-19 causing an abbreviated 2020 season.

Sinclair “Changing the Paradigm”

The Sinclair-Bally’s partnership’s overall goal is to create a transformed in-game experience for fans when watching sporting events from home. Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley said the rebrand was step one in its effort “to thoroughly change the paradigm of the in-home sports experience, elevating how audiences view and interact with live sports content.”

The Bally Bet app topped the list of anticipated releases, granting access to in-market games to authenticated subscribers. Other plans for the app include providing local sports content and a renewed focus on the gamification of sports. All of which are designed to allow fans to interact in an integrated and personalized way formerly unattainable. 

“We can’t wait to roll out even more game-changing options for fans everywhere in the future,” Ripley added.

Bally’s Gains New Opportunities

Bally’s partnership with Sinclair gives it access to advertise on all of Sinclair’s 190 stations nationwide. With the sustained boom in sports betting in America and Bally’s owning a dozen casino properties and counting, the logical expectation would be for much of the new improvements around “gamification of sports” pertain to odds, live betting lines, and the like.

In total, 19 Sinclair-owned RSN stations rebranded to Bally Sports networks. Not all of those markets have legalized sports betting yet, which is why locally-focused content is also an essential part of the model moving forward.

Such innovations allow for more enjoyable downtime during commercial breaks and other clock stoppages and present promotional opportunities for Bally’s. Additional upgrades to the Bally Sports app also give fans new ways to interact with local teams, though anything related to sports betting remains the purview of the Bally Bet app.

We’re the Other Fox

You may be asking why Fox Sports would sign an agreement with a sports betting operator not named FoxBet.

The reason is simple, Fox doesn’t own the regional Fox Sports Networks. Disney sold the regional Fox Sports networks to Sinclair Broadcast Group to facilitate the acquisition of Twenty First Century Fox in 2019.

The Resurrection of Bally’s

Bally’s is one of the oldest gaming brands, but it was believed that its best days were behind it.

The company has gone through many iterations in its nearly 90-year history. The company has been involved in manufacturing pinball machines, slots, and gaming equipment and has owned and operated everything from casinos to gyms.

The company has also changed ownership several times, including the 2005 acquisition by Harrah’s Entertainment, which would in turn be acquired by Caesars Entertainment.

Following the mega-merger of Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, the company has been offloading properties, as well as the Bally’s brand, which was purchased by Twin River in October.

At the time, Steve Ruddock posited that “the Bally’s brand’s real strength could be on the online gambling front.”

Kim told the New York Post the company planned to launch a Bally’s-branded sports-betting site, and that it was “an opportunity for us to revive a brand that is synonymous with American gaming.”

In the span of a month, Bally’s upped its public profile considerably and demonstrated it should be taken seriously on the sports betting and online gambling fronts.

As Ruddock previously mentioned on Twitter, do not underestimate this company: “Twin River is quietly a top casino in New England, competing with the likes of Foxwoods, Mohegan, and now Penn, Wynn, and MGM. Pretty impressive for a converted dog track… what they’ve managed to produce at the property is nothing short of amazing. Solid reinvestment and expansion over the years, and differentiation.”

Will Bally’s Become a Player in the Space?

Bally’s is all in on its expansion into the sports betting market, having also forged official partnerships with the NBA and NHL. Additionally, the Bally’s brand has been a recognizable name the gambling world for decades.

But the market is also full of other big competitors: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, PointsBet, William Hill, FOX Bet, and BetRivers all serve multiple states. Other companies are also surging, including the Barstool Sportsbook, owned by another competitor to Bally’s in Penn Gaming.

On the television side of things, an integrated gamification experience is also likely to create more viewership, benefiting both Bally’s and Sinclair. Bally’s can undoubtedly become a household name due to its branding across both sportsbooks and RSNs, while Sinclair can benefit from increased viewership.

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