Diamond Sports Group (DSG) and FanDuel have announced a long-term commercial partnership that will see the rebranding of Bally Sports. Effective October 21, the regional sports networks (RSNs) owned by Diamond will be renamed as FanDuel Sports Network.
The agreement grants FanDuel exclusive rights to name Diamond's 16 RSNs and its digital offerings, including its direct-to-consumer (DTC) product. The partnership also includes media placement and integration opportunities across all live NBA, NHL, and MLB games broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.
David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond, said: “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.”
"This partnership reinforces opportunities to further strengthen the close connection our RSNs have with local fans, including enhancing our DTC 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 collaboration aims to create a unified DTC app experience, allowing for the syndication of FanDuel TV programming across the network. Additionally, FanDuel will serve as a reseller for Diamond’s DTC product, introducing further economic and equity elements to the partnership.
Mike Raffensperger, President of Sports at FanDuel, expressed enthusiasm for the agreement: “Partnering with Diamond provides us an opportunity to put the FanDuel brand at the intersection of the nation's largest group of regional sports networks. A large cohort of FanDuel customers are devoted RSN viewers and this agreement allows us to further cement the FanDuel brand with sports fans and provides a unique vehicle to reward our users.".”
The newly branded FanDuel Sports Network will consist of regional channels such as FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, FanDuel Sports Network Florida, and FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, among others. Additional partnership elements and collaborations are expected to be announced in the coming months.
