Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Wednesday its Fox Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) would be shedding their skin and get rebranded as Bally Sports, presenting the new logos to the public.
“We are extremely proud to unveil the Bally Sports logo as it signifies a new, transformative chapter in the regional sports business and is representative of our cohesive partnership with Bally’s.”
Steve Rosenberg, President, Local Sports, Sinclair Broadcast Group
Bally Sports Logo Ready
According to the announcement from Sinclair, the process of rebranding for the sports channels in which Bally Sports logos will replace existing ones of Fox Sports, will commence in the coming months. Bally’s Corporation and Sinclair agreed to the rebranding in November 2020, when the broadcaster also acquired a stake in the casino and entertainment company.
Back then, the Standard hedge fund-led Bally’s Corporation agreed to pay $85 million for the naming rights over 10 years, in exchange for exclusive access to 42 major sports teams nationwide.
The deal was part of a bigger strategy from the casino operator having agreed to acquire technology solutions provider Bet.Works in a $125 million deal and looking to diversify into the digital space and create its own niche as the first vertically integrated omni-channel sports betting and iGaming operator.
George Papanier, president and chief executive officer of Bally’s noted that the rollout of the new Bally Sports logo represents just one step in the transformational partnership between Bally’s and Sinclair set “to revolutionize the US sports betting, gaming and media industries”.
The Bally Sports logo, created by the company’s marketing consultancy partner Interbrand, features the red Bally script sitting on top of a Sports typography, under which sits the geographic region printed in white.
Re-Alignment with True Roots Alongside the Rebranding
The rebranding would also affect two of Sinclair’s regional sports networks which never carried the Fox Sports brand, as Prime Ticket is set to become Bally Sports SoCal, and Sports Time Ohio would rename into Bally Sports Great Lakes, as Bally’s is seeking to re-align regions with their true geographical roots.
As part of the rebranding process, two part-time channels, Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports Tennessee, will be shut down by the broadcast group, with hockey games of the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes, moving to Bally Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast, respectively, with the latter also featuring basketball matches of Charlotte Hornets.
While Sinclair is looking to recoup its losses from the acquisition of the sports channels from Disney via services related to legal sports betting, Bally’s Corporation is looking to become the first vertically integrated sports betting provider.
Recently, Bally’s agreed to acquire Monkey Knife Fight, the third-ranked daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator after DraftKings and FanDuel.