Stadium (sports network)
Stadium is a digital television and internet sports network operated as a multi-platform sports network. Stadium includes a 24/7 linear feed distributed across both digital and broadcast platforms, as well as on-demand (VOD) digital content including additional live games and events. Stadium is a joint venture between Silver Chalice and Sinclair Broadcast Group. The network is headquartered at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
| Type | Digital broadcast Sports network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Sister channels | Bally Sports Tennis Channel Stadium College Sports |
| History | |
| Launched | August 21, 2017 |
| Replaced | American Sports Network (broadcast) Campus Insiders (online) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Watch live |
| Website | watchstadium |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Twitch | [1] |
| Plex, Stremium, Xumo, Stirr, Sling TV, FuboTV, Roku Channel, VidGo, YouTube TV | |
The service is distributed as an over-the-top streaming service through Stadium's website and other partners, digital subchannels on broadcast television stations.
History edit
In March 2017, unconfirmed reports speculated that Sinclair was planning to shutter its sports unit, American Sports Network, and give its remaining sports rights to Campus Insiders. The Charleston Gazette-Mail, however, citing ASN employees, reported that the rumors of a complete shuttering were false, but that the division was planning to re-locate its headquarters, restructure its operations, and achieve "stronger, more diversified distribution." The original rumors were based upon reports of layoffs from ASN's current headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, connected to the planned re-location.[1]
On April 13, 2017, Sinclair officially announced that ASN would be re-launched later in the year as part of a joint venture with Campus Insiders owner Silver Chalice (itself owned by the Chicago White Sox), and its online sports video service 120 Sports. The new operation will be operated as linear and digital offerings; the linear service would utilize the syndication and broadcast network built out for ASN, while the digital platform would stream full-time online and through Twitter. 120 Sports would provide original studio and long-form programming to the venture.[2][3]
On May 1, 2017, it was announced that the new joint venture would be known as Stadium.[4] On June 1, 2017, it was reported that Stadium would officially launch around late-July 2017.[5] The service officially launched on August 21, 2017.[6][7]
In 2019, with Sinclair's expansions into regional sports networks via acquisitions of Fox Sports Networks, a minority stake in YES Network, and the establishment of Marquee Sports Network with the Chicago Cubs, Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said of Stadium's role in the expanded sports offerings: "That will be our national play. I don’t see it competing head to head with FS1 or ESPN. It's not there yet with its maturity."[8]
In 2021, Stadium began to synergize with the rebranded Bally Sports, including co-producing an Opening Day launch special for the networks on April 1,[9] and adopting its on-air graphics package for college sports broadcasts beginning in the 2021–22 academic season.[10] The Fox College Sports cable channels were quietly rebranded as Stadium College Sports in June,[11] and in 2022 Stadium began to produce the national studio show The Rally for the Bally Sports channels.[12]
In May 2023, Sinclair sold its controlling interest in Stadium to Silver Chalice, Sinclair stating that the network did not have enough viewership for Sinclair to continue funding it; Sinclair will continue to supply some programming.[13][14]
On October 10, 2023, Sinclair announced that on October 30, 2023, it will convert Stadium's over-the-air service into The Nest, a network that will feature reruns of home improvement, true crime, reality and celebrity-driven shows.[15]
Distribution edit
The service is distributed mainly via streaming television services and associated apps (including third-party services, as well as Sinclair's own Stirr service).[16] The American Sports Network linear service, which was distributed as a digital subchannel network, transitioned to Stadium on September 6, 2017.[17] The network has also reached deals for traditional cable distribution.[18] Stadium also offers a subscription service, "Stadium Plus", which offers access to premium events and on-demand content (including commercial-free replays of broadcasts, and classic games).[19]
In November 2017, Facebook acquired rights to 47 college basketball telecasts from Stadium, which stream exclusively on Facebook Watch and an associated Facebook page.[20]
In May 2018, Stadium partnered with Twitch to stream its content on the service, as well as an exclusive Twitch Stadium 2 channel that features additional commentary and analysis.[21]
Programming edit
Stadium's college sports programming includes content from Conference USA, the Mountain West Conference, the Patriot League, the Southern Conference, and the West Coast Conference.[22]
Stadium's studio lineup includes:
The Territory - The Territory sets the editorial cycle for the day with a fast-paced, expansive look at the sports landscape, featuring news and storylines from coast-to-coast.
Sauce & Shram - Sauce & Shram showcases an irreverent and interactive conversation between Dave Ross and Tyler Jacobs along with user generated social media commentary and callers.
Emerge - Emerge spotlights the best high school talent across the country, featuring athlete-submitted training, game, and social content while also featuring interviews with players and coaches throughout prep sports.
Campus Insiders - Campus Insiders continues to focus on college conferences across the nation, including the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mountain West, Pac-12, Patriot League, SEC, and the West Coast Conference. Each day, a different conference will be highlighted with exclusive interviews, Top 25 breakdowns, game picks and more.
The Rally: Gametime in America - Gametime in America sets the live sports scene as viewers will navigate in real time through the landscape of sports in America.[23]
Indoor Football League, Stadium began broadcasting IFL games with the IFL Game of the Week on May 15, 2021.[24]
College Football, Stadium has broadcast College Football since 2017. Currently games feature Conference USA.
Stadium, as with other networks distributed by digital multicast networks, is required to preempt three hours of its weekly schedule for educational children's programming. With the exception of DragonflyTV, most of Stadium's educational shows are sports-related to minimize interruption; The Real Winning Edge, Sports Lab, Future Phenoms and Sports Stars of Tomorrow make up Stadium's educational lineup as of 2019. This has been discontinued since.
Notable on-air staff edit
Former over-the-air affiliates edit
| City of license/market | Station | Virtual channel[25] | Physical channel | Primary affiliation (on main channel) | Owner (Management Company) | Date of affiliation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | |||||||
| Birmingham | WBMA-LD | 58.3 | 32 | ABC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Mobile | WPMI-TV | 15.3 | 15 | NBC | Deerfield Media (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Arkansas | |||||||
| Little Rock | KKYK-CD | 30.3 | 21 | Telemundo | KTV Media, LLC | ||
| Arizona | |||||||
| Phoenix | KDVD-LD | 50.6 | 25 | Nuestra Visión | Globe LPTV | ||
| Yuma | KAJB | 54.4 | 36 | UniMás | Entravision Communications | ||
| California | |||||||
| Bakersfield | KBFX-CD | 58.4 | 29 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Chico | KCVU | 20.4 | 30 | Fox | Cunningham Broadcasting (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Eureka | KBVU | 28.4 | 28 | Fox | Cunningham Broadcasting (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Fresno | KMPH-TV | 26.4 | 28 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Los Angeles | KCAL-TV | 9.2 | 9 | Independent | Paramount Global | April 12, 2019 | |
| San Diego | KBNT-CD | 17.3 | 24 | Univision | Entravision Communications | ||
| Colorado | |||||||
| Denver | KTFD-TV | 50.3 | 28 | UniMas | Entravision Communications | ||
| Connecticut | |||||||
| Waterbury | WCCT-TV | 20.4 | 33 | The CW | Tegna | ||
| Florida | |||||||
| West Palm Beach | WWHB-CD | 48.3 | 33 | TBD | Sinclair Broadcast Group | Also on WTVX sometimes for special occasion | |
| Idaho | |||||||
| Boise | KYUU-LD | 35.4 | 28 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Idaho Falls/Pocatello | KPIF | 15.4 | 15 | MeTV | Ventura Broadcasting | ||
| Illinois | |||||||
| Hammond (Chicago) | WJYS | 62.2 | 21 | Independent | Oxford Media Group, Inc. | ||
| Springfield–Decatur–Champaign | WBUI | 23.3 | 22 | The CW | GOCOM Media (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Iowa | |||||||
| Cedar Rapids | KFXA | 28.4 | 27 | Dabl | Second Generation of Iowa, Ltd. (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Sioux City | KPTH | 44.4 | 30 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Kansas | |||||||
| Hutchinson/Wichita | KMTW | 36.2 | 35 | Dabl | Mercury Broadcasting Company, Inc. (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | Replaced getTV, after moving from 36.3 when it got replaced by sibling network Charge! On that channel. | |
| Kentucky | |||||||
| Bowling Green | WDNZ-LD | 11.2 | 11 | Antenna TV | Daily News Broadcasting Company | October 18, 2019 | |
| Paducah | WDKA | 49.4 | 25 | MyNetworkTV | Standard Media | ||
| Louisiana | |||||||
| Lafayette | KXKW-LD | 32.3 | 30 | Newsnet | Delta Media Corporation | March 14, 2021 | Was previously on the Channel's DT1 slot until Newsnet launched March 14, 2021 |
| New Orleans | WQDT-LD | 33.4 | 32 | Buzzr | DTV America Corporation | ||
| Maine | |||||||
| Portland | WGME-TV | 13.3 | 15 | CBS | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Maryland | |||||||
| Baltimore | WNUV | 54.4 | 25 | The CW | Cunningham Broadcasting (Operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Massachusetts | |||||||
| Worcester | WUTF-TV | 27.4 | 19 | Unimas | Entravision Communications | ||
| Michigan | |||||||
| Flint–Tri-Cities | WSMH | 66.4 | 16 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Missouri | |||||||
| Kansas City | KCMN-LD | 42.4 | 28 | Decades | HC2 Holdings | ||
| St. Louis | KDNL-TV | 30.4 | 31 | ABC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Nebraska | |||||||
| Omaha | KXVO | 15.4 | 29 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Nevada | |||||||
| Las Vegas | KSNV | 3.4 | 22 | NBC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Reno | KNSN-TV | 21.2 | 20 | Independent & MyNetworkTV (secondary) | Deerfield Media (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| New York | |||||||
| Albany–Schenectady–Troy | WCWN | 45.4 | 22 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Buffalo | WNYO-TV | 49.2 | 49 | MyNetworkTV | |||
| North Carolina | |||||||
| Asheville | WLOS | 13.4 | 13 | ABC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Greenville | WYDO | 14.4 | 19 | Fox | Cunningham Broadcasting (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Winston-Salem–Greensboro–High Point | WXLV-TV | 45.2 | 29 | ABC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill | WLFL | 22.2 | 18 | The CW | |||
| Ohio | |||||||
| Cincinnati | WKRC-TV | 12.3[26] | 12 | CBS | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Columbus | WSYX | 6.4[26] | 27 | ABC | |||
| Dayton | WKEF | 22.3 | 34 | ABC | |||
| Toledo | Replaced by "Charge!". | ||||||
| Oklahoma | |||||||
| Oklahoma City | KOKH-TV | 25.3 | 24 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Oregon | |||||||
| Portland | KATU-TV | 2.4 | 24 | ABC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Pennsylvania | |||||||
| Pittsburgh | WPNT | 22.2 | 42 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Wilkes-Barre | WSWB | 38.4 | 34 | The CW | MPS Media, LLC (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| South Carolina | |||||||
| Florence–Myrtle Beach, SC | WWMB | 21.3 | 26 | Dabl | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| WVEB-LD | 40.3 | 22 | Timeless TV | Innovate Corp. | The station is nominally licensed to this market, but actually serves Charlotte, NC. | ||
| Greenville–Spartanburg | WLOS | 13.4 | 13 | ABC | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Columbia | WACH | 57.2 | 22 | Fox | |||
| Charleston | WCIV | 36.3 | 25 | MyNetworkTV | |||
| Tennessee | |||||||
| Nashville | WNAB | 58.2 | 23 | Dabl | Tennessee Broadcasting (Operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Texas | |||||||
| Austin | KGBS-CD | 19.1 | 19 | Stadium | HC2 Holdings | ||
| Dallas–Fort Worth | KTXD-TV | 47.1 | 23 | Cunningham Broadcasting (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | March 7, 2018 | Replaced independent format | |
| El Paso–Las Cruces, NM | KFOX-TV | 14.4 | 15 | Fox | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Houston | KEHO-LD | 32.5 | 29 | Court TV | HC2 Holdings | ||
| Laredo | KLDO-TV | 27.4 | 19 | Univision | Entravision Communications | ||
| McAllen | KTFV-CD | 32.4 | 32 | UniMás | |||
| Port Arthur | KBTV-TV | 4.4 | 27 | Dabl | Deerfield Media (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| San Antonio | KMYS | 35.2 | 32 | The CW | Deerfield Media (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Virginia | |||||||
| Norfolk | WTVZ-TV | 33.2 | 33 | MyNetworkTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Lynchburg–Roanoke | WSET-TV | 13.2 | 13 | ABC | |||
| Washington | |||||||
| Bellevue (Seattle–Tacoma) | KUNS-TV | 51.3[27] | 50 | Univision | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
| Yakima | KUNW-CD | 2.3 | 30 | ||||
| West Virginia | |||||||
| Charleston–Huntington | WVAH-TV | 11.2 | 24 | Decades | Cunningham Broadcasting (operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group) | ||
| Wisconsin | |||||||
| Suring (Green Bay–Fox Cities) | WCWF | 14.4 | 15 | The CW | Sinclair Broadcast Group | ||
References edit
- ^ Smock, Doug (March 12, 2017). "American Sports Network may remain after all". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ "Sinclair Partners to Revamp, Relaunch Sports Network". Broadcasting and Cable. April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "American Sports Network, Campus Insiders, and 120 Sports Announce Mega-Merger Deal". Underdog Dynasty (SBNation). Vox Media. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Is Twitter the new home for Southern Miss football?". Sun Herald. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ "Stadium multi-platform sports network soon will replace 120 Sports". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ . Multichannel News. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ "Stadium enters the fray". Cynopsis Media. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ "Sinclair CEO see 'massive opportunity' with rebranding of Fox sports networks". Baltimore Business Journal. August 26, 2019.
- ^ Dachman, Jason (March 30, 2021). "How Sinclair Pulled Off the Gargantuan Bally Sports Networks Rebrand Amid the Pandemic". Sports Video Group. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ Hernandez, Kristian (September 2, 2021). "College Football Kickoff 2021: Stadium Plans Bally Sports–Style Graphics, Real-Time Fan Interaction for 25-Game Schedule". Sports Video Group. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ "Fox College Sports to become Stadium College Sports". Bend Broadband. June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (January 24, 2022). "'The Rally' Launching on Sinclair's Bally Regional Sports Networks". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ Fisher, Eric (May 29, 2023). "White Sox and Bulls Owner Acquires Controlling Stake of Stadium Network". Front Office Sports. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Lafayette, Jon (May 30, 2023). "Sinclair Sells Control of Stadium to Jerry Reinsdorf's Silver Chalice". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "Sinclair Will Serve Up ‘Comfort Food’ on New Multicast Network The Nest," from Broadcasting & Cable, 10/10/2023
- ^ "TV broadcaster Sinclair launches STIRR, a free streaming service with local news and sports". TechCrunch. January 16, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ Bartel, Jeffrey. "Introducing Stadium – CW 14.4". Fox11Online.com. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- ^ "Is Sinclair-Led Sports Venture Stadium Greater Than Sum of its Parts?". Cablefax. August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ Perez, Sarah (August 24, 2017). "Stadium's live-streamed sports and original programming comes to Twitter". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (November 16, 2017). "Facebook Acquires Exclusive Rights to 47 College Basketball Games From Smaller Conferences". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- ^ "Twitch adds Stadium's traditional sports broadcasts to platform". SportsPro. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- ^ "Twitter Punches Its 24-Hour Livestreaming Ticket to Sports Network Stadium". Adweek. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ "Stadium Announces New Fall Lineup Premiering September 4 - Stadium". Stadium. August 28, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ ""RING OF HONOR WRESTLING" NOW AVAILABLE ON STADIUM".
- ^ "Stations for Network - Stadium". RabbitEars.info. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b . americansportsnet.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ^ "Digital Television". Northwest Broadcasters. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
External links edit
- Official website