Stadium College Sports

Stadium College Sports (formerly Fox College Sports) is a group of three American sports networks. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (under the joint venture Diamond Sports Group), the three channels air college and high school sporting events and programming. The channel is divided into three feeds—Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. Despite their names, the feeds no longer correspond to specific regions. Programming is drawn from the Bally Sports regional sports networks and Stadium.

Stadium College Sports
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaNationwide
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format720p (HDTV)
(HD feeds downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTVs)
Ownership
OwnerDiamond Sports Group
(a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios)
Sister channelsTennis Channel
Bally Sports
Stadium
History
LaunchedSeptember 4, 2004 (2004-09-04)
Former namesFox Sports Digital Networks (2001–2004)
Fox College Sports (2004–2021)

History
Fox College Sports logo

The three networks were originally launched in June 2001 as Fox Sports Digital Networks as a complement to Fox Sports Net for digital cable subscribers, since they did not have access to out-of-market regional sports networks that were available on satellite. The majority of the programming presented on the networks originated from the various Fox Sports regional networks and affiliates. The networks focused on college sports, but also had out-of-market baseball games (which would be phased out after the first few years).[1] In 2004, the networks were relaunched as Fox College Sports to emphasize their college sports programming.[2]

On June 18, 2021, more than a year after the networks sold to Sinclair after having been sold to Disney as part of the 21st Century Fox purchase, and the rebranding of the FSN networks as Bally Sports in late-March of that year, the channels were quietly rebranded as Stadium College Sports, taking their name from Sinclair and Silver Chalice's national sports channel Stadium.[3] In August 2021, Verizon Fios became the first major provider to provide the networks in high-definition.

On December 31, 2021, YouTubeTV announced that the three channels would be removed from their Sports Plus tier on January 1, 2022.

Programming

The channels are divided into three geographical areas, which are Stadium College Sports Atlantic (formerly FCS Atlantic), Stadium College Sports Central (formerly FCS Central), and Stadium College Sports Pacific (formerly FCS Pacific). In addition to the events, the network features weekly coach's shows for various universities, programs from the various conferences and schools that highlight their athletes, and the regional sports reports from Bally Sports and other regional sports channels not within the Bally Sports system. Also featured are high school basketball and football games, and some state championships for these sports.[4]

Major events include:

The three Stadium College Sports channels generally air simulcast and live games produced by the Bally Sports networks or by Stadium through the digital only WCC Network and Mountain West Network.

Former Programming

Previously, each network sourced its programming from the various Fox Sports Networks as follows:

References
  1. "Fox Set to Rename Cable Sports Service | TVWeek". TV Week. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  2. "Fox Shuffles Cable Offerings". The New York Times. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  3. "Fox College Sports to become Stadium College Sports". Bend Broadband. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  4. "Fox College Sports Name Change: Fox College Sports will become Stadium College Sports on June 18, 2021. All programming will remain the same". Rainier Connect. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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