Fox Sports Arizona


Fox Sports Arizona is an American regional sports network that is owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. The channel broadcasts professional, collegiate and high school sports events, with a primary focus on Phoenix area teams. It is available on most cable providers throughout Arizona; Fox Sports Arizona is also available nationwide on satellite provider DirecTV.

Overview

The channel originally launched as Prime Sports Arizona on September 1, 1996, serving as an affiliate of the Prime Network. Two months later on November 1, the channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Arizona, after Liberty Media sold the Prime Network to News Corporation, with Prime's regional networks serving as the cornerstone of the new Fox Sports Net chain of regional sports networks.
On December 14, 2017, as part of a merger between both companies, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire all 22 regional Fox Sports networks from 21st Century Fox, including Fox Sports Arizona. However, on June 27, 2018, the Justice Department ordered their divestment under antitrust grounds, citing Disney's ownership of ESPN. On May 3, 2019, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios bought Fox Sports Networks from The Walt Disney Company for $10.6 billion. The deal closed on August 22, 2019.
Fox Sports Arizona holds the regional cable television rights to three of the four major professional sports franchises in the Phoenix area: the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Coyotes, as well as the Phoenix Mercury. Also, they carry games for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League and the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League. In addition, Fox Sports Arizona also televises collegiate sports events involving the Arizona State Sun Devils, as well as a number of events from other teams of the Pac-12 Conference.
Fox Sports Arizona formerly held the broadcast rights to select Arizona Wildcats sporting events from its inception until the spring of 2009; the University of Arizona shifted these event telecasts to the Arizona Wildcats Sports Network, beginning in August 2009, which were simulcast on FSA from 2010 until 2012, upon the launch of the Pac-12 Network and its dedicated "Pac-12 Arizona" subfeed network devoted to Arizona and Arizona State University sports.

Other services

Fox Sports Arizona Plus

Fox Sports Arizona launched an alternate feed, Fox Sports Arizona Plus, on April 25, 2008. Created as an overflow active only during instances in which a sporting event that Fox Sports Arizona holds rights to overlaps with another game being broadcast on the primary channel, it was established to resolve scheduling conflicts involving the 2008 NBA Playoffs Game 3 matchup between Phoenix Suns and a scheduled Arizona Diamondbacks game on that date. Fox Sports Arizona Plus was available on select cable providers including Cox Communications and Qwest Choice TV, and via satellite on Dish Network.

On-air staff