RSN Rebrand

Casino operator Bally’s will pay $85 million over 10 years to rename Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Fox Sports regional sports networks. The Bally Sports networks will be a key piece of the operator’s push into the blooming sports betting market — it also announced a definitive agreement to acquire betting software company Bet.Works for $125 million on Nov. 18. 

As part of the deal: Sinclair gains a 15% stake in Bally’s, with another 15% possible based on performance. It covers 21 networks that broadcast the games of more than 40 professional teams, but not New York’s YES Network or Chicago’s Marquee Sports Network.

Sinclair bought the RSNs for $9.6 billion in 2019, but they’ve since been dropped by carriers like Dish Network, Hulu and YouTube TV as the pandemic continues to impact sports. The company wrote down the value of the RSNs by $4.23 billion earlier this month.

Other Networks Aligned With Sportsbook Operators: 

• NBC: A $500 million deal with PointsBet includes a small piece of equity, with an option to buy 25% of the sports betting operator.
• CBS: William Hill is the network’s exclusive sports betting partner.
• ESPN: A multi-year deal ties the network to Caesars and William Hill.
• Fox: Purchased a small stake in an operator — now owned by FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment — and launched FoxBet.
• Turner Sports: FanDuel for NBA content, DraftKings for other sports.