Root Sports Rocky Mountain

Root Sports Rocky Mountain
Launched November 1988 (1988-11)
Network Root Sports
(carries programming sourced from Fox Sports Networks)
Owned by AT&T Sports Networks
(AT&T Inc.)
Picture format 720p (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Country United States
Language English
Broadcast area Colorado
Wyoming
Southern Idaho
western Kansas
western Nebraska
northeastern Nevada
western South Dakota
Nationwide (via satellite)
Headquarters Denver, Colorado
Formerly called Prime Sports Network (1988–1990)
Prime Sports Rocky Mountain (1990–1996)
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain (1996–2000)
Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain (2000–2004)
FSN Rocky Mountain (2004–2011)
Sister channel(s) Root Sports Utah
Website rockymountain.rootsports.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV 683 (SD/HD)
Dish Network 414 (SD)
5414 (HD)
Cable
Comcast (Denver) 26 (SD)
665 (HD)
Available on most other cable systems in designated broadcast area Consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability

Root Sports Rocky Mountain is an American regional sports network that is owned by the AT&T Sports Networks subsidiary of AT&T Inc., as an owned-and-operated outlet of Root Sports and is an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks.[1] Headquartered in Denver, Colorado,[2] the network broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Rocky Mountain region, mainly focusing on professional sports teams based in the Denver metropolitan area.

Root Sports Rocky Mountain is available on cable providers throughout Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Southern Idaho, northern New Mexico, western Kansas, western Nebraska, western South Dakota, northeastern Nevada; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV and Dish Network.

History

Root Sports Rocky Mountain was originally launched in November 1988 as the Prime Sports Network, a joint venture between Bill Daniels and Tele-Communications Inc. The channel was one of the original members of the Prime Network, a group of regional sports networks with the Los Angeles-based Prime Ticket (now Fox Sports West) as its flagship outlet. The network was later renamed Prime Sports Rocky Mountain in 1990.

In October 1995, News Corporation, which formed a sports division for the Fox network two years earlier after it obtained the broadcast rights to the National Football Conference and sought to create a group of regional sports networks, acquired a 50% interest in the Prime Network from TCI parent Liberty Media.[3] Later that year on November 1, News Corporation and Liberty Media relaunched the Prime Network affiliates as part of the new Fox Sports Net group, with the Denver-based network officially rebranding as Fox Sports Rocky Mountain.[4] The channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Rocky Mountain, through the networks' de-emphasis of the "Fox Sports Net" brand.

On December 22, 2006, News Corporation sold its interest in FSN Rocky Mountain and sister networks FSN Utah, FSN Northwest and FSN Pittsburgh to Liberty Media, in an asset trade in which News Corporation also traded its 38.5% ownership stake in satellite provider DirecTV for $550 million in cash and stock, in exchange for Liberty Media's 16.3% stake in the company.[5] On May 4, 2009, DirecTV Group Inc. announced it would become a part of Liberty's entertainment unit, part of which would then be spun off into the separate company under the DirecTV name, in a deal in which Liberty would increase its share in DirecTV from 48% to 54%, with Liberty owner John Malone and his family owning a 24% interest. DirecTV would operate its newly acquired FSN-affiliated networks through DirecTV Sports Networks,[1] a new division formed when the split off from Liberty Media was completed on November 19, 2009.[6]

On December 17, 2010, DirecTV Sports Networks announced that its four Fox Sports Networks-affiliated regional outlets – FSN Rocky Mountain, FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Northwest and FSN Utah – would be relaunched under the "Root Sports" brand.[7] The network officially rebranded as Root Sports Rocky Mountain on April 1, 2011, with The Dan Patrick Show as the first program to air under the new brand. For nominal purposes, the Root Sports networks continued to carry programming distributed mainly to the Fox Sports regional networks to provide supplementary sports and entertainment programming. On April 8, 2016, DirecTV Sports Networks rebranded under the AT&T name as AT&T Sports Networks.[8]

Programming

Professional sports

Root Sports Rocky Mountain holds the regional cable television rights to Major League Baseball games involving the Colorado Rockies. In February 2013, Root Sports Rocky Mountain ordered a pilot for a Colorado Rockies magazine program, Rockies Weekly, with Marc Stout named as its host. The network ordered a full season of Rockies Weekly on February 28, 2013, with the program debuting that April. The network also carries other team-related programming from the Rockies including the documentary program Rockies: Real Time, and the weekly analysis program Rockies Double Play.

On March 31, 2013, Root Sports aired a 24-hour "Rockies Opening Day Countdown" marathon, featuring seven episodes of Rockies All Access, three episodes of Rockies Weekly, and seven classic Rockies games that led up to the hour-long opening day pre-game show and the Rockies' first regular season game of the 2013 season.

The channel formerly served as the regional cable broadcaster of the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, losing the broadcast rights in 2004 when the owner of both teams, Stan Kroenke, launched the competing regional sports network Altitude Sports and Entertainment.

College sports

The network also carries many collegiate sports events including Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey, as well as football, baseball and basketball game telecasts distributed by Fox Sports Networks, from the Big 12 Conference, Big Sky Conference, Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA and Mountain West Conference.

On-air staff

Current on-air staff

Colorado Rockies


Utah Jazz


College sports

References

  1. 1 2 Todd Spangler (May 4, 2009). "DirecTV, Liberty Media Announce Spin-Off Plan". Multichannel News. Reed Business Information. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Denver.com: FSN Rocky Mountain / FSN Utah". Denver.com. Boulevards.
  3. ↑ R. Thomas Umstead (July 8, 1996). "Liberty Sports regionals will become Fox Sports net". Multichannel News. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved April 9, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
  4. ↑ "FOX SPORTS NET DEBUTS ON NOV. 1". The Columbian. Columbian Publishing Company. Associated Press. September 13, 1996. Retrieved April 9, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
  5. ↑ "News Corp. Reaches Deal with Liberty Media". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. December 22, 2006. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ Mike Reynolds (November 20, 2009). "Liberty Sports Rebrands As DirecTV Sports Networks". Multichannel News. NewBay Media. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  7. ↑ "'Root Sports' new name for sports networks". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. December 17, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Root Sports regional nets now part of AT&T Sports Networks". Awful Announcing. Ken Fang. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Thomas Harding (February 6, 2014). "Spilborghs joins Rockies' broadcast team". MLB.com. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
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