Root Sports Northwest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ROOT SPORTS Northwest
Root Sports logo.svg
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaWashington
Oregon
Idaho
Montana
Alaska
NetworkAT&T SportsNet
(carries some programming sourced from Bally Sports)
HeadquartersBellevue, Washington
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format720p (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
Owner
  • Baseball Club of Seattle LP (Seattle Mariners) (60%)
  • WarnerMedia News & Sports (40%)
Sister channelsAT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
AT&T SportsNet Southwest
History
LaunchedNovember 1988; 33 years ago (1988-11)[specify]
Former namesNorthwest Cable Sports
(1988–1989)
Prime Sports Northwest
(1989–1996)
Fox Sports Northwest
(1996–1999)
Fox Sports Net Northwest
(1999–2004)
FSN Northwest
(2004–2008)
FS Northwest
(2008–2011)
Links
Websitenorthwest.rootsports.com
Availability
(some events may air on overflow feed Root Sports Northwest Plus due to event conflicts)
Cable
Xfinity (Seattle)30 (SD)
627 (HD)
Xfinity (Portland)34 (SD)
734 (HD)
Available on most other cable systems in designated broadcast areaConsult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability
Satellite
DirecTV687 Main channel (SD/HD)
688 Overflow feed (SD)
688-1 Overflow feed (HD)

Root Sports Northwest (stylized as ROOT SPORTS Northwest) is an American regional sports network owned as a 60/40 joint venture between the Seattle Mariners and WarnerMedia News & Sports, a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia respectively, the latter of which operates it as part of the AT&T SportsNet chain of regional networks and as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Headquartered near Seattle in the city of Bellevue, Washington, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Seattle and Portland. It is available on cable providers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.

History[]

Root Sports Northwest was launched in late 1988 as Northwest Cable Sports,[1] by Tele-Communications Inc. and Viacom. Early programming included games from Washington and Washington State Universities and Tacoma Stars soccer games.[2] By 1989, it affiliated with the newly formed Prime Sports Network and was rebranded Prime Sports Northwest.

In 1996, 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 Liberty.[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 Seattle-based network officially rebranding as Fox Sports Northwest.[4] The channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Net Northwest 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 Northwest, through the networks' de-emphasis of the "Fox Sports Net" brand.

On December 22, 2006, News Corporation sold its interest in FSN Northwest and sister networks FSN Utah, FSN Pittsburgh and FSN Rocky Mountain to Liberty Media, in an asset trade in which News Corporation also 16.3% traded its 38.5% ownership stake in satellite provider DirecTV for $550 million in cash and stock, in exchange for Liberty Media's 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,[6][7] a new division formed when the split off from Liberty Media was completed on November 19, 2009.[8]

On December 17, 2010, DirecTV Sports Networks announced that its four Fox Sports Networks-affiliated regional outlets would be relaunched under the "Root Sports" brand.[9] The network officially rebranded as Root Sports Northwest on April 1, 2011, with The Dan Patrick Show as the first program under the new Root Sports branding. 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.

In April 2013, the Seattle Mariners announced that they would acquire controlling interest in Root Sports Northwest, as part of a long-term extension of its contract with the team through the 2030 season. DirecTV remained a minority stakeholder and controlling partner, and the network continued to operate under the Root Sports brand.[10]

DirecTV was subsequently acquired by AT&T;[11] on July 14, 2017, its sister networks were re-branded as AT&T SportsNet. Root Sports Northwest did not adopt the AT&T SportsNet brand, likely because AT&T is not the majority owner of the service.[12][13] Nonetheless, Root Sports still introduced a rebranded version of AT&T SportsNet's new on-air graphics.[14]

Ahead of their 2021–22 seasons, Root Sports Northwest acquired the regional rights to both the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, and the Seattle Kraken –a new NHL expansion franchise which began play that season.[15][16]

In October, 2021, Root Sports added an overflow channel, known as Root Sports Plus, to avoid scheduling conflicts with the Mariners, Kraken, and Blazers.[17]

Programming[]

Seattle Mariners[]

Root Sports holds the regional television rights to the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball, producing and televising over 150 live regular season games (out of 162 total), along with 30+ minute pregame and post-game shows that air before and after all telecasts produced by the network. Other Mariners programming on the network includes live Spring Training games, Mariners All Access, which includes both weekly editions during the regular season and several other in-season and off-season specials each year, and Mariners Mondays, a three-hour weekly program that airs during the winter months that highlights memorable games and moments from the past season.

Prime Sports Network began Mariners' broadcasts in 1994, with sixteen of the scheduled 88 televised games; the remainder were on KSTW.[18] A players' strike eliminated the last quarter of the 1994 season and the first several weeks of the 1995 season.

Seattle Kraken[]

Root Sports holds the regional television rights to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League. Root Sports was announced as the team's inaugural regional television partner on January 26, 2021.[19]

Portland Trail Blazers[]

The Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA reached an agreement to carry games on Fox Sports Net Northwest beginning in the 2002-03 season, replacing the unpopular BlazerVision pay-per-views and team-run Action Sports Cable Network. This lasted until 2007, when the team signed with Comcast SportsNet Northwest (now NBC Sports Northwest).[20]

When the Trail Blazers' contract was up for renewal in 2016, Root Sports outbid NBC Sports Northwest for the rights through the 2020–21 season. However, the team declined and renewed with NBC Sports Northwest instead, as Root Sports could not guarantee a carriage agreement with Comcast (NBCSNW's parent company).[15][16]

In June 2021, it was announced that Root Sports had acquired the regional television rights to the Trail Blazers beginning in the 2021–22 season; the network's wider carriage, especially on streaming services and satellite, in comparison to NBCSNW was a factor in the acquisition. All Trail Blazers telecasts are produced in-house by the team.[15][21]

Portland Timbers[]

Root Sports also holds the regional television rights to the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer.

Seattle Seahawks[]

Root Sports carries shoulder programming for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, airing head coach Pete Carroll's weekly press conference, branded as Seahawks Press Pass, and the team's weekly magazine program, Seahawks All Access.

Utah Jazz and Vegas Golden Knights[]

In Idaho and Montana only, Root Sports carries Utah Jazz and Vegas Golden Knights games and related programming produced by sister-network AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.[22][23] Due to territory rights, neither Portland Trail Blazers nor Seattle Kraken games will air in these areas of Idaho and Montana.[24][25]

Teams by media market[]

MLB NBA NHL
Seattle Mariners[26] Portland Trail Blazers[24] Utah Jazz
(produced by ATTSN-RM) 		Seattle Kraken[25] Vegas Golden Knights
(produced by ATTSN-RM)
Washington (all markets) Yes Yes No Yes No
Oregon (all markets) Yes Yes No Yes No
Alaska (all markets) Yes Yes No Yes No
Idaho (excluding Spokane) Yes No Yes No Yes
Spokane market Yes No Yes Yes No
Montana (excluding Spokane) Yes No Yes No Yes
Spokane market Yes No Yes Yes No

Collegiate and high school programming[]

Root Sports is the official regional cable home for Big Sky Conference football, airing between 10 and 15 games each season. Typically, the network will air one weekly Saturday afternoon match-up every week during conference play, until the final week of the regular season, when it features two rivalry match-ups in one weekend - Montana/Montana State (Brawl of the Wild) and Eastern Washington/Portland State. In the winter, the network home to West Coast Conference and Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball. Local WCC coverage is primarily focused on the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Portland Pilots. The network also features various athletic events from the Mountain West, Atlantic Coast, Big East, and Big 12 Conferences throughout the year.

In addition to a wide array of collegiate programming, Root Sports televises Washington Interscholastic Activities Association high school football games on Thursday and Friday nights during the regular season, as well as playoff and championship games. Root's coverage is usually limited to games featuring teams from the 3A and 4A classification levels. In 2016, the network aired a two-part program covering the Northwest 9 training camp event for top high school quarterbacks from the Pacific Northwest. High school events broadcast by the network in recent years have also included Oregon School Activities Association high school football championship games and WIAA high school basketball.

Former programming[]

  • Seattle SuperSonics basketball until the NBA franchise relocated to Oklahoma City (as the Oklahoma City Thunder) in 2008
  • WNBA games from the Seattle Storm, before those games moved over-the-air to former sister television station KING-TV (on its 5.2 digital subchannel) and KONG-TV
  • Athletic events from the Pac-12 conference (most often featuring Washington, Washington State, Oregon, or Oregon State) until those were moved to the Pac-12 Network in 2012 and Fox Sports 1 in 2013
  • Seattle Seahawks preseason football games
  • Seattle University Redhawks men's basketball
  • Western Athletic Conference football and basketball
  • The Western Hockey League (2008-2015)
  • Seattle Sounders FC soccer matches (live outside of the Seattle-Tacoma market) and full game replays (2009-2017; moved to YouTube TV in 2018' currently airing games at Amazon Prime Video since 2020)

On-air staff[]

Current on-air staff[]

Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball/WCC basketball[]

  • Greg Heister – Gonzaga and WCC basketball play-by-play
  • Dan Dickau – Gonzaga and WCC basketball color commentator
  • Richard Fox – Gonzaga and WCC basketball color commentator
  • Francis Williams – college basketball color commentator and studio analyst

Portland Timbers[]

  • Jake Zivin – Timbers play-by-play, host of Timbers in 30
  • Ross Smith – Timbers color commentator
  • Nat Borchers – Timbers color commentator
  • Samantha Yarock – Timbers sideline reporter

Portland Trail Blazers[]

  • Kevin Calabro – Trail Blazers play-by-play
  • Lamar Hurd – Trail Blazers color commentator
  • Brooke Olzendam – Trail Blazers sideline reporter

Seattle Kraken[]

  • John Forslund – Kraken play-by-play
  • J. T. Brown – Kraken color commentator
  • Jen Mueller – Kraken sideline reporter

Seattle Mariners[]

  • Brad Adam – Mariners pre-game and post-game host, basketball play-by-play, studio host and sideline reporter (2000–present)
  • Aaron Goldsmith – Mariners play-by-play announcer (2016–present)
  • Dave Sims – Mariners baseball play-by-play (2007–present)
  • Mike Blowers – Mariners baseball analyst (2007–present)
  • Dave Valle – Mariners baseball analyst (2010–present)
  • Ryan Rowland-Smith – Mariners studio analyst
  • Jen Mueller – host of Mariners All Access and sideline reporter (2007–present)
  • Bill Krueger – senior baseball analyst (2000–present)

Seattle Sounders[]

  • Keith Costigan – Sounders FC play-by-play
  • Matt Johnson – Sounders FC play-by-play
  • Kasey Keller – Sounders FC color commentator
  • – Sounders FC color commentator

Others[]

  • Angie Mentink – host of many of the network's magazine show and a sideline reporter (1999–present)
  • Warren Moon – host of Seahawks All Access (2003–present)
  • Tom Glasgow – football and basketball play-by-play (2008–present)
  • Jason Stiles – football analyst (2006–present)
  • Taylor Barton – college football color commentator and studio analyst

Former on-air staff[]

  • Shaun Alexander – host of The Shaun Alexander Show (2002–2004)
  • Cara Capuano – anchor/reporter (2004–2008)
  • Brian Davis – NBA host (2004–2008, now Oklahoma City Thunder play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports Oklahoma)
  • Jason Gesser – football analyst and contributor for Cougars All Access (2009–2011)
  • Dave Niehaus – Mariners play-by-play announcer (died on November 10, 2010)
  • Don Poier – play-by-play announcer (died on January 21, 2005)
  • Kerry Sayers – anchor/reporter (2002–2004, now at WSCR and WFLD in Chicago)
  • John Strong – Portland Timbers play-by-play (2007–2013)
  • Mack Strong – college football analyst and host of Mack Strong: Seahawks Insider (2008–2011)
  • Sonny Sixkiller – college football analyst
  • Lenny Wilkens – NBA expert and college basketball analyst (2006–2013)
  • Nicole Zaloumis – sideline reporter (2008–2010, now with Sirius XM Radio)
  • Vinnie Richichi – Mariners sideline reporter

Carriage[]

On September 30, 2021, Dish Network's carriage agreements for Root Sports Northwest, and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and Rocky Mountain expired.[27]

References[]

  1. ^ Bergum, Steve (August 18, 1990). "Delayed WSU telecasts not available from Cox". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.
  2. ^ "ICI, Viacom sports pact is official" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine: 51. April 10, 1990. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  3. ^ R. Thomas Umstead (July 8, 1996). "Liberty Sports regionals will become Fox Sports net". Multichannel News. The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved April 9, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
  4. ^ Nick Daschel (November 1, 1996). "PRIME SPORTS TO BECOME FOX SPORTS NW". The Columbian. Columbian Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved April 9, 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
  5. ^ "News Corp. Reaches Deal with Liberty Media". The New York Times. December 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Todd Spangler (May 4, 2009). "DirecTV, Liberty Media Announce Spin-Off Plan". Multichannel News. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on 2015-04-16. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  7. ^ "DirecTV, Liberty Media Detail Spinoff Plans". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. May 4, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Mike Reynolds (November 20, 2009). "Liberty Sports Rebrands As DirecTV Sports Networks". Multichannel News. NewBay Media. Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  9. ^ "'Root Sports' new name for sports networks". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  10. ^ Nick Eaton (April 16, 2013). "Update: Mariners buy, will control Root Sports Northwest TV network". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on 2013-04-19. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  11. ^ "Root Sports regional nets now part of AT&T Sports Networks". Awful Announcing. Ken Fang. April 9, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  12. ^ "AT&T Rebranding Three ROOT Sports RSNs as 'AT&T SportsNet' in July". Sports Video Group. Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Root Sports Southwest is now AT&T SportsNet Southwest". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  14. ^ "ROOT Sports NW Debuts New Graphics on Mariners Telecasts". From the Corner of Edgar & Dave. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  15. ^ a b c "ROOT Sports acquires Portland Trail Blazers' broadcast rights". The Seattle Times. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  16. ^ a b McIntosh, Andrew (26 January 2021). "NHL's Seattle Kraken signs multiyear TV broadcast rights deal". Puget Sound Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Root Sports Plus channel guide".
  18. ^ "M's, PSN unite". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). May 18, 1994. p. C1.
  19. ^ Clark, Ryan S. "Seattle Kraken hire John Forslund and announce TV broadcast deal". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  20. ^ Mike Tokito (January 27, 2015). "Present and past show challenges Trail Blazers have in solving TV dilemma: Media Mike Check". oregonlive.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  21. ^ Freeman, Joe (9 June 2021). "Portland Trail Blazers' television broadcast moving to Root Sports with 4-year deal". The Oregonian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Golden Knights Available To ROOT Sports Viewers In Montana And Idaho". nhl.com. October 12, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  23. ^ "Vegas Golden Knights Available to Root Sports Viewers in Montana and Idaho". Root Sports Northwest. October 26, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Trail Blazers Questions". Root Sports Northwest. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Kraken Questions". Root Sports Northwest. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  26. ^ "Mariners Questions". Root Sports Northwest. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  27. ^ "ROOT Sports' deal with Dish Network expires, leaving subscribers out of luck to watch Mariners and Kraken". The Seattle Times. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-10-29.

External links[]

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