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Root Sports Northwest
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Root Sports Northwest
Root Sports Northwest, sometimes branded simply as Root Sports, is an American regional sports network owned by the Seattle Mariners. The channel was launched on November 5, 1988 and was known as Northwest Cable Sports from 1988 to 1989, Prime Sports Northwest from 1989 to 1996, Fox Sports Northwest from 1996 to 1999, Fox Sports Net Northwest from 1999 to 2004, FSN Northwest from 2004 to 2008, amd FS Northwest from 2008 to 2011. 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.
Root Sports Northwest was launched in late 1988 as Northwest Cable Sports, by Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) and Viacom. Early programming included games from Washington and Washington State Universities and Tacoma Stars soccer games. 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 (NFC) and sought to create a group of regional sports networks, acquired a 50% interest in the Prime Network from TCI's successor Liberty Media. 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. 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. 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, a new division formed when the split off from Liberty Media was completed on November 19, 2009.
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. 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 (a 71% stake) 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 (29% stake) and controlling partner, and the network continued to operate under the Root Sports brand.
DirecTV was subsequently acquired by AT&T; on July 14, 2017, its sister networks were re-branded as AT&T SportsNet. The Mariners chose not to rebrand Root Sports Northwest under the AT&T SportsNet banner, though the channel did adopt AT&T SportsNet's graphics package.
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.
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Root Sports Northwest
Root Sports Northwest, sometimes branded simply as Root Sports, is an American regional sports network owned by the Seattle Mariners. The channel was launched on November 5, 1988 and was known as Northwest Cable Sports from 1988 to 1989, Prime Sports Northwest from 1989 to 1996, Fox Sports Northwest from 1996 to 1999, Fox Sports Net Northwest from 1999 to 2004, FSN Northwest from 2004 to 2008, amd FS Northwest from 2008 to 2011. 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.
Root Sports Northwest was launched in late 1988 as Northwest Cable Sports, by Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) and Viacom. Early programming included games from Washington and Washington State Universities and Tacoma Stars soccer games. 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 (NFC) and sought to create a group of regional sports networks, acquired a 50% interest in the Prime Network from TCI's successor Liberty Media. 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. 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. 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, a new division formed when the split off from Liberty Media was completed on November 19, 2009.
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. 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 (a 71% stake) 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 (29% stake) and controlling partner, and the network continued to operate under the Root Sports brand.
DirecTV was subsequently acquired by AT&T; on July 14, 2017, its sister networks were re-branded as AT&T SportsNet. The Mariners chose not to rebrand Root Sports Northwest under the AT&T SportsNet banner, though the channel did adopt AT&T SportsNet's graphics package.
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.