FNTSY Sports Network is a multinational

over-the-top An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...

internet television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

service owned by Sportsgrid Inc. The channel primarily syndicates sports talk programming pertaining to

fantasy sports A fantasy sport (also known less commonly as rotisserie or roto) is a game, often played using the Internet, where participants assemble imaginary or virtual teams composed of proxies of real players of a professional sport. These teams compete bas ...

, including

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...

-styled programs and vodcasts. It operates as streaming video and

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

services.

History

Original owners, Anthem Sports and Entertainment, made plans to launch a fantasy sports-related television channel in 2012, when it applied for a Canadian broadcast licence for a channel tentatively named "The League – Fantasy Sports TV," with intentions to launch the channel in both Canada and the United States, however, under separate operations. In February 2013, Anthem acquired two fantasy sports analysis websites—RotoExperts and SportsGrid—to bolster content for the network. In March 2013, Anthem CEO

Leonard Asper Leonard Asper (born May 31, 1964) is a Canadian businessperson, entrepreneur and lawyer. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Toronto Law School, and is a member of the Ontario Bar Association and The Law Society of Upper ...

told the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' that the channel was expected to launch that September. He defended the network's concept by noting that "people thought 'How can there be an entire channel devoted to golf?' But now the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

is in 82 million homes", and that advertisers "leapt out of their chairs" when they learned that the network could appeal to both the traditional "

baby boomer Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...

" demographic associated with fantasy sports, and the young male demographic that had also increasingly shown interest in fantasy. In December 2013, it was reported that the channel, now named FNTSY Sports Network, was expected to launch in Canada and the United States in March 2014.Fantasy Sports Network Looks To Become a Reality In March
Multichannel.com 2013-12-03 On January 14, 2014, Anthem Media announced the launch date for the channel as March 4, 2014 for the United States, with a Canadian launch later in the year.World’s First Fantasy Sports TV Network Set to Launch
RotoExperts.com 2014-01-14 However, only the Canadian channel launched in March 2014, while the American channel would launch later in the summer of 2014 on

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

's Optimum TV service. The channel would subsequently gain wider distribution through obtaining carriage agreements with additional American television service providers, in addition to international providers such as

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduced ...

. In 2018, following its acquisition of e-sports data provider NXTAKE, it was announced that FNTSY Sports Network had merged with the company under the new company SportsGrid, Inc., leaving Anthem with no remaining stake in the company. With the merger, it left FNTSY Sports Network with no remaining distribution on traditional cable, satellite, and IPTV providers in the U.S., as Anthem retained ownership of that distribution network. However, the FNTSY Sports Network channel remained on American television service provider lineups in both Canada and the U.S. through a licensing agreement with Sportsgrid until April 1, 2019, when Anthem rebranded FNTSY Sports Network as

Game+ A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

in both America and Canada.

Programming

In March 2018, Craig Carton, who had resigned from

WFAN WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...

New York's ''

Boomer and Carton ''Boomer and Gio'' (previously ''Boomer and Carton'' from 2007–2017 and ''The Morning Show with Boomer'' in 2017) is a morning drive sports radio program on WFAN-AM and WFAN-FM in New York City. It is hosted by former National Football League ...

'' morning show in September 2017 after being arrested for charges of securities fraud, joined FNTSY Sports Network to host its new morning show ''Carton & Friends''. In May 2018, the program was picked up for terrestrial radio syndication in partnership with

Sports Byline USA Sports Byline USA is an international sports radio network based in the United States. ''Sports Byline USA'' is also the name of the flagship program on the network. It was the first national sports talk show and was launched on October 24, 1988. ...

. In January 2019, it was announced that the Elvis Duran Group (co-founded by radio personality Elvis Duran) would assume distribution duties for the channel's radio arm Fantasy Sports Radio Network.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://fantasysportsnetwork.com Internet television channels Television channels and stations established in 2014 Fantasy sports