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 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 (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.[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] Also that month, Root Sports, along with sister networks AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, and AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, was removed from Dish Network satellite and Sling streaming TV services.[18]
After the announcement that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) would leave the regional sports network business in March 2023, Patrick Crumb, Seattle-based president of AT&T SportsNet operations, said that Root Sports would not be affected.[19] In December of that year, The Seattle Times reported that the Mariners would acquire full control of Root Sports at the beginning of 2024, and that WBD would no longer produce Mariners telecasts.[20]
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-plus-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 broadcast over-the-air on KSTW.[21] A players' strike canceled the last quarter of the 1994 season and the first several weeks of the 1995 season.
Seattle Kraken
Root Sports held 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.[22] Coverage included live broadcasts of 70-plus regular season games each year, as well as preseason and first-round playoff contests, pregame and postgame shows, game replays, and the weekly magazine program Inside Kraken Hockey.
On April 25, 2024, The Kraken announced that they would be leaving Root Sports in favor of broadcasting over-the-air through a deal with Tegna and its Seattle stations KING-TV and KONG-TV, along with streaming through Amazon Prime Video.[23]
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).[24]
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. Dish Network dropped all AT&T Sports Networks, including Root Sports, just before the start of the season on September 30.[25] All Trail Blazers telecasts are produced in-house by the team.[15][26] Additional team content aired on the network includes pre- and post-game shows, game replays, and the weekly magazine program The Trail.
On August 14, 2024, the Trail Blazers announced that they would be leaving Root Sports, though a replacement broadcaster had not been named at that time.[27] The Trail Blazers would later create their own thing in collaboration with the Sinclair Broadcast Group to air games throughout the Oregon and Washington areas called the Rip City Television Network.
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
Until 2023, Root Sports carried Vegas Golden Knights games and related programming produced by then-sister network AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain on cable providers in Idaho and Montana.[28][29] DirecTV and streaming providers had access to those games by tuning to AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. On October 25, 2023, Sinclair and the Jazz announced a territory expansion where Root Sports will continue to air Utah Jazz games produced by KJZZ-TV.[30] Prior to the 2023–24 NBA season, Jazz games were also produced by AT&T Sports Rocky Mountain. Due to territory rights, neither Portland Trail Blazers nor Seattle Kraken games will air in these areas of Idaho and Montana.[31][32] Golden Knights games left Root Sports in 2023 to pursue over-the-air broadcasting in partnership with Scripps Sports, as well as an OTT subscription service called KnightTime+; this arrangement covers Root Sports' territory.[33] However, the Jazz continue to air games on Root Sports Northwest, simulcasting broadcasts produced by the team for KJZZ-TV and the Jazz+ streaming service.[34]
The network is the regional home of Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball, producing and airing all regular season contests not picked up by a national network, as well as the team's coaches show, The Mark Few Show. The network also airs Talkin' Huskies, Talkin' Cougars, Talkin' Ducks and Talkin' Beavers, insider programs featuring the teams of Washington, Washington State, Oregon and Oregon State, respectively.[36]
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
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
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) (currently he is the secondary Mariners Radio play-by-play announcer for Mariners Radio Network since 2013)
Rick Rizzs – Mariners play-by-play announcer (currently he is the lead Mariners Radio play-by-play announcer for Mariners Radio Network since 2011)
Dave Sims – Mariners baseball play-by-play (2007–present)
Mike Blowers – Mariners baseball analyst (2007–present)
Dave Valle – Mariners baseball analyst (2010–present)
On September 30, 2021, Dish Network's carriage agreements for Root Sports Northwest, and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and Rocky Mountain expired.[40] Shortly thereafter, DirecTV announced an agreement to carry the channel on its satellite TV service and on DirecTV Stream, its streaming service.[41]
FuboTV added Root Sports Northwest in October 2021. It became the first streaming-only television provider to offer the channel, after neither Hulu nor YouTube TV signed a carriage agreement.[42]
Comcast told customers on October 10, 2023, that it moved Root Sports Northwest to its highest-priced "Ultimate" tier, angering many sports fans. The carrier offered a discounted upgrade fee for six months.[43]
When the Mariners' First Avenue Entertainment acquired majority control of Root Sports in 2013, Comcast had 3.4 million subscribers in the team's home market. As of December 2023, according to an industry source, Comcast had about 1.2 million subscribers in the same market.[20]
