Marlins games to air on FanDuel Sports Network Florida in 2025

[Ely Sussman]

On Monday, Diamond Sports Group officially rebranded its regional affiliates from Bally Sports to FanDuel Sports Network.

The television home of the Miami Marlins has yet another new name. Along with the 15 other regional sports networks under the Diamond Sports Group umbrella, Bally Sports Florida was rebranded on Monday. It is now FanDuel Sports Network Florida.

The naming rights are part of a larger deal between Diamond Sports Group and the sports betting company to pull Diamond out of bankruptcy. The name change went into effect now to correspond with the start of the new NBA and NHL seasons, though Diamond is still awaiting a hearing in bankruptcy court scheduled for next month where a judge will rule whether or not their reorganization plan is financially viable.

In 2024, Diamond was partnered with 12 Major League Baseball teams: the Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers. But that number is dropping moving forward. Only the Marlins and Braves are currently in agreement to stick with them for the 2025 season, a Diamond lawyer revealed in court on Friday. The Marlins recently renegotiated their pre-existing deal. Most of the teams listed above are still renegotiating theirs, while the Guardians, Brewers and Twins have cut ties with Diamond to have MLB take over production and distribution of their content.

When the Florida Marlins were born in 1993, their games were shown locally on the Sunshine Network. Their schedule was shared by the Sunshine Network and SportsChannel Florida in 1997, then moved fully to the latter in 1998. As part of a merger between Cablevision and FOX Sports, SportsChannel Florida relaunched as FOX Sports Net Florida in 2000. The name was abbreviated to FSN Florida in 2004 and tweaked again in 2008 to FOX Sports Florida. Diamond Sports Group acquired the FOX Sports affiliates and sold naming rights to casino operator Bally's that took effect in 2021. The "Bally Sports Florida" name was supposed to last for 10 years, but that deal was scrapped during the bankruptcy proceedings.

You got all of that?

The channel number for FDSN Florida is unchanged following the rebrand. The Bally Sports app updated overnight and should work the same as it previously did.

No word yet on which Marlins broadcasters will return in 2025. Play-by-play announcer Paul Severino is on an expiring contract, but the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported "there's no indication" that the network is looking to replace him.

Oh yeah, and it's worth mentioning that you cannot even place bets on the FanDuel sportsbook from the state of Florida. Presumably in the foreseeable future, FanDuel anticipates opening operations in more states. In the meantime, it'll be awkward to see a product promoted heavily during Marlins broadcasts to an audience that doesn't use it.

View full article