 fox sports networks (fsn), formerly known as fox sports net, is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the united states that are primarily owned and operated by the fox entertainment group division of 21st century fox. ==history== === beginnings === thumb|right|200px|former fox sports net headquarters in los angeles. at the dawn of the cable television era, many regional sports networks (rsns) vied to compete with the largest national sports network, espn. the most notable were the sportschannel networks, which went on the air in 1976 with the original sportschannel (now msg plus) in the new york city area and later branched out into chicago and florida; prime network, which went on the air in 1983 with the charter member being home sports entertainment (now fox sports southwest) and later branched out onto the west coast as "prime sports"; and sportsouth, an rsn operated by the turner broadcasting system. in 1996, news corporation, which launched the over-the-air general-interest fox broadcasting company network in 1986, entered into a joint venture with tci's liberty media and rebranded their prime network affiliates as "fox sports net." in 1996, fox bought sportsouth and renamed it "fox sports south". in 1997, the fox/liberty joint venture purchased a 40% interest in cablevision's sports properties including the sportschannel america networks, madison square garden, the new york knicks and the new york rangers. in early 1998, sportschannel america joined the fox
1996_establishments_in_the_United_States Companies_based_in_Los_Angeles,_California Fox_Sports_Networks Prime_Sports_Network SportsChannel Television_channels_and_stations_established_in_1996