Stadium

About Stadium

Overview

Stadium is an American multi-platform sports network headquartered at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Launched on August 21, 2017, it was formed as a joint venture combining the assets of Sinclair Broadcast Group's American Sports Network, Silver Chalice — the digital media company owned by the Chicago White Sox — and the online sports video service 120 Sports. Stadium operates as both a linear television service distributed over the air and a digital streaming platform, offering live college sports, studio programming, highlights, and sports talk. Its official website is www.watchstadium.com.

Origins in American Sports Network

Stadium's predecessor was the American Sports Network (ASN), a sports syndication service launched by Sinclair Broadcast Group that distributed college sports programming to Sinclair's television stations and other broadcast outlets. By early 2017, unconfirmed reports speculated that Sinclair planned to shutter its sports unit, but the Charleston Gazette-Mail, citing ASN employees, reported that the rumors of a complete shutdown were false — instead, the division planned to relocate its headquarters from West Palm Beach, Florida, restructure its operations, and pursue stronger, more diversified distribution. The planned relocation and restructuring set the stage for a more ambitious relaunch.

The Joint Venture Announcement

On April 13, 2017, Sinclair officially announced that ASN would be relaunched later in the year as part of a joint venture with Campus Insiders owner Silver Chalice — itself owned by the Chicago White Sox — and the online sports video service 120 Sports. The unusual alliance brought together a Baltimore-based broadcaster, a Major League Baseball club's digital media arm, and a digital sports network whose owners included Silver Chalice, Time Inc., and several professional sports leagues. The new operation would run as both linear and digital offerings: the linear service would use the syndication and broadcast network built for ASN, while the digital platform would stream full-time online and through Twitter. 120 Sports would supply original studio and long-form programming to the venture.

Launch as Stadium

On May 1, 2017, the partners announced that the new joint venture would be known as Stadium, and the service officially launched on August 21, 2017. The Stadium name replaced not only Sinclair's three-year-old American Sports Network but also the 120 Sports and Campus Insiders brands, consolidating the three operations under a single identity. At launch, the venture collectively offered more than 3,000 live college events per year, along with professional and college game highlights, archival content, and studio programming. The 24-hour linear feed was designed to target over-the-air broadcast television — a space that, as Sinclair vice president of corporate development Scott Shapiro noted at the time, was completely under-addressed for sports — alongside a full-time digital stream.

Programming: College Sports

Live college sports are the foundation of Stadium's schedule, with thousands of live college events each year spanning football, basketball, and Olympic sports. The network's college programming draws on conferences and schools whose rights were assembled through the ASN syndication network and the Campus Insiders college-sports platform. Game broadcasts are supplemented by highlights, archival programming, and shoulder content. The emphasis on college sports distinguished Stadium from national cable sports networks focused on professional leagues, giving it a deep inventory of live events in a segment of the market that broadcast television had historically served only in limited windows.

Studio Shows and Sports Talk

Stadium produces original studio programming from its Chicago headquarters, including daily sports talk, debate, and analysis shows. The studio operation inherited 120 Sports' model of short-form and long-form digital-first programming and adapted it for the linear channel. Stadium's hosts and analysts cover the day's sports news with an emphasis on college sports, while also addressing the major professional sports stories. The network's studio presence in Chicago — at the United Center, home of the NBA's Bulls and NHL's Blackhawks — places it in one of the country's great sports cities and near the operations of its Silver Chalice partner.

The Twitter and Digital Strategy

From its inception, Stadium was designed as a multi-platform network with a significant digital component. The digital platform streams full-time online, and at launch the venture partnered with Twitter to distribute live games and appointment-based content on the social platform — an early example of a sports network treating social media as a primary distribution channel rather than a promotional afterthought. This digital-first element reflected the backgrounds of its partners: 120 Sports had been built as an online sports video service, and Silver Chalice operated digital media for the White Sox. The strategy allowed Stadium to reach younger viewers who consumed sports on phones and laptops rather than through traditional television.

Over-the-Air Distribution

A defining feature of Stadium is its availability as a free over-the-air service. The linear feed is distributed to broadcast television stations as a digital multicast network, meaning viewers with a digital antenna can watch Stadium without a cable or satellite subscription. This free-to-air positioning was central to the network's pitch at launch: while competitors were primarily cable plays, Stadium would be freely available to anyone with an antenna. The over-the-air distribution, combined with streaming on watchstadium.com and partner platforms, gave the network a broader potential audience than a conventional cable startup.

Sinclair's National Sports Play

Within Sinclair's broader sports strategy, Stadium was positioned as the company's national offering. In 2019, as Sinclair expanded aggressively into regional sports — acquiring the Fox Sports Networks, taking a minority stake in the YES Network, and launching Marquee Sports Network with the Chicago Cubs — CEO Chris Ripley described Stadium's role: it would be Sinclair's national play, not positioned to compete head-to-head with FS1 or ESPN, but serving as a complementary national outlet alongside the regional networks. This positioning clarified Stadium's place in a portfolio that spanned local broadcast stations, regional sports networks, and the national multi-platform channel.

Ownership Evolution

Stadium began as a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Silver Chalice, with 120 Sports' assets folded in. Over time, Sinclair sold its stake in Stadium to Silver Chalice, leaving the White Sox-owned company as the network's owner. The network has continued to operate its linear and digital services from Chicago. Related ventures using the Stadium name, including the Stadium College Sports channels — originally launched in 2001 as Fox Sports Digital Networks, later Fox College Sports, and rebranded under the Stadium name in 2021 — were wound down at the end of 2023 as Sinclair's regional sports business was restructured.

How to Watch

Stadium is available free over the air on digital multicast stations in markets across the United States — viewers with a digital antenna can tune in without a subscription — and streams live through its website and apps at www.watchstadium.com. Program schedules, live event listings, and on-demand highlights are published on the site.

In summary: Stadium launched on August 21, 2017, as a joint venture of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Silver Chalice (owned by the Chicago White Sox), and 120 Sports, replacing the American Sports Network. Headquartered at the United Center in Chicago, the multi-platform network offers more than 3,000 live college events per year plus studio shows and sports talk, distributed free over the air and through digital streaming, and was positioned by Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley as the company's national sports play alongside its regional networks.