Fox to launch 2nd soccer network

[Nebraska Red]

Fox to launch 2nd soccer network in the USA

 

NEW YORK (AP)—Fox is launching its second all-soccer network in the United States on March 1.

 

The new network, called Fox Soccer Plus, will televise matches of the European Champions League, England’s Premier League, the English Football Association Cup and the Italian Serie A.

 

Fox Soccer Channel began operation in 1997 and changed its name to FSC five years ago.

 

“As America’s interest in the world’s game is increasing, the launch of Fox Soccer Plus will complement and enhance our current programming on Fox Soccer Channel,” new FSC general manager David Nathanson said Tuesday.

 

The new network will draw content from Setanta USA, whose sublicenses with Fox are expiring, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail won’t be included in the announcement.

 

Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, is negotiating with cable carriers to determine whether they want to place it on a select tier or offer it as a monthly subscription service for a fee. The new network will be broadcast in high definition; Fox also has been preparing to start high definition telecasts of FSC.

 

Fox has been televising the Premier League in the U.S. since 1998 and sublicenses some of the games to Setanta USA and ESPN2, which is televising 48 matches this season.

 

Also Monday, FSC said it was hiring Andy Gray of News Corp.’s Sky Sports in Britain for its studio show during this year’s World Cup. Gray, a former Scotland national team player, worked for ESPN’s U.S. coverage of the 2008 European Championship.

 

Richard Keys of Sky Sports also will be a part of FSC’s World Cup coverage.

 

Fox's 2nd Soccer Channel

[Jim D]

Fox to launch 2nd soccer network in the USA

 

NEW YORK (AP)—Fox is launching its second all-soccer network in the United States on March 1.

 

The new network, called Fox Soccer Plus, will televise matches of the European Champions League, England’s Premier League, the English Football Association Cup and the Italian Serie A.

 

Fox Soccer Channel began operation in 1997 and changed its name to FSC five years ago.

 

“As America’s interest in the world’s game is increasing, the launch of Fox Soccer Plus will complement and enhance our current programming on Fox Soccer Channel,” new FSC general manager David Nathanson said Tuesday.

 

The new network will draw content from Setanta USA, whose sublicenses with Fox are expiring, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail won’t be included in the announcement.

 

Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, is negotiating with cable carriers to determine whether they want to place it on a select tier or offer it as a monthly subscription service for a fee. The new network will be broadcast in high definition; Fox also has been preparing to start high definition telecasts of FSC.

 

Fox has been televising the Premier League in the U.S. since 1998 and sublicenses some of the games to Setanta USA and ESPN2, which is televising 48 matches this season.

 

Also Monday, FSC said it was hiring Andy Gray of News Corp.’s Sky Sports in Britain for its studio show during this year’s World Cup. Gray, a former Scotland national team player, worked for ESPN’s U.S. coverage of the 2008 European Championship.

 

Richard Keys of Sky Sports also will be a part of FSC’s World Cup coverage.

Fox's 2nd Soccer Channel

 

Oh God no and I thought I was rid of them over here.

[Nebraska Red]

Oh God no and I thought I was rid of them over here.

 

luckily we will have the option to mute them or watch Tommy Smyth on ESPN.

 

my wife will go spare. FSC, FSC 2 , GOL TV, ESPN Deportes, plus what's available on ESPN2. so much soccer, so little time to do anything else.

[Zoob]

wonder if this means Satanta will be done and dusted over here too?

 

And it if's a choice between Tommy Smyth or Andy Gray.... the mute button will win...

[stressederic]

Will Sarah Palin present on it?

[BDB]

I'm happy enough with this situation.

 

as paying $15 for Setanta and it's crappy reception was annoying

i'll pay the $15 assuming fox get me the nice HD version on Directv.

[Maldini]

Fox bought out Setanta

[BDB]

Did they? All I've read so far is that they took the rights back that they had sublicensed to setanta.

shane o'rourke from setanta has also left and started a new company, or joined a new company.

[Zoob]

Last season there would be 3 live 3 'o clock games on tv here - 2 on Setanta and 1 on fox. This season, it's sometimes been 4 games (ESPN), but if Setanta are leaving the scene, and I think the ESPN deal was just temporary, I hope that doesn't mean we'll be down to 1 or 2 games on Fox next season...

[Maldini]

http://m.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0111/1224262051406.html?via=bnews

 

Fox Sports to buy US operation of Setanta

 

Monday, January 11, 2010

 

CIARÁN HANCOCK Business Affairs Correspondent

 

THE OWNERS of Setanta Sports’s pay television business in the United States have agreed to sell the company to Fox Sports International, a company that numbers media magnate Rupert Murdoch as a major shareholder.

 

Setanta Sports refused to comment on the deal but

The Irish Times understands that the sale will close later this week.

 

The US business is owned by Setanta founders Leonard Ryan and Michael O’Rourke, and Mark O’Meara, a long-serving senior executive with the Irish broadcaster. They rescued this company after Setanta’s main business in Britain collapsed into receivership last year, having failed to make payments to a number of sports bodies, including the Premier League. They also took over Setanta’s businesses in Canada and Australia, which are not affected by this transaction.

 

This deal does not affect Setanta’s operation in Ireland. Denis Desmond, the major shareholder in Setanta’s Irish business, which was also rescued last year, is not involved with the US company.

 

It is not clear how much Fox will pay for Setanta Sports USA but its backers were seeking to raise about €15 million in new funding for their international businesses late last year.

 

Fox and Setanta have co-operated in recent years in securing live sports rights. Fox holds the rights to live Premier League football in England and sub-licensed some of the games to Setanta.

 

The pair also last year won the US rights to the Champions League from ESPN via a joint bid. They also held the rights to the FA Cup.

 

Contributors to internet chatrooms in the US last night speculated that Fox had recently revoked its Premier League and Champions League football rights from Setanta Sports North America Ltd, following missed payments by the Irish-based company, and would therefore only pay a nominal sum for the US business.

 

This could not be confirmed but Setanta’s US website has removed references to coverage of the Premier League and the Champions League. According to its website, Setanta’s US business is available on both cable and satellite in more than 42 million homes in America. It is also available on cable in the Caribbean.

 

Subscribers pay $14.99 a month for the service, which carries Six Nations and Heineken Cup rugby, GAA matches, club soccer from France and Russia and Manchester United’s MUTV.

 

The last set of accounts filed for Setanta Sports North America Ltd related to the year ended December 31st, 2006, at which point the company had accumulated losses of $10.6 million. Sources said yesterday that the US arm had not yet reached break-even but that the Canadian business was “making money”.

 

Since its formation in 1994, Fox Sports International has established itself as a leading sports broadcaster in the US, covering American football, ice hockey, baseball, soccer and a range of major international events.

 

It operates channels such as Fox Soccer, the Speed Channel and Fox College Sports.

[Nebraska Red]

There may be a lot of upset soccer fans on March 1, 2010 when Fox Soccer Plus is launched and the network isn’t available on all satellite and cable TV providers.

 

During the most crucial phase of the Premier League season, the run-in from March through early May when titles are won and lost and the relegation battle takes plenty of twists and turns, it’s imperative that as many Premier League games are on television as possible. With the demise of Setanta Sports at the end of February, all of the Premier League TV rights in the United States (except for the two games per week on ESPN2) will return to Fox. The majority of them will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel but many of the other crucial games will be shown on Fox Soccer Plus.

 

The problem is that there’s no guarantee that all cable and satellite providers will have Fox Soccer Plus on March 1.

 

The same frustration that many soccer fans have been experiencing since last month when Fox Soccer Channel has been touting “Fox Soccer Channel Now available in HD” (when it wasn’t, but is now but only on DISH Network) is going to seem like nothing compared to the Fox Soccer Plus chaos.

 

Everywhere you look, whether it’s on Fox Soccer Channel itself during games or commercials, or on the FoxSoccer.com website or elsewhere, Fox’s promotion boasts “Fox Soccer Plus, Coming March 1″ but the reality is that it’s extremely doubtful that the majority of providers will have it available then. In fact, it’s entirely likely that it could take some cable and satellite providers months before Fox Soccer Plus is available. That’s because Fox will be negotiating deals with each satellite and cable TV provider separately. And while we would love to think that businessmen have the best interests of soccer fans, the reality is that business is business. And negotiations can sometimes drag on and on.

 

Fox Soccer Channel is walking a dangerous tightrope again by raising the expectations of soccer fans to expect to see Fox Soccer Plus on March 1. At the same time, Fox is not communicating with its viewers to prepare them for the possibility that FSC+ may not be available for quite some time (for many of us). Plus, Fox Soccer Channel – yet again – is doing an extremely poor job at telling us what we need to do as soccer fans to influence the satellite and cable providers so we can add pressure to them to carry the station.

 

Fox Soccer Plus’s ChannelFinder tool and its one page of information is simply not enough. If Fox wants us to contact our cable and satellite providers, then there are no details about that on its website. Are you we supposed to just sit back and wait for a deal to happen? Wouldn’t Fox want us to apply pressure to the TV providers and use that as leverage during its negotiations? If so, they’re doing a lousy job.

 

Worst case scenario, many of us in the United States may not be able to watch many of the crucial Premier League games between now and the end of the season that will be on Fox Soccer Plus. And, after February 28, with the demise of Setanta US, Setanta-i not making Premier League games available online anymore, and FoxSoccer.tv still in the dark ages by not making games available until 36 hours after they are played, what are soccer fans supposed to do? Sadly the only option for many of them will be to watch the games illegally online.

 

The shame regarding Fox Soccer Plus is that Fox is leaving soccer fans in the dark. By not effectively communicating with its core audience, soccer fans yet again have to scour sites like this one and BigSoccer to find the latest news and developments. For example, what will happen when Setanta US goes dark at the end of this month. Will Fox Soccer Plus immediately replace Setanta on that channel on providers such as DirecTV and DISH Network? Right now, the answer is unknown because the negotiations continue. It’s entirely likely that the station will go black.

 

For soccer fans, every day counts. Every day when Fox Soccer Plus is not available will seem like a lifetime for hardcore fans. When Fox flicks the switch and launches Fox Soccer Plus on March 1, there’s a possibility that no carriers will be showing it. And because there are so many Premier League games on television each weekend, as well as other leagues, Fox Soccer Channel has no way to show all of the games.

 

Looking at the Premier League schedule, here are some of the crucial games that could be missed by soccer fans who won’t have Fox Soccer Plus:

 

* Manchester United v Fulham, Sunday, March 14, 8:30am ET

* Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday, March 21, 8:30am ET

* Burnley v Blackburn, Sunday, March 28, 7am ET

* And many others.

 

From Fox’s perspective, they probably don’t want to say much if anything at this time especially when they’re in negotiations with the different carriers. But loyal Fox Soccer Channel subscribers deserve to be treated better and there are so many unanswered questions. What will happen to the online Premier League rights that Setanta US were showing on Setanta-i? What leagues will be shown by Fox Soccer Plus? Which Premier League timeslots will be shown on Fox Soccer Plus? Will Fox Soccer Plus be available as a paid subscription of $14.95 per month? The list goes on and on.

 

There are only 16 days between now and the launch of Fox Soccer Plus but there are so many unknowns and so little information. Behind the scenes, EPL Talk will try to get as much information to you as soon as we find out the details. But until then, it looks like we need to exercise some patience and trust that Fox will secure the deals with the TV providers as quickly as possible to ensure that Fox Soccer Plus is available for soccer fans nationwide.

 

http://www.epltalk.com/fox-soccer-plus-could-create-chaotic-end-epl-season/15816

 

 

and

 

Fox Soccer Plus to carry League Championship

 

Associated Press

 

LOS ANGELES -- Fox Soccer Plus has acquired rights to England's League Championship, the English League Cup and some live games involving England's national team.

 

The premium network launches March 1 in the United States with rights that had been held by Setanta USA, which is going off the air after Feb. 28.

 

The new network also will televise rugby from the Magners League, the Guinness Premier League and the Heineken Cup, and it will share the European Champions League, the FA Cup and Italy's Serie A with Fox Soccer Channel, its sister network.

 

Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., did not say Thursday which cable systems will carry the new network.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=soccer&id=4924261

 

and

 

 

Fox Soccer Plus Reveals Weekly Programming Schedule

 

by The Gaffer on February 20, 2010

 

 

Fox Soccer Plus, scheduled to debut on March 1, has released TV schedules for the first three weeks of its programming, giving soccer fans a glimpse of what they can expect on the new soccer network.

 

Fox Soccer Plus will show two live Premier League games each weekend as well as two on delay in addition to live games during mid-week. Not surprisingly, the schedule of Premier League TV games is very similar to the Setanta US schedule. On Saturdays, Fox Soccer Plus will show one of the live 10am ET games as well as two Premier League games on delay during the mid-to-late afternoon. On Sundays, Fox Soccer Plus will show the early 8:30am ET kickoff.

 

Outside of the Premier League, Fox Soccer Plus will show a live Serie A game each week at Noon ET as well as a Coca-Cola Championship game on some Saturdays at 2pm ET.

 

Elsewhere during the week, the 24/7 programming schedule features reruns of Premier League, Serie A, Champions League, Argentine league, Fox Soccer Report and Sky Sports News, as well as additional soccer shows. When available, rugby matches will be shown as will live FA Cup matches (and reruns).

 

One noticeable difference between the programming schedules of Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Soccer Channel is not that FSC+ will not show any infomercials. Fox Soccer Channel typically shows five hours of infomercials from 6am-11am ET on weekdays. The lack of infomercials on Fox Soccer Plus comes at a price though as the channel will be available as a premium service (expected to be $14.95 per month).

 

The big two questions remaining about Fox Soccer Plus will be which TV providers will carry the channel and what Fox is planning on doing with the online rights to the games shown on Fox Soccer Plus. After correspondence with DirecTV, it looks likely that Fox Soccer Plus will be available on the satellite provider beginning March 1. But as far as the online rights are considered, it’s quite possible that those games will only be available on television instead of the Internet for the rest of the season.

 

That’ll upset a lot of soccer fans especially when you consider that several big matches will only be available on Fox Soccer Plus during the first few weeks of its programming including Chelsea versus Manchester City or Stoke in the FA Cup on March 7, Manchester United versus Fulham on March 14 and, most important of all, Manchester United versus Liverpool on March 21.

 

View the latest updated US TV schedule for games featuring Premier League teams, which includes Fox Soccer Plus-related listings.

 

http://www.epltalk.com/fox-soccer-plus-reveals-weekly-programming-schedule/16008

 

 

 

Fox Soccer Plus schedules here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/tvschedule/story/printableschedule

 

there is a whole thread devoted to this on RAWK , with most of the info being from our old buddy 4pool.

 

Only a few days until Setanta goes dark, so I am hoping we get some info from the big cable providers.