Fox Sports 1
| Fox Sports 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | August 17, 2013 |
| Network | Fox Sports |
| Owned by |
Fox Entertainment Group (21st Century Fox) |
| Picture format |
720p (HDTV) (HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTV sets) |
| Slogan | The 1 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
| Replaced | Speed |
| Sister channel(s) |
Fox Sports 2 Fox Soccer Plus Fox College Sports Fox Sports Networks Fox Deportes Big Ten Network Fox Sports |
| Website |
msn msn |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | Channel 219 (HD/SD) |
| Dish Network | Channel 150 (HD/SD) |
| Cable | |
| Verizon FiOS |
Channel 583 (HD) Channel 83 (SD) |
| Available on most other U.S. cable systems | Consult your local cable provider for channel availability |
| IPTV | |
| AT&T U-verse |
Channel 1652 (HD) Channel 652 (SD) |
| Google Fiber | Channel 207 (HD) |
| Streaming media | |
| Fox Sports Go |
Watch live (U.S. cable internet subscribers only; requires login to stream content) |
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of the Fox Entertainment Group division of 21st Century Fox.[1] FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 replaced Fuel TV.[2] Both FS1 and FS2 absorbed most of the sports programming from its predecessors, as well as content from Fox Soccer, which was replaced by the entertainment-based channel FXX on September 2, 2013.
Fox Sports 1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Major League Baseball, college sports (most notably Pac-12 and Big 12 Conference football, and Big East Conference basketball), soccer matches (including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, CONCACAF Champions League and Copa Libertadores), UFC mixed martial arts, and a variety of motorsports events such as NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, United SportsCar Championship and FIA Formula E Championship.
In 2015, FS1 began airing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, United States Golf Association championship events and Major League Soccer. FS1 also features daily sports information, highlights, and discussion programming (with Fox Sports Live serving as the centerpiece), as well as sports-related reality and documentary programming.
The network is based primarily from the Fox Sports division's headquarters in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, California, though the networks also operate offices in New York City, New York and Charlotte, North Carolina (the latter of which had served as Speed's home base). Fox Sports 1's on-air logo is derived from that used by Fox Sports since 2008.
As of February 2015, approximately 84,836,000 households (72.9% of those with television) receive Fox Sports 1.[3]
Background
Development
In March 2012, reports began circulating that Fox Entertainment Group had plans in the works to launch a national Fox Sports cable network by August 2013 known as Fox Sports 1, giving Fox Sports a dedicated cable presence to better compete against established networks like ESPN.[4] Fox was already a major force in cable sports programming. It operated several niche channels such as Fox Soccer, Fox Deportes, Fuel TV and Fox College Sports. Also in its portfolio were the Fox Sports Networks, a group of Fox-owned or affiliated regional sports networks that, in addition to carrying play-by-play rights to several local sports teams, also featured common national content produced and distributed by Fox Sports, including national college sports broadcasts and specialty programs such as The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Baseball's Golden Age.
Though this local/national hybrid approach gave Fox prominence at the local sports level, it was somewhat disadvantaged as being the only major U.S. broadcast television network not to have a national general sports channel to complement its sports division, unlike ABC (whose corporate parent The Walt Disney Company owns a controlling 80% stake in ESPN), CBS (which operates CBS Sports Network) and NBC (which runs NBCSN).
The reports indicated that Fox planned on converting one of these niche sports channels, Speed – which focused on auto racing and other motorsports, as well as motorsports-related specialty programs, into the new Fox Sports 1 due to its established reach on U.S. pay television providers (Speed maintained a subscriber base of 81 million homes with cable, IPTV or satellite service by 2012), which would result in the reduction of the channel's commitment to NASCAR and other motorsports coverage.[5]
Further supporting this theory, reports surfaced in January 2013 that Fox Soccer would be relaunched as FXX, a general entertainment network that would be spun off from FX and would feature comedy series and feature films; such reports were confirmed when the channel's planned launch was officially announced by Fox Entertainment Group on March 28, 2013.[6][7] In October 2012, Speed altered its on-air logo bug to include the Fox Sports logo above its own, which was believed to indicate a step towards this replacement.[8] Fox Sports would officially confirm the conversion of Speed into Fox Sports 1 in an announcement on March 5, 2013.[9]
Despite being established well after ESPN (which launched in 1979), and the CBS- and NBC-owned sports networks (which respectively launched in 1996 and 2003 under different ownership and branding), Fox Sports 1, even before commencing programming, has been seen as a legitimate and serious competitor to ESPN,[9] in part due to three factors:
- Audience reach – FS1 was expected to reach 90 million households at the time of its launch (with most cable and satellite providers carrying it on the channel slot, almost entirely through distribution on basic cable tiers, that Speed had occupied on their channel lineups); by comparison, though that number is relatively less than ESPN's total reach (99 million homes), however it is also more than the 77.9 million homes that NBCSN reached at the beginning of 2013, which was hamstrung by some of its reach being only through carriage on digital cable tiers.[10]
- Brand awareness – Fox heavily promoted FS1's launch through its various television, online and social media platforms, including appearances of FS1 talent on existing Fox programming and the online posting of its shows' pre-launch rehearsals.[11]
- Programming strategy – Fox was aggressive in seeking and securing major content for FS1, employing a strategy to obtain rights to popular sports and leagues that they believed other networks underserved, as well as creating high-profile original shows (see Programming below).[11]
Fox Sports executives see FS1 as "an alternative to the establishment", much as the Fox Broadcasting Company was to other broadcast networks in the 1980s and Fox News Channel was to CNN in the 1990s. In terms of growth, Fox Entertainment Group believes that FS1 will start modestly and not be competitively equal with ESPN right out of the gate; however, the company foresees the network growing incrementally, believing that the channel will be on-par with its senior competitor within a few years of its launch.[12]
Launch and carriage
Fox Sports 1 formally launched on August 17, 2013 at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with the following introduction:
| “ | Good morning and welcome to the very first day of Fox Sports 1. Here on America's new sports network, our promise to you is that we will share your passion for the game, never take ourselves too seriously, and, most importantly, never put ourselves above the game nor the athletes. We will be informative without ever sacrificing accuracy. We work for you, the fan, and every day we will live up to this simple promise. Now let’s get on with the show. | ” |
| —Curt Menefee, co-host of Fox NFL Sunday[13] | ||
The launch day featured 16.5 hours of live sports coverage,[14] including NASCAR coverage during the late morning and afternoon (highlighted by Camping World Truck Series qualifying and race), five hours of UFC bouts in the evening (the main event of the Fight Night card being a match between Maurício Rua and Chael Sonnen), and the premiere of the sports news and discussion show Fox Sports Live following the conclusion of the UFC event.[15][16]
Although marketed as a relaunch of Speed, Fox Sports 1 was contractually considered a new channel—due to its change in scope from automotive and motorsports to mainstream sports, Fox was required to reach new deals with providers for them to carry the network. At first, Fox sought a higher carriage fee as well, estimated at 80¢ per subscriber (more than triple the fee of 23¢ per subscriber that Speed had commanded; by comparison, ESPN pulls in fees of approximately $5.00 per subscriber, the most expensive fee of any pay television network).[11][17] Concerns by providers over the increasing costs for cable and satellite services for their customers (largely believed to be partly due to the higher fees commanded by certain sports channels) resulted in Fox backing off charging the 80¢ per subscriber rate, instead charging the same 23¢ rate that those providers paid to carry Speed.[18][19] For any remaining providers that had not reached a deal to carry Fox Sports 1, Fox planned to offer a version of Speed with limited programming on an interim basis until a deal was reached, in order to fulfill existing contracts that required Fox to provide a motorsports channel.[20]
Carriage deals were made by the launch date with all major cable and satellite providers, including cable/telco providers Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, Cablevision, Bright House Networks, Mediacom, Suddenlink Communications, Cable One and Time Warner Cable, as well as satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network.[21] The deals with Time Warner, Dish and DirecTV – which were announced just days before FS1's launch – were seen as crucial to the network, as those three providers had a combined reach of over 40 million homes, nearly half the goal of 90 million households that FS1 set for its launch.[17]
International markets that previously received the U.S. version of Speed (such as Canada, the Caribbean, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico) were not switched to Fox Sports 1; in Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission permitted the carriage of Speed as a foreign service, but Fox did not seek carriage of FS1 in that country (some of the sports event programming that Fox Sports 1 maintains contracts to carry already air in that country on domestic sports networks such as TSN and Sportsnet). A version of Speed remains operational for these markets, airing a lineup of past Speed reality shows, and coverage of NASCAR and other motorsports events simulcast with Fox Sports 1 or Fox Sports 2.[22] Beginning in early 2014, the channel was dropped by some major Canadian service providers as their contracts expired.[23][24]
Programming
Event Coverage
Sports programming on Fox Sports 1 includes the following:
Baseball
- Major League Baseball
- 40 regular season MLB games (mostly on Saturdays)
- Up to 15 post-season games (eight Divisional Series games and one best-of-7 League Championship Series)[25]
College Athletics
- NCAA College Football and basketball
Boxing
- Bi-weekly boxing events produced by Golden Boy Promotions
Club Soccer
- CONCACAF
- CONCACAF Gold Cup
- Select matches broadcast across FS1, FS2, and Fox Soccer Plus
- CONCACAF Champions League
- Select matches broadcast across FS1, FS2, and Fox Soccer Plus
- CONCACAF Gold Cup
- CONMEBOL
- Copa Libertadores
- Select matches from the most prestigious club tournaments in South American
- Copa Libertadores
- FA Cup
- Select matches from the oldest tournament in England
- German Bundesliga[27]
- All 306 league games via FS1, FS2, and Fox Soccer Plus
- DFL-Supercup
- Bundesliga relegation playoffs.
- Major League Soccer
- 34 regular season matches
- Alternating rights to the MLS All-Star Game and the MLS Cup with ESPN
- UEFA
- UEFA Champions League
- 146 league games across FS1, FS2, and Fox Soccer Plus
- 2 live matches per week on FS1
- UEFA Champions League
- UEFA Europa League
- 205 league games across FS1, FS2, and Fox Soccer Plus
- 2 live matches per week on FS1
- UEFA Europa League
Golf
- USGA
- Franklin Templeton Shootout
- Live coverage of the first two rounds
- U.S. Open
- Live coverage of the first two rounds
- U.S. Senior Open
- Live coverage of the first two rounds
- U.S. Women's Open
- Live coverage of the first two rounds
- Men's, Women's and Junior Amateur Championships
- Franklin Templeton Shootout
Horse Racing
- Up to 10 graded stakes races [28]
- 2 top stakes races
International Soccer
- FIFA World Cup
- Exclusive coverage of the 2018, 2022, and 2026 FIFA World Cup
- FIFA Women's World Cup
- U.S. Men's National Soccer Team
- Shared rights to all matches featuring the U.S. men's national soccer team with ESPN.
Mixed Martial Arts
- Live Ultimate Fighting Championship events on Wednesday nights
- Live preliminary fights for pay-per-view events on Saturday nights
Motorsports
- AMA Supercross Championship
- Coverage of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship across FS1 and FS2
- Grand Prix motorcycle racing
- Coverage of the MotoGP World Championship[29]
- Coverage of the Moto2 and Moto3 classes
- Monster Jam
- Coverage across FS1 and FS2
- NASCAR[1][30]
- Sprint Cup Series
- 6 live Sprint Cup Series races
- Live coverage of Practice and Qualifying for the first 17 Sprint Cup Series races
- NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
- Xfinity Series
- 10 live Xfinity Series races
- Live coverage of Practice and Qualifying for the first 14 Xfinity Series races
- Camping World Truck Series
- Every Camping World Truck Series race live
- Live coverage of Practice and Qualifying for every Camping World Truck Series race
- Sprint Cup Series
- United SportsCar Championship
- Coverage of the entire USCC season across FS1 and FS2
News and Analysis programming
Fox Sports 1 airs several studio shows, especially in the afternoon and early evening, including the programs listed below (the shows' start times may be affected by the network's live sports schedule and may occasionally be moved to Fox Sports 2 to ensure live clearance).[9]
- The Mike Francesa Show (weekdays 1:00–5:00 p.m. Eastern; March 24, 2014–present) – Simulcast of Francesa's radio show on WFAN in New York City.
- NASCAR Race Hub (weekdays 6:00-7:00 p.m. Eastern; August 19, 2013–present) – One of the shows that FS1 inherited from Speed, this program features news analysis on NASCAR, including reviews of previous races and previews of upcoming action.
- UFC Tonight (Wednesdays 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Eastern; September 11, 2013–present) – Hosted by Kenny Florian and Karyn Bryant, the program features the latest news, highlights, and analysis from the UFC, this program was carried over to FS1 from Fuel TV (now Fox Sports 2).[31]
- Fox NFL Kickoff (Sundays 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Eastern during the NFL season; August 18, 2013–present) – A program previewing the day's NFL action, it serves as the warm-up to the Fox network's Fox NFL Sunday pregame show.[32]
- Fox Sports Live (nightly 11:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m. Eastern, repeated throughout the next morning; August 17, 2013–present) – Fox Sports 1's sportscast of record, which on most nights will air directly opposite ESPN's SportsCenter. The program is headlined by main anchors Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole, who came to FS1 from the Canadian sports channel TSN, where the pair gained popularity for their irreverent presentation of sports news while serving in late-night anchor roles on that network's SportsCentre. Fox Sports Live also features analysis and opinions on that night's events and that day's news, with Charissa Thompson leading a group of analysts from FS1's sister channels (such as Big Ten Network). On Sundays and Mondays, the show is anchored by Don Bell, Cole Wright and Ryan Field; Onrait and O'Toole anchor a panel-free Saturday edition.[33]
- America's Pregame (weeknights 5:00–6:00 p.m. Eastern; April 7, 2014–present) – An early evening preview of the night's sports action[34]
- NASCAR RaceDay (Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning depending on the race time; August 17, 2013–present) – A pre-race show for the Sprint Cup Series that was carried over from Speed. John Roberts (NASCAR on NBC) or Chris Myers (Fox NASCAR) hosts, along with analysis from Larry McReynolds, Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace.
- NASCAR Victory Lane (Saturday night or Sunday evening depending on the race time; August 18, 2013–present) – A post-race show for the Sprint Cup Series that was carried over from Speed. John Roberts (NASCAR on NBC) or Chris Myers (Fox NASCAR), Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace host.
- MLB Whiparound (nightly during baseball season, March 31, 2014–present) – A nightly Major League Baseball program similar in vein to ESPN's Baseball Tonight or MLB Network's MLB Tonight, featuring quick turnaround highlights, news and analysis.[25] The show is hosted by Chris Myers, and one or two analysts from the group of Frank Thomas, Eric Karros and C.J. Nitkowski. It airs live from Los Angeles on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights from 10:00-11:00 p.m. Eastern and most Wednesdays from 12:00-1:00 a.m. Eastern (the program airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on certain Wednesdays without a prior programming conflict).[35]
Carriage disputes
In February 2015, Fox Sports 1 became the subject of a carriage dispute with AT&T U-verse, pursuing higher carriage fees for the network to cover sports properties that had been added to Fox Sports 1 since its launch. AT&T declined to accept these additional fees, with a company representative stating that "While it’s important to us that we provide our customers with the content they want, we don’t believe that it is reasonable to pass on the added costs of carrying this programming to our customer." Rather than pull the channel entirely, Fox began to impose blackout restrictions on certain sporting events carried by the Fox Sports 1 service on U-verse, including certain NASCAR events, Major League Soccer matches, and college basketball games.[36]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fox Reveals Details of New National Sports Network, Variety, March 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Fox Targeting FS1 to Be Profitable By 2016," from Multichannel, August 8, 2013
- ↑ Seidman, Robert (February 22, 2015). "List of how many homes each cable network is in as of February 2015". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Pedigree part of pitch for Fox Sports 1". SBD. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
- ↑ Ourand, John; Mickle, Tripp (April 2, 2012). "Will Fox launch all-sports network?". SportsBusinessDaily. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
- ↑ "Fox Soccer to relaunch as FXX". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 28, 2013). "FX Officially Unveils FXX Channel To Launch In September, New Branding Campaign". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
- ↑ Gluck, Jeff. "NASCAR fans have much to lose if Speed goes away". SB Nation. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Hiestand, Michael (March 5, 2013). "Fox Sports launches direct challenge to ESPN dominance". USA Today. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
- ↑ "NBC Sports Network Heads Into NHL Season In 77.9 Million U.S. TV Households". Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Fox Launches 24-Hour Sports Network On Saturday," from NPR's Morning Edition, August 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Fox Sports 1 to Launch Aug. 17," from Adweek, 3/5/2013
- ↑ http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2013-08-17/end-of-speed-start-of-fox-sports-1-video-future-mike-joy-curt-menefee
- ↑ FOX Sports 1 Media Information - T-Minus 100 Days And Counting to Launch of FOX Sports 1 http://msn.foxsports.com/press'', May 9, 2013
- ↑ "Fox Sports 1 Sets Opening Day Schedule," from Variety, 5/9/2013.
- ↑ "FS1 Ready To Take On ESPN, Though Fox Execs Know The Battle Could Take A While," from Sports Business Daily, August 16, 2013.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Fox Sports 1 will launch with DirecTV, Dish and Time Warner Cable," from Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2013
- ↑ You Will Not Be Paying Much For Fox Sports 1, Deadspin, August 15, 2013.
- ↑ Sources: Distributors Hold The Line On Fox Sports 1 Sub Fee, Sports Business Daily, August 15, 2013.
- ↑ "FS1 carriage talks sticky a month out". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ↑ "All Major Providers Pick Up Fox Sports 1". TVPredictions.com. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Two channels will carry Speed name". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ↑ McDonald, Norris (2014-02-25). "Fogarty, Gurney at large, Villeneuve at Indy and Speed Channel". Wheels.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ↑ "Speed Channel". Rogers Communications. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "MLB on Fox: New voices, channel, platforms". Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ↑ Soon-to-be-renamed Big East, ESPN complete TV deal; contract runs through 2019-20 season, Fox News (via the Associated Press), March 19, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
- ↑ Fox Sports secures Bundesliga's USA television rights beginning 2015-2016, SBNation, retrieved 17 October 2014
- ↑ Fox Sports 1 and The Jockey Club Announce New Racing Package - Michael W. Compton.com, August 8, 2013.
- ↑ MOTOGP: New Multiyear Deal With FOX Sports Announced
- ↑ Fox Sports 1 will carry Sprint Cup; Speed gone on Aug. 17, Sporting News, March 5, 2013.
- ↑ " from MMA Weekly, August 23, 2013
- ↑ Tim Baysinger, "Fox Sports 1 SEasterns Roster for Pair of Studio Shows", Broadcasting & Cable, August 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Fox Sports 1 not the usual new kid on ESPN's block," from USA Today, 8/12/2013
- ↑ "FS1 Looks To Boost Audience with MLB's Arrival," from Multichannel News, 4/5/2014
- ↑ http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/reynolds-verducci-join-buck-for-mlb-on-fox-030314
- ↑ "Fox Sports 1, AT&T In Dispute Over Fees For Nascar, Golf, Soccer". Variety. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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