Has Fox Soccer Been a Successful Specialty Channel?
Fox Sports World was launched on November 1, 1997 and it was basically the equivalent of a cramped apartment shared by rugby, Australian rules football, and of course soccer.
Fast forward to 2005 – Mr. Soccer has been doing pretty well for himself and even though he will miss those drunken roommates of his, it is certainly time to move on to a bigger and better bachelor pad. Fox Soccer Channel was introduced to the world in 2005 and by 2006 all non-soccer programming had been eliminated.
An American specialty channel devoted to soccer was long overdue and also a very necessary step towards the acceptance of this beautiful game in the states.
The channel took its current name, Fox Soccer, in August 2011 and currently boasts a very solid and internationally diverse programming schedule. Looking for the EPL, Serie A, or Ligue 1? Fox Soccer airs it. Craving the UEFA or CONCACAF Champions League, the MLS, USMNT or even some college ball? Fox Soccer it is. And that isn’t even the full lineup, but realistically has Fox Soccer been a true success?
Fox Soccer has brought much needed press and coverage to fans in the United States, especially those craving the EPL. Nobody would argue it is necessary but Fox Soccer has also brought along a certain flair and superior production value that makes it slightly more pleasurable to enjoy a broadcast. The schedule is chock full of goodies and the voids are filled with the Fox Soccer Report, a studio program hosted by Derek Taylor, Michelle Lissel, Eoin O'Callaghan, Asa Rehman, and Julie Stewart-Binks, and Sky Sports News, a daily hour of Barclay’s Premier League coverage streamed from England. Both programs are carried by likeable hosts and are the soccer equivalent of Sportscenter.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati