FOX Sports 1 to Launch Across All Major Distributors on Saturday
Fox’s new national sports network, Fox Sports 1, will debut on Saturday, August 17th, with every major distributor on board, making this the biggest sports cable network launch in history, and one of the largest network launches ever. The announcement was made by Mike Hopkins, President, Distribution, Fox Networks.
“We are thrilled that virtually all pay-television customers across America will have access to FOX Sports 1,” said Hopkins. “This network launch is a major milestone for Fox and will alter the sports television landscape. We are grateful to our distribution partners for making this all possible.”
At the outset, FOX Sports 1 boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually. A robust schedule of live events forms the backbone of FOX Sports 1’s programming from Day 1, with college basketball, college football, NASCAR, soccer, boxing and UFC all on tap between launch and year’s end. In fact, the schedule on August 17th features live events morning, noon and night including a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Michigan and UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SHOGUN VS. SONNEN in prime time. In 2014, FOX Sport’s new rights agreement with MLB takes effect, bringing regular and postseason games to FOX Sports 1.
FOX Sports 1 Programming Highlights
ORIGINAL PROGRAMS – FOX SPORTS LIVE, a nightly news, highlights and analysis program, airing hourly every night live from 11:00 PM-2:00 AM ET; FOX SOCCER DAILY (4:00-4:30 PM ET); NASCAR RACE HUB (4:30-5:00 PM ET); CROWD GOES WILD, an irreverent and unconventional talk show about sports featuring Regis Philbin (live weekdays, 5:00-6:00 PM ET); FOX FOOTBALL DAILY, providing the latest college and NFL news and analysis (live weekdays, 6:00-7:00 PM ET); BEING:, a contemporary sports documentary series with upcoming episodes on Mike Tyson, Mariano Rivera and the NYPD tackle football team..
BOXING – Golden Boy Promotions / GOLDEN BOY LIVE!
COLLEGE BASKETBALL – Dozens of exclusive prime time games on Monday and Thursday nights, plus Saturday and Sunday coverage of the BIG EAST, Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL – Dozens of exclusive, live games from the Pac-12, Big 12 and Conference USA on Thursday nights and Saturdays; triple- and quadruple-headers on Saturdays; Saturday pre- and postgame coverage.
GOLF – FOX Sports 1 becomes the primary cable outlet for the USGA and the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open Championships, as well as the USGA’s national amateur championships and other live content beginning in 2015.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – FOX HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
HORSE RACING – The Jockey Club
MLB – Beginning in 2014, select League Championship Series and Division Series games; regular-season games over 26 Saturdays; live game-in-progress look-in show.
MOTORSPORTS – ARCA Racing Series; FIA Formula E and AMA Supercross; Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series; Lucas Oil Pro Motocross; MotoGP World Championship; MotoGP Moto 2; MotoGP; Moto 3; MotoGP World Championship Qualifying; IMSA United SportsCar Racing.
NASCAR – Select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races as soon as 2015; NASCAR Nationwide Series races; NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races; NASCAR Sprint All-Star race; all Speedweeks events leading up to the Daytona 500 including: Daytona 500 Qualifying, Sprint Unlimited at Daytona (2014, 2017-22) and the Budweiser Duel, now in prime time; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NCWTS Practice and Qualifying sessions; NASCAR RaceDay, providing pre- and post-race coverage; NASCAR Victory Lane, a post-race wrap-up for Sprint Cup races; and Race Hub, a daily mid-day studio show with the latest from drivers, owners and garages.
SOCCER – Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday afternoon coverage of the world’s most prolific club soccer competitions, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and CONCACAF Champions League featuring many of the world’s greatest and most successful clubs; the world’s oldest soccer competition, the FA Cup; CONCACAF Gold Cup; CONCACAF Qualifiers, FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage in 2015 and 2019; FIFA Men’s World Cup coverage in 2018 and 2022; UEFA EURO 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup European qualifying matches; delayed matches in prime time; weekly magazine and highlights shows.
UFC – Featured on Wednesday nights; live FIGHT NIGHTS through 2014, the first is scheduled for launch night, Saturday, Aug. 17th; FOX event preliminary cards; UFC Tonight, the weekly authority for UFC news and information; 14 Saturday pay-per-view preliminary cards; hundreds of hours of library programs and events.