Programming news: A Fox Sports 2 debut in August? ESPN seeks entire U.S. Open in tennis

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It seems the new Fox Sports 1 might have a partner when it debuts in August.

Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times reports the network might also launch Fox Sports 2 at the same time.

News Corp.‘s Fox Sports will launch not one, but two new national sports cable channels in August, according to people familiar with the plan.

In March, Fox Sports said it would debut Fox Sports 1 on Aug. 17. At the time, the company downplayed talk that it had plans for a second national service — Fox Sports 2 — as well.

But now insiders say Fox Sports 2 will launch around the same time and perhaps even the same day as Fox Sports 1. The new channel will take the place of Fuel TV, a News Corp.-owned network that currently carries a heavy load of Ultimate Fighting Championship programming.

Should be an interesting August for Fox.

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John Ourand in Street and Smith’s Sports Business Daily reports that ESPN is looking to land exclusive rights to the entire U.S. Open in tennis, beginning in 2015. That would end CBS’ association with the tournament, which dates back to 1968.

Nothing has been finalized yet, as CBS is still in contact with the USTA and hopeful of keeping a piece of the tournament. But several sources have said that ESPN and the USTA have agreed on a framework that would have ESPN pay an average of more than $60M per year for exclusive access to the tournament, representing around a 50% increase in the average annual value of the contract. In its current deal, which ends in ’14, CBS pays an average of more than $20M per year as part of a three-year pact that went into effect in ’12. ESPN, which already holds the cable rights through ’14, pays an additional $20M per year, on average, though that figure is partially offset by a sub-license deal ESPN has with Tennis Channel. CBS started negotiations with the USTA earlier this year, and the net’s exclusive negotiating window ended last month, opening the door for ESPN.

The package has to be enticing for the United States Tennis Association. ESPN’s blanket coverage of Wimbledon has been a big success. The same dynamic would work for the U.S. Open.