If there is one thing Fox Sports does well, it is talk big.
Sure enough when network executives announced the formation of Fox Sports 1 yesterday, plenty of bluster was in the air.
From Michael Hiestand in USA Today:
“Our hope is that we can be equally professional” with ESPN, says David Hill, who headed Fox Sports when it launched 20 years ago and is overseeing the new channel. “It’s going to take us a while. We’re not expecting to knock ESPN off in the first week or two. It’s going to take two to three years. It will be a slog.”
Two or three years isn’t a slog. It would be a Usain Bolt-like sprint.
The notion of Fox Sports 1 knocking off ESPN at this point is as preposterous as an NBA rookie saying, “Move over LeBron.”
While Fox Sports 1 will debut at No. 2 on the sports network rankings, reaching No. 1 will require quite a trek over Mt. Bristol.
However, if Fox is going to back up Hills’ big words, it has to score on two fronts:
Acquire rights to NBA: This is a must if Fox is serious about challenging ESPN. The league is the next biggie coming up in the market; the current rights deal with ESPN and TNT runs through the 2015-2016. That means it won’t be long before the NBA opens bidding for a new agreement.
Fox Sports 1 needs premium live programming to bolster its portfolio. The NBA is premium. FS1 then becomes more of a go-to channel from November through June.
As an added bonus, if Fox Sports 1 can do this deal and also squeeze ESPN out of the NBA picture, it will leave a hole in its competitor.
At the very least, the presence of Fox Sports 1 will cause ESPN and TNT to shell out considerably more cash if they want to keep the NBA. New commissioner Adam Silver says, thank you very much.
Fox Sports 1 SportsCenter: The new FS1 will have its share of original programming, including a show featuring 81-year old Regis Philbin (somebody still has to explain that one to me). However, the most important vehicle will be Fox Sports Live. Airing at 11 p.m. ET, and with a morning version coming in 2014, this will be Fox’s answer to SportsCenter.
While critics take swings at SportsCenter, there’s little doubt that it is an iconic brand that continues to deliver big numbers to ESPN. Sports fans are mentally conditioned to turn to SportsCenter for the latest news. Fox Sports 1 has to get some of those viewers to switch to Fox Sports Live.
It is interesting to note that Fox Sports 1 didn’t reveal its plans for Fox Sports Live Tuesday. The likely reason is that they aren’t fully hatched yet.
Obviously, the execs are trying to develop the right tone that will differentiate Fox Sports Live from SportsCenter. It is a massive undertaking with no guarantee of success.
Fox should know. The network tried this once before when it did a nightly sports show on its local cable outlets in the late 90s. It even featured a big star: Keith Olbermann.
Hmm, look who’s available: Keith Olbermann. Pair him with Karl Rove and let them argue about Tim Tebow.
People would watch.
Meanwhile, NBC remain shut out in big 4 sports other than the NHL. Comcast attempted to get the NFL and MLB to no avail.
Fox can clearly be NBC (and the non-starter lnown as CBS) for #2 quickly, especially since it has MLB rights. NBC’s refusal to have its own Sportscenter up to this point is going to hurt them in the long run now that Fox Sports 1 is happening…
I don’t think this is a good development for fans. Assuming Fox pays some ridiculous amount for the NBA, that will be passed on to subscribers. Really fans are better off paying for the leagues to be on one or two channels, instead of having to pay for games on multiple channels.
They took the NFC games from longtime broadcaster CBS
Good luck fox just give us some good hard hitting sports commentary not the lollipop stuff we get daily from Espn, their ass kissing of sports stars is off the charts..! You can do better but will you?
I like what Fox is trying to do and I think that having sports like UFC, International soccer, and NASCAR will help in the short term. For me though my favorite sports are still on other channels.
NBA – TNT/ESPN
CBB – ESPN/CBSS/NBCS/FS1
Tennis – ESPN/CBSS/NBCS
Soccer – NBCS/FS1/ESPN