An official annoucement still hasn’t been made, but News Corp COO Chase Carey confirmed the new Fox Sports channel during a conference call yesterday with analysts.

From Deadline New York:

“I guess you could call it the world’s worst kept secret,” he said. CEO Rupert Murdoch wasn’t there to help. (He stopped appearing on the quarterly calls in mid-2011 when the company was barraged by questions about the UK hacking scandal.) Carey says that “sports is a huge arena that has room in it” for new services. “We can build businesses that capitalize on the other assets we own and we do think sports is an opportunity there.”

However, the surprising/weird development is that Regis Philbin might have a show on the new channel. John Ourand of Street & Smith’s Sports Business Daily reported:

Fox and Philbin have not agreed on a deal yet, but sources say talks are serious and an agreement could be close at hand. Fox declined to comment on the rumors, but sources say Philbin would serve as the main host of a show that would look like a sports version of “The View,” with Philbin serving in the Barbara Walters-role as the part-time host. Philbin is a known sports fan, and sources said the show would be a sports show, as opposed to a hybrid entertainment-and-sports show.

Why would Fox want to go with somebody who is 81? Perhaps it’s all about perspective. News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch also is 81.

Maybe in Murdoch’s eyes, 81 is the new 50. Let’s hope.