Fox Soccer Channel > ESPN

By: Daryl | April 2nd, 2009

News of ESPN losing the UEFA Champions League US TV rights to Fox Soccer Channel first leaked about two weeks ago. Mostly because Fox’s Jamie Trekker is very very bad at keeping secrets.

But the deal was made all official today when FSC put out a press release, which Unprofessional Foul have embedded on their site using some form of widgetry. Basically, Fox will broadcast CL games on Tuesday and Wednesday across Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Sports Net, Fox Soccer en Espanol. Somewhat bizarrely the final will be on FX. And if it’s a slow news day or if Bill O’Reilly fancies a day off, maybe it’ll be on Fox News.


Or not. Setanta will still have a few games too, but FSC is basically replacing ESPN as the primary broadcaster. As a US based footy viewer myself, I’m mostly pleased about the switch from ESPN to FSC. I think.

The big downside is that FSC doesn’t have the same reach as ESPN. If you walk into bar in the US on a Champions League matchday, you could just ask the friendly barstaff to switch on ESPN2, and they’d do it happily.

But now you’re going to have to ask for FSC, and the friendly barstaff will say they’ve never heard of that channel and do you know what number it is and can you wait here while I go get the manager because he might know better.

There’s also the fact that ESPN – for all their multiple faults – were getting better. Slowly but surely. Over the last couple of seasons the on screen graphics have become less obtrusive and the studio segments have become a bit more entertaining/informative.

But the major factor for me is that ESPN didn’t really care. In terms of sporting events that draw bigger numbers in the US, they always had and always will have bigger fish to fry. Champions League is just a medium sized goldfish to everyone on Bristol, Connecticut, but for Fox Soccer Channel it’s like the great white from Jaws. They’ll treat the Champions League with the awed reverence only a football-dedicated network can provide. They might even need a bigger boat, and will get one when they finally get on the HD bandwagon later this year.

In some ways, this switch from ESPN to FSC points to where soccer sits on the US TV sports totem pole. On the grand scale of things, it’s still pretty low and still something of a niche sport. And you know what? I’m OK with that. I don’t want to watch the game on ESPN along with Joe Six Pack (or whatever his name is). I’ll be quite happy watching my niche sport on a niche channel like FSC.



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Comments  

    Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 26 comments.
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  • Ronald |  April 2nd, 2009 at 2:35 pm

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    Im in school right now, and people can see the sadness in my face.

    Its over……from a standpoint of getting to watch some of the better Champions league matches easily. Directv only offer me ESPN ( ESPNEWS, ESPN2 ) freely. Now i have to hope that Fox Sports in Espanol are offering the game ( which is also funny, cause what happens to the Copa Libertadores games that are earlier in the day ).

    ESPN surely dropped the ball on this one.

    Thanks ESPN, now i might potentially have to watch the Champions League Semi and Final on a crappy stream, great job. Fantastic. :(

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Jose |  April 2nd, 2009 at 2:57 pm

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    Maybe you’re OK with not sharing with Joe Sixpack, but the fact that these great, -important- games were within such easy reach of the sporting populace (especially young, sports-crazy college students who can’t get FSN in their dorms) made soccer more accesible. People aren’t going to be able to ‘catch’ these games on ESPN2 anymore.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • jem |  April 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm

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    as long as that glowing, buzzing giant ball is still there before the game and during the breaks, i’ll be happy…will fsc use their announcers (i hope not)or with the dudes who did the games on espn still be on board?

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Francesco |  April 2nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm

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    I just hope FSC doesn’t take notes from ESPN about the whole EPL-bias thing. It would be nice to get a broad range of games next season.

    Posted from United States

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  • Jose |  April 2nd, 2009 at 3:55 pm

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    Francesco, are you saying Chelsea-Rosenborg is NOT a more exciting match up than Barcelona-Lyon?

    Posted from United States United States

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  • elle |  April 2nd, 2009 at 4:04 pm

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    yea this sucks. we don’t get FSC at school.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Ian |  April 2nd, 2009 at 4:13 pm

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    Unfortunately, I think the downside (reach) outweighs the upside (probably better coverage). I really like watching CL in bars on too-long lunch breaks, and now that golden age is over.

    Posted from United States

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  • Al |  April 2nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm

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    Add me to the “I’m at school” ship. Now I have to deal with crappy Justin.tv streams instead of the nice ESPN360 that my school oh so kindly gets access to.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • a.j. |  April 2nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm

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    Yeah, this basically sucks for the whole generation in the states that grew up playing the beautiful game and is now in college and doesn’t get fox soccer channel. Boo.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Ashley J |  April 2nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm

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    Great so now I can’t watch Champions League either. I have FSC at home, but not at school which is where I live. We get ESPN no problem, FSC not so much. What the heck do the people of the States have to do to get reliable coverage of European soccer?

    Posted from United States

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  • Ali |  April 2nd, 2009 at 8:26 pm

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    what the hell ESPN?! I finally get a tv for my room in spring break, and now you drop the rights to CL?! this terrible. the reach of the game will get significantly lowered. games possibly being in HD doesnt make up for that.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Kelly |  April 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 pm

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    Horrible, i am at school too, no FSC here. Guess its going to be streams all the time now.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • gaston |  April 2nd, 2009 at 9:33 pm

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    just when i’m living for college. this news just sinks my heart. also FSC is baised towards EPL teams, expect them to show them first, everything else later. good thing is FSC migh show other CL games that don’t make it on epsn b/c of the heavy schedule

    regardless this suck, cable prices increasing and we get low end of these deals arggg

    Posted from United States United States

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  • jp2 |  April 2nd, 2009 at 10:20 pm

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    Don’t really give a **** about “coverage.” Tune the commentators out or hit mute. It’s football, the greatest game on the planet, on the tele – what else do you need to be entertained? Ritalin?

    This is awful for football in America. The CL is the only football event many of my friends here watch, solely due to it being on ESPN. I personally know several people who became football fans due to ESPN. The HD was class. And now I’m forced into a tiny laptop window. Thanks Murdoch, you bastard.

    Posted from United States

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  • shawn |  April 3rd, 2009 at 2:18 am

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    but i can’t AFFORD the fsc package, dammit.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • jamesey |  April 3rd, 2009 at 8:12 am

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    i say bullshit to anyone who cant afford the fsc package

    DTV will give you a free box, although you might want DVR which will cost $99.

    direct-tv-basic service – $29.99
    Sports package (gol tv and FSC) – $10.00
    HD programming – $5.00

    $45.00 per month with HD. $40 without. If you can’t afford that, there are other problems you should sort out first.

    I get a slightly better than basic service, so I pay $65 a month. Easily comparable to and better than cable.

    Posted from United States

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  • Simon |  April 3rd, 2009 at 8:43 am

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    What will annoy me is the lack of ESPN360. Be able to stream the Champions League while at work was glorious. I hope that FSC does something similar when they have the games next year. Not really sure if they do or not.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Jose |  April 3rd, 2009 at 8:47 am

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    jamesey, have you ever seen what a grad student stipend looks like? Try living for $17,000 a year in Boston, and still having $500 of expendable income at the end of the year…

    Posted from United States United States

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  • michael |  April 3rd, 2009 at 9:32 am

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    Bummer. I had managed to spark some interest in a lot of my friends who don’t regularly follow footy and these Champions League games on ESPN were the best to watch. No more.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • James |  April 3rd, 2009 at 10:26 am

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    Great now I have to order all the Fox channels raising my monthly bill from $50 to $70-$75. -.-

    Posted from United States United States

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  • James |  April 3rd, 2009 at 10:27 am

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    Oh and I forgot channel surfing to see which damn Fox channel is showing the game on what day. Instead of easily tuning to ESPN2

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Ronald |  April 3rd, 2009 at 10:28 am

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    i would like to inform “jamesey” that it is not I who owns the DTV, but it is my mother. A mother who is INCREDIBLY stingy with money and doesnt like to pay for stuff that ” isnt necessary .”

    Hence why i got so bent out of shape about the news, ESPN <—-included in the Local ( Cheapest ) DTV package. FSC <—- is not.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • Daryl |  April 3rd, 2009 at 11:43 am

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    It’s possible that FSC will be more widely available in the future, and seems that buying the Champions League rights was part of trying to make that happen:

    This is from the Associated Press article:

    “Hopefully, with this acquisition we can see some acceleration with our network’s distribution,” David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Soccer Channel, said Wednesday. “Frustration with that was obviously one of the strategic objectives with this acquisition.”

    ESPN and ESPN2, which have televised the Champions League since the 1994-95 season, are available in 98 million homes and have broadcast Champions League matches in high-definition this season. FSC, which reaches 34 million households, plans to launch HD telecasts at the end of this year.

    “We’re looking at ways to accelerate,” Sternberg said. “That’s going to be big a big topic of conversation with all our distributors.”

    No details or guarantees obviously, but sounds like FSC could be easier to find once they’re broadcasting CL games.

    Posted from United States

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  • Weston |  April 3rd, 2009 at 4:57 pm

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    Hooray! now the only time i have to watch that pesky sport called football is when one of the United States matches rolls around. thanks alot. and youd think that because nobody watches footy, they’d put it in the normal TV package and make people pay extra for b-ball and american football.

    Posted from United States United States

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  • JP |  May 5th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

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    Bloody hell, now when i go back to college, no ESPN360.
    ive just been to fsc’s website, foxsoccer.tv and it costs $130 a year for al-access!

    jamesey what you dont understand is that college students are pretty much broke.

    back to stupid justin.tv and atdhe.net for me

    Posted from United States

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