Watch out, ESPN, there's a new player in town in sports broadcasting.
News Corp., owned by Rupert Murdoch, announced the debut of Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday, marking Fox's efforts to compete with the leading sports broadcasting entity, ESPN, for sports broadcast dominance.
According to Reuters, Fox executives say the new sports network will debut on August 17 in 90 million homes. The new sports network will be broadcasting college basketball games, college football games, major League Baseball, NASCAR, UFC matches and soccer.
In addition, Fox will be launching Fox Sports Live, a 24/7 news service that covers sports around-the-clock thought updates, scheduled programs and a news ticker. The news franchise will launch in January net year, coinciding with Fox's coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII.
Rumors that Fox wanted to pursue getting its own sports broadcast network have been around for some time.
"Our 'secret,' admittedly a very poorly kept one, is now revealed," said FOX Sports Media Group COO Eric Shanks at a Tuesday press conference. "Fans are ready for an alternative to the establishment, and our goal for FS1 is to provide the best in-game experience possible, complemented by informative news, entertaining studio shows and provocative original programming."
The creation of a new sports network could mean more money in the pockets of sports leagues like the NBA, which could see TNT, ESPN/ABC and Fox enter a bidding war for the rights to broadcast games.
"I think the league has to be very happy with this," Brad Adgate, research director at Horizon Media, told Bloomberg Businessweek.) "Recent and future ratings and popularity growth could push [NBA] rights fees higher when the current national TV contracts are renewed," says RBC
Adgate forecasts that Fox Sports 1 will aggressively bid for NBA rights.
However, it will be an uphill battle for Fox to try and overtake ESPN, which is earning $6 billion in yearly revenue from theie $5.15 subscriber fees and has rights to some of the biggest sporting events, including the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, college football bowl games and more.