Fox Sports 1 cable channel will have a news show, live sports events and Regis Philbin 
Regis Philbin will be the host of a new show Fox is creating for its upcoming sports cable channel, FS1 (Photo: Ray Tamarra, FilmMagic) Story Highlights - Fox Sports 1 cable channel will carry live baseball, NASCAR and mixed martial arts events
- It is in the running to gain rights for college basketball from the schools leaving the Big East
- Events migrating to FS1 will mean less programming in some sports for the Fox broadcast network
NEW YORK -- Fox, in formally announcing Tuesday a Fox Sports 1 sports channel that will launch Aug 17, began what Fox executives say will be a direct challenge to ESPN's dominance. News shows, live events, documentaries and talk shows will be part of the FS1 mix.
"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."
FS1 will carry will air an 11 p.m. ET news show meant to directly challenge ESPN's SportsCenter. Hill, noting the head-to-head competition, said: "The quality of sports journalism on ESPN is world-class. It's not going to be easy. But we'll give it a shot."
FS1 will debut in about 90 million TV households compared to about 99 million for ESPN and ESPN2. Fox will also use it to replace its Speed channel,
In addition, Fox, which has next season's Super Bowl in New York, will use FS1 for saturation coverage in the days leading up to the game.
Along with live sports events, including baseball and NASCAR, Fox will create programming for FS1, including Rush Hour, airing weekdays at 5 p.m. ET, hosted by Regis Philbin, who sat next to his TV morning-show replacement Michael Strahan at the Fox announcement.
In response to Fox's announcement, ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys noted Tuesday that 73% of ESPN programming is live, compared to the projection of 55% on FS1.
And, says Soltys, "We like our position. We've always had vigorous competition so there is really nothing substantially new here. Others are beginning to recognize what we've long known – the power of live sports."
FS1 represents the latest in the long migration of marquee sports from broadcast TV to cable/satellite.
Starting in 2014, FS1 will carry regular-season MLB games for 26 weeks – but the Fox broadcast network will go from its 26-week schedule to just 12 regular-season game broadcast windows.
Fox also says an unspecified number of its MLB postseason games, in divisional and LCS play, will migrate from Fox to FS1, as will an unspecified number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races and UFC mixed-martial arts events.
Fox is closing in on a deal for the TV basketball rights for the Catholic colleges, including Georgetown and Marquette, leaving the Big East – but didn't announce the deal Tuesday.
"We applaud the schools for taking hold of their own destiny," says Fox Sports co-president Randy Freer. "Those are iconic basketball brands and will be one of the top basketball leagues in the country. … Hopefully, it will get wrapped up in the near future."
Philbin says he initially talked to Fox about just doing a monthly show until Fox raised the idea of a daily afternoon live show. He says he'll be joined by three to four panelists and he's "thrilled. I've always been a big sports fan."
But the show's title is one of the many details about the new network that haven't been worked out: "They're calling it Rush Hour for now. But nobody really knows," Philbin says.
There was some muted cockiness in the air at the announcement.
"ESPN, quite frankly, is a machine," says Fox Sports programmer Billy Wanger. "We're trying to take on the establishment, no different than what Fox broadcast did in launching in the 1980s and Fox News did in the 1990s. We're going to have to scratch and claw (against ESPN). But we have no illusions."
Cable sports channels from other broadcast networks – NBC and CBS – have been more aggressive in the past year. But Fox, through new or renewed deals for MLB, NASCAR, college football and basketball, UFC and other sports, says 55% of the new channel programming will be live.
Fox Sports co-president Eric Shanks says the new channel faces two key challenges. "We already have a handle on games people actually want to see," he says. "The other big problem is (viewer) inertia. Inertia is a big deal."
Among other new shows on FS1 will be Fox Football Daily, weekdays at 6 p.m. ET. It will include appearances by Fox's various football analysts and announcers, including Terry Bradshaw, Jay Glazer, Howie Long, Erin Andrews and Mike Pereira. Andrews said she wasn't ready to fill in details on that show or her role on FS1 generally.
"I've been told to keep my mouth shut," says Andrews. But the new channel is "great because it shows there are so many opportunities here."
Andrews, who left ESPN for Fox last year, suggests ESPN is probably thinking of how to counter FS1 – but then, she says, ESPN is always worried about any possible competition. "It was a conversation that always came up when I was there. It was, 'What should we be worried about?' "
FS1 will also air an NFL pregame show that begins before Fox's broadcast network show – thus taking on the ESPN and NFL Network pregame shows that begin before the NFL pregame shows on Fox and CBS that start at noon ET.
Fox rules analyst Pereira says he hopes to be a part of that. "I would like to be able to teach a little bit. You can't do that in just 140 characters on Twitter," he says.
FS1 will also take on ESPN and HBO Sports in sports documentaries. Its Being documentary series begins next fall with a film on Mike Tyson.
Fox is considering converting its Fuel TV channel, in at least 30 million TV households, to a Fox Sports 2 cable spinoff channel. But Freer says "we're not prepared to say anything on that now."
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2013/03/05/fox-sports-cable-channel-challenging-espn-dominance-catholic-7/1965299/
Regis Philbin will be the host of a new show Fox is creating for its upcoming sports cable channel, FS1 (Photo: Ray Tamarra, FilmMagic) NEW YORK -- Fox, in formally announcing Tuesday a Fox Sports 1 sports channel that will launch Aug 17, began what Fox executives say will be a direct challenge to ESPN's dominance. News shows, live events, documentaries and talk shows will be part of the FS1 mix. "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." FS1 will carry will air an 11 p.m. ET news show meant to directly challenge ESPN's SportsCenter. Hill, noting the head-to-head competition, said: "The quality of sports journalism on ESPN is world-class. It's not going to be easy. But we'll give it a shot." FS1 will debut in about 90 million TV households compared to about 99 million for ESPN and ESPN2. Fox will also use it to replace its Speed channel, In addition, Fox, which has next season's Super Bowl in New York, will use FS1 for saturation coverage in the days leading up to the game. Along with live sports events, including baseball and NASCAR, Fox will create programming for FS1, including Rush Hour, airing weekdays at 5 p.m. ET, hosted by Regis Philbin, who sat next to his TV morning-show replacement Michael Strahan at the Fox announcement. In response to Fox's announcement, ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys noted Tuesday that 73% of ESPN programming is live, compared to the projection of 55% on FS1. And, says Soltys, "We like our position. We've always had vigorous competition so there is really nothing substantially new here. Others are beginning to recognize what we've long known – the power of live sports." FS1 represents the latest in the long migration of marquee sports from broadcast TV to cable/satellite. Starting in 2014, FS1 will carry regular-season MLB games for 26 weeks – but the Fox broadcast network will go from its 26-week schedule to just 12 regular-season game broadcast windows. Fox also says an unspecified number of its MLB postseason games, in divisional and LCS play, will migrate from Fox to FS1, as will an unspecified number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races and UFC mixed-martial arts events. Fox is closing in on a deal for the TV basketball rights for the Catholic colleges, including Georgetown and Marquette, leaving the Big East – but didn't announce the deal Tuesday. "We applaud the schools for taking hold of their own destiny," says Fox Sports co-president Randy Freer. "Those are iconic basketball brands and will be one of the top basketball leagues in the country. … Hopefully, it will get wrapped up in the near future." Philbin says he initially talked to Fox about just doing a monthly show until Fox raised the idea of a daily afternoon live show. He says he'll be joined by three to four panelists and he's "thrilled. I've always been a big sports fan." But the show's title is one of the many details about the new network that haven't been worked out: "They're calling it Rush Hour for now. But nobody really knows," Philbin says. There was some muted cockiness in the air at the announcement. "ESPN, quite frankly, is a machine," says Fox Sports programmer Billy Wanger. "We're trying to take on the establishment, no different than what Fox broadcast did in launching in the 1980s and Fox News did in the 1990s. We're going to have to scratch and claw (against ESPN). But we have no illusions." Cable sports channels from other broadcast networks – NBC and CBS – have been more aggressive in the past year. But Fox, through new or renewed deals for MLB, NASCAR, college football and basketball, UFC and other sports, says 55% of the new channel programming will be live. Fox Sports co-president Eric Shanks says the new channel faces two key challenges. "We already have a handle on games people actually want to see," he says. "The other big problem is (viewer) inertia. Inertia is a big deal." Among other new shows on FS1 will be Fox Football Daily, weekdays at 6 p.m. ET. It will include appearances by Fox's various football analysts and announcers, including Terry Bradshaw, Jay Glazer, Howie Long, Erin Andrews and Mike Pereira. Andrews said she wasn't ready to fill in details on that show or her role on FS1 generally. "I've been told to keep my mouth shut," says Andrews. But the new channel is "great because it shows there are so many opportunities here." Andrews, who left ESPN for Fox last year, suggests ESPN is probably thinking of how to counter FS1 – but then, she says, ESPN is always worried about any possible competition. "It was a conversation that always came up when I was there. It was, 'What should we be worried about?' " FS1 will also air an NFL pregame show that begins before Fox's broadcast network show – thus taking on the ESPN and NFL Network pregame shows that begin before the NFL pregame shows on Fox and CBS that start at noon ET. Fox rules analyst Pereira says he hopes to be a part of that. "I would like to be able to teach a little bit. You can't do that in just 140 characters on Twitter," he says. FS1 will also take on ESPN and HBO Sports in sports documentaries. Its Being documentary series begins next fall with a film on Mike Tyson. Fox is considering converting its Fuel TV channel, in at least 30 million TV households, to a Fox Sports 2 cable spinoff channel. But Freer says "we're not prepared to say anything on that now." Story Highlights
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2013/03/05/fox-sports-cable-channel-challenging-espn-dominance-catholic-7/1965299/