Fox Soccer Plus
| Programming | |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Fox Entertainment Group (News Corporation) |
Fox Soccer Plus is an American sports channel dedicated to soccer and rugby. It was formed as a spin-off of Fox Soccer when its owner Fox Entertainment Group re-acquired rights from competitor Setanta Sports USA in January 2010, putting the latter channel out of business. It launched on March 1, 2010.[1]
Coverage rights
Soccer
The channel airs soccer matches from the UEFA Champions League, England's Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup,[1] the Football League Cup, England's Football League Championship, and the Scottish Premier League. Moreover, Fox Soccer Plus has acquired the rights to a handful of English national team matches, for both the senior and junior squads.
Rugby
Fox Soccer Plus has picked up rights to major rugby competitions in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Fox Soccer Plus has rights to the Europe-wide Heineken Cup plus England's Aviva Premiership and the Magners League in the Celtic nations and Italy (although Magners League matches are non-existent in Fox Soccer Plus' schedule for the first six weeks of the season). In 2010 it secured the rights to broadcast the 2010 Rugby League Four Nations.[2]
Starting in 2012, Fox Soccer Plus will broadcast some National Rugby League, Super League, and AFL Aussie Rules matches live. [3][4]
Former
Fox Soccer Plus' coverage of Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1 ended in May 2012, as both will move to BeIN Sport starting with the 2012-2013 season.[5]
Fox Soccer Plus formerly held rights to all major properties in the SANZAR countries—the Tri Nations involving the national teams of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia; Super Rugby, involving franchises from each of these countries; South Africa's Currie Cup; and New Zealand's ITM Cup.[6] However, in 2011, Fox Soccer Plus lost broadcasting rights for Super Rugby and Tri Nations to DirecTV. [7]
Carriage
Fox Soccer Plus is available nationally on DirecTV [8] and Dish Network, [8] and regionally on Verizon FiOS, [8] Time Warner Cable, [8] Brighthouse Networks,[9] Cablevision, [10] and AT&T Uverse. [11]
High Definition
Fox Soccer Plus's 720p HD feed is available nationally on DirecTV, [12] and regionally on Time Warner Cable, [13] Brighthouse Networks, [9] and AT&T Uverse. [11]
References
- ^ a b Fox Soccer Plus Kicks Off As Premium, HD Channel On March 1 Multichannel News January 11, 2010
- ^ International Broadcast Information Rugby League Four Nations official site
- ^ Fox Sports to televise NRL in the USA USA Rugby League Press Release, March 1, 2012
- ^ Fox Soccer Plus gets rights to rugby leagues Sports Business Journal Daily, March 12, 2012
- ^ Al Jazeera to Kick Off Pair of Soccer Channels in U.S. this August Multichannel News, May 17, 2012
- ^ "Fox Soccer Plus FAQ" (PDF). Fox Cable Networks. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ International Super Rugby Broadcasters
- ^ a b c d Fox Soccer Plus Set to Launch March 1 with DirecTV, Dish Network, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS Fox Soccer Plus Press Release February 26, 2010
- ^ a b Bright House adds HD channels to lineup Daytona Beach News-Journal June 15, 2010
- ^ Fox Soccer Plus on iO TV
- ^ a b AT&T U-verse Launches Fox Soccer Plus HD Multichannel News February 21, 2011
- ^ DIRECTV and its Television Partners Offer More World-Class Soccer Than Ever Before DirecTV Press Release August 10, 2010
- ^ Time Warner adds high-def soccer channels in time for World Cup San Antonio Business Journal March 19, 2010
