Fox Soccer Channel in HD in January

[kstuart]

Fox Soccer Channel will launch in HD at the beginning of January 2010, and will feature English Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches in true High Definition (and possibly other leagues in HD as well).

Fox recently outbid ESPN to land the USA rights for the UEFA Champions League broadcasts starting August 2009.

Fox will show weekly HD broadcasts of UEFA Champions League matches on HD RSNs in 2009, and then on FSC-HD in 2010, culminating with the first Saturday UEFA Champions League Final on May 22nd on FX-HD.

(for those not familiar with soccer leagues, the UEFA Champions League Final is the closest analog to the NFL Super Bowl, since the World Cup is between nations rather than professional clubs.)

PS Setanta Sports USA will continue to sub-license UEFA Champions League matches in 2009-2010, and will offer all matches played (146 IIRC) on Setanta Broadband.

All information is official and per David Sternberg, GM of FSC, in his interview on Fox Football Fone-in on FSC on Monday, April 6th.

 

[yaz96]

Sweet! Finally real HD! ESPN never showed Champions in HD. AND EPL in HD!!!

Hope DISH will give us our RSNs in HD fulltime then, or at least for these matches............

 

[Airblair]

Fox will show weekly HD broadcasts of UEFA Champions League matches on HD RSNs in 2009, and then on FSC-HD in 2010, culminating with the first Saturday UEFA Champions League Final on May 22nd on FX-HD.

Great. And our RSN's here in the Bay Area just switched from Fox to Comcast.

 

[kstuart]

Great. And our RSN's here in the Bay Area just switched from Fox to Comcast.

The Comcast RSNs do show some programming from Fox Sports.

I am trying to get a clarification from someone at Fox on this...

 

[Weezknight]

This channel will definitely be on my wish list. E* already screwed up in my eyes with GolTV, but FSC-HD would help keep me around when my contract is up at the end of the year.

 

[wetz73]

Wonder if this will be delt with in the FX/Speed contract this summer?

 

[mruk69]

Man Utd in HD, Brilliant? Not too sure about watching the scousers in HD though? I mean mean what if they steal my telly.

 

[Cyclone]

Wow, but January sure seems like a long ways off now. Not to mention how long it will take before Dish signs a carriage agreement.

I know that I'd sure like to have F1 in HD considering that Speed HD has been around since last fall.

 

[kstuart]

Great. And our RSN's here in the Bay Area just switched from Fox to Comcast.

Information direct from Fox:

- I asked about non-Fox RSN's carrying the CL matches (such as Comcast RSNs), and the reply was:

yes, the affiliated RSNs that were once FSN RSNs, will carry the games, and in HD.

- and in case your particular RSN does not carry it for some reason, or has a conflict with a local game, then if you subscribe to "Multi-Sports" on Dish Network ($5/month), then you will be able to see it on an RSN from some other area, because they confirmed there will not be blackouts on the CL matches. Multi-Sports on Dish Network includes all HD RSNs.

 

[roachxp]

Don't count on the EPL being on FSC for long, ESPN will bid on this once it ends this off season, and sub license games to Setanta. Rumor has it they will bid close to 100million a season, and also on the spainsh commentry rights for ESPN Desportes.

 

[kstuart]

Don't count on the EPL being on FSC for long, ESPN will bid on this once it ends this off season...

Just repeating rumors is silly, when the facts are not accurate.

The EPL rights do not expire in this off-season.

The EPL will be on FSC-HD in January (quote from GM of FSC).

 

[yaz96]

Information direct from Fox:

- I asked about non-Fox RSN's carrying the CL matches (such as Comcast RSNs), and the reply was:

- and in case your particular RSN does not carry it for some reason, or has a conflict with a local game, then if you subscribe to "Multi-Sports" on Dish Network ($5/month), then you will be able to see it on an RSN from some other area, because they confirmed there will be blackouts on the CL matches. Multi-Sports on Dish Network includes all HD RSNs.

Ken,
Did you mean to say "will NOT be blackouts"?

 

[kstuart]

Ken,
Did you mean to say "will NOT be blackouts"?

Oops, yes, thanks, corrected.

 

[Neutral Fan]

Here is some more information about Fox’s soccer HD coverage. I got this information from EPL Talk.
This information came from a David Sternberg executive vice president and general manager of Fox Sports International
• Champions League games on the channel will not be in high-def until the start of the first knockout stage in February 2010
• In addition, games from Italy’s Serie A, for which FSC has four live windows each weekend, will have games in high-def. Likewise, two English Premier League games now covered by Sky are produced in HD and available in the United States. That’s the Saturday 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) match and the 11 a.m. (Eastern) Sunday games (presumably starting near the end of 2009)
• Fox’s HD format and production will be more akin to the true or “native” HD, as the industry calls it, used in recent years by HDNet (which is no longer carrying M.L.S. or N.H.L. games) than most of the HD productions available to date on ESPN, which Sternberg called “up-converted.” That is, a standard-definition feed that is enhanced.
Aaron

 

[Neutral Fan]

From Cloud Computing Journal
Fox Pan American Sports, who delivers Fox Sports in Latin America and Fox Sports en Español reaching over 37 million households throughout the Americas, is launching a new HD channel.
Aaron

PS I would have given links but the message board will not let me.

 

[roachxp]

Just repeating rumors is silly, when the facts are not accurate.

The EPL rights do not expire in this off-season.

The EPL will be on FSC-HD in January (quote from GM of FSC).

You right they don't expire this off season only after 09/10 season, but I should of said bidding for the 2010-2013 starts this off season with the winner announce before the end of next season. They only offer the seasons in 3 year blocks.

 

[mruk69]

If I am not mistaken didn't Murdoch buy worldwide rights and then is reselling to other networks around the world. I thought thats what I read when he paid the record amount. He is also sub licensing games to Setanta in the UK.
I he does have the worlwide rights he will not sell to ESPN in the U.S.A. Then again he has joint deals with E.S.P.N in Asia.

 

[roachxp]

The worst is yesterday and today's semifinal games are available to all in HD and ESPN is not using the HD feed, while almost every country in europe has at least 1 provider with the HD feed.

UEFA sell the TV rights per country they make more money that way.

 

[satjay]

Watching some English Premier this morning, HD would be a great add!!

 

[nlk10010]

It would be, except that if your RSN is MSG (here in the NY area) and you have Dish (or FIOS) then you won't be seeing it that way (as things stand now).