Fox Sports 1 Update

[MUPanther]

Hockey Night in Canada reporter Chris Johnston, who was first to report that ESPN would acquire the NHL’s primary media rights package, said on-air Saturday that Fox Sports is now the frontrunner to acquire the league’s remaining media rights, ahead of incumbent NBC. That comes within days of WWE president Nick Khan saying that his organization — which has a relationship with NBC through USA Network — is operating under the “belief that NBC and the NHL are not going to continue to be in business together.” The Athletic reported earlier this week NBC was still the “betting favorite” to hold onto the “B” package.

[MUPanther]

Now, Turner Sports.

https://twitter.com/Ourand_SBJ/status/1 ... 1430519812

[MUPanther]

FOX Sports’ six-year agreement with CONMEBOL kicks off this June with the CONMEBOL Copa América 2021™ event in a massive ‘Summer of Soccer’ for the network.

https://www.foxsports.com/presspass/lat ... mebol-deal

[MUPanther]

Athletes Unlimited Softball has landed broadcast deals with CBS and Fox for its upcoming 30-game softball season, which begins in August. CBS Sports Network will air seven games, including the final game of the season, and Fox Sports will carry 15 games between FS1 and FS2. The remaining eight games of the season will be livestreamed on Athletes Unlimited’s Facebook and YouTube channels. Fox Deportes will also air 15 Spanish-language game broadcasts. The broadcast partnerships will be formally announced later tonight at the league’s first ever college draft.

[MUPanther]

Early Season College Football Schedule for the on the FOX Networks.
https://www.foxsports.com/presspass/lat ... e-football

[Hall2012]

Brian Custer to ESPN. Jay Wright must have pulled some strings to get this one done lol.

Best of luck to Custer, but SHU fans are certainly gonna miss him.

[MUPanther]

Brian Custer to ESPN. Jay Wright must have pulled some strings to get this one done lol.

Best of luck to Custer, but SHU fans are certainly gonna miss him.

Fox will have to fill a hole now for the 4th team play by play voice for college football. Custer seems happy to be doing Sportscenter.

[MUPanther]

Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse lands on CBS Sports Network and FOX Sports th I s summer. Fox Sports will broadcast 15 games (11 games on FS1 and four games on FS2)

[MUPanther]

USFL is coming back in 2022. Coming to FOX Sports.
https://www.foxsports.com/presspass/lat ... turns-2022

[Husky_U]

https://ncaahoopsdigest.com/2021/06/18/the-big-easts-media-marriage-life-beyond-2025-with-fs1/

“Big East teams are thrilled with the coverage Fox provides,” said Kevin McNamara, a longtime voice of the conference during his 30 years at the Providence Journal. “To get every game on national TV is a real coup and needs to continue, in my opinion.”

From Los Angeles to Boston, Fox Sports and their FS1 and FS2 channel packages are nationwide and brought into the living rooms of nearly 90 million subscribers. This, in stark contrast to leagues like the Big 12 and American, which can at times find content hidden behind additional paywalls and subscription services like ESPN+.

“Look at how teams in the Football Five conferences are always shipped to ESPN+ for so many of their games,” McNamara added. “That’s what the Big East needs to avoid, in my opinion.”

The 2013 media deal that inked Fox Sports to The Big East is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season and while there is little doubt that these two entities will renew their vows, it’s fair to acknowledge that some things have changed since the initial 12-year contract was penned. Maintaining national access to Big East content will certainly be a priority for the conference but there’s work to be done at the institutional level.

“The pillars are in place for continued success [with the Big East’s media deal], however NCAA success beyond Villanova is a vital piece that certainly needs improvement. That’s on the individual programs, not the conference office,” McNamara said.

“I believe Fox was instrumental in pushing for UConn’s addition to assist in the TV contract valuation,” McNamara noted when addressing UConn’s inclusion to a conference they chartered over 40 years ago. “UConn is obviously a very attractive program for Fox and do not forget the addition of the women’s program. Those UConn-Baylor, UConn-Notre Dame regular-season games are ratings winners.”

With Connecticut’s added value the question now becomes: how much more is the Big East worth to Fox? It may be just a few years before we find out.

It’s reasonable to anticipate that an increase from $4.6M per school annually could grow to $6-8M with a new media deal in 2025. This feels especially plausible with UConn en tow once the league pulls up to the negotiating table. Will a new deal be enough to keep the league competitive with their football-sponsoring rivals? The answer to this hangs in the balance of what could upset the symbiotic relationship between Fox Sports and the Big East.