- See also, Fox Sports (Australia) and Fox Sports Net.
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (part of News Corporation). It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games. Other properties have included the National Hockey League (1994–1999), Major League Baseball (1996–present), World League Football (later NFL Europe, then NFL Europa, now defunct) (1997–2005), college football's Cotton Bowl (1999–present), most of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS National Championship Game, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl) (2007–present), and NASCAR (2001–present).
FOX has become the exclusive home of the Daytona 500 after having alternated the event with NBC Sports throughout their first NASCAR contract. Also beginning in 2007 they will televise 4 Formula One races, including the United States Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix, plus two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races live. In addition, FOX covered the first 90 minutes of the 45th Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 27th. The Formula One and Rolex 24 events will use Speed Channel's, FOX's sister network, equipment and staff, and will be broadcasted under the SPEED on FOX banner.
Fox Sports has been the exclusive broadcaster of the World Series since 2000. A new contract announced on July 11, 2006, guarantees that Fox Sports will keep the World Series through the 2013 season. [1]
In addition to the broadcast division, Fox owns numerous regional U.S. cable sports channels under the Fox Sports Net banner, among others. These cable channels also include SPEED Channel, which provides additional NASCAR and F-1 coverage, and Fox Soccer Channel, which broadcasts the English Premier League and Major League Soccer, among other competitions.
The graphics and scoring bugs have won awards and changed the face of sports broadcasting in the United States. The opening notes of the NFL broadcast theme can be heard in every iteration of other Fox Sports broadcast themes. When the scoring bugs are upgraded, the previous versions are passed down to the various Fox Sports Net affiliates.
Fox Sports began airing programs in 720p HDTV starting on September 12, 2004 with select NFL games and the 2004 MLB Postseason. Most baseball and football games (including all postseason contests), all BCS games, and all NASCAR races carried by Fox Sports are aired in HD.
Programs throughout the years
Current broadcast rights
- National Football League: The NFL on FOX, FOX NFL Sunday, The OT, 1994 -present
- Major League Baseball: Major League Baseball on FOX, FOX Saturday Baseball, 1996-present
- NASCAR: NASCAR on FOX, SPEED on FOX, 2001-present
- College football
- Bowl Championship Series: BCS on FOX (does not include Rose Bowl) 2007-present
- Cotton Bowl 1999-present
- Formula One 4 races including the United States Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix 2007-present
Former broadcast rights
- National Hockey League: The NHL on FOX, FOX NHL Saturday, 1994-1999
- NFL Europe 1997-2005
- Horse Racing 1998-2000
Technological enhancements
Main competitors
Cable offshoots
- Fox College Sports
- Fox Footy Channel
- Fox Soccer Channel
- Fox Sports Net
- Fox Sports en Español
- Fox Sports en Latinoamérica
- Fox Sports World Canada
- SPEED Channel
See also
- List of Fox Sports announcers
- NFL on television
- Fox Broadcasting Company
- Fox Sports Net
- Fox College Sports
- Fox Sports Radio
- Fox Sports Website
External links
| Fox Sports |
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Brands: NFL on FOX • Major League
Baseball on FOX • NASCAR on FOX • Bowl
Championships • Cotton Bowl • Formula
One |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
