Fox Soccer Channel
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Fox Soccer Channel is a United States digital cable network, owned by News Corporation, that specializes primarily in soccer, with additional coverage of other football codes such as rugby union. The channel took its current name on February 7, 2005; before then, the network was known as Fox Sports World.
FSC focuses on soccer throughout the world:
- Argentina: One match every week from the Primera División, plus a weekly highlights show. The match is usually aired on a same-day tape delay; however, the country's biggest rivalry game, the Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate, is broadcast live.
- England:
- Multiple live and tape-delayed matches each week from the Premier League, plus weekly preview and recap shows.
- FA Cup ties, mainly in the early and middle rounds.
- England under-21 fixtures.
- France: At least one live Ligue 1 match weekly, plus a weekly highlights show.
- Germany: At least one live Bundesliga match weekly, plus a weekly highlights show.
- Japan: A weekly highlights package from the J. League.
- United States: Shared broadcast rights for Major League Soccer, with at least one live match per week, plus a weekly highlights show. Also, live coverage of the second-level USL First Division.
- UEFA:
- Live coverage of the UEFA Cup final.
- Live coverage of the UEFA Women's Championship.
- CONCACAF: Live coverage of many matches in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
- CONMEBOL: Live and tape-delayed coverage of selected Copa Libertadores matches.
- FIFA:
- European World Cup qualifiers, both live and tape-delayed.
- Live coverage of the Confederations Cup.
- Live and tape-delayed coverage of the World Youth Championship.
Most of FSC's coverage that originates outside the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America, Caribbean) consists of picking up international broadcast feeds to which FSC has U.S. broadcast rights. All of FSC's South American coverage, including the Argentine highlights show, is overdubbed in English by FSC announcers, as is most game coverage from Continental Europe. The English coverage, and other highlight shows, come to FSC in English and thus need no overdubbing.
The network's soccer coverage is not limited to game play; FSC airs Dream Team, a British soap opera that airs in the UK on FSC's corporate cousin Sky One and focuses on a fictional Premiership team.
Another featured sport, although far less than in the channel's days as Fox Sports World, is rugby. In union, FSC covers Super 12, selected international matches, and domestic matches from New Zealand and South Africa. In league, it airs one tape-delayed match weekly from Australia's National Rugby League. The network also continues to air highlight packages from the Australian Football League (Aussie Rules), plus the league's Grand Final live.
Fox Sports World filled out its schedule with an eclectic mix of programming; among the sports featured (either in anthology form or actual events) were motorsports, cricket, pool, darts, and extreme sports. FSC still airs an occasional sports anthology program.
FSC picks up the feed from its corporate cousin, Sky Sports News in the United Kingdom, live for one hour nightly, and reruns the feed twice during the following 23 hours. This arrangement dates back to its days as Fox Sports World. FSC will also continue to air the Fox Sports World Report, a nightly international sports recap produced by Fox Sports World Canada, a Canadian international sports network in which News Corporation holds a minority interest.
However, FSC has not yet filled out its day with sports programming; the morning hours are usually the province of infomercials as well as the random half hour in between games on some days.