Fox, Not FX, Will Air Champions League Final
May 22 Telecast To Mark Broadcast Net's First Soccer Match
MCN Staff -- Multichannel News, 2/10/2010 9:57:56 AM
Fox will take its first step onto the pitch, subbing for FX as the broadcaster for the UEFA Champions League final in May.
Fox will air its first soccer match on May 22, with the telecast from Madrid beginning at 2:30 p.m. (ET) and kickoff set for 2:45 p.m. The match marks the first time the Champions League final will be played on a Saturday. The story was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.
When Fox Soccer Channel wrested the U.S. TV rights to the top European club competition from ESPN2 last April, it announced that FX, which counts some 95 million subscribers, would host the finale.
Simply put, the UEFA Champions League Final is one of international soccer's most prestigious and competitive events," said Fox Sports chairman David Hill in announcing the scheduling change. "There's no doubt that soccer aficionados in the U.S. will welcome the opportunity to see this game live, and we're excited to work with our colleagues at Fox Sports International to make it available to every household in America via FOX Sports."
"This year, for the first time, the UEFA Champions League Final will be played on a Saturday," said UEFA president Michel Platini. "This is an important change for European football as it is a strong desire for UEFA to engage with more families and children and to see them attend inside the stadium. Outside of Europe we also want to allow the greatest number of people possible the chance to follow the showpiece final of the best club football competition in the world. I am delighted that thanks to Fox Sports this will now be possible, as for the first time ever, the UEFA Champions League final will be live on a nationwide broadcast channel right across the USA."
FSC, which will launch premium service Fox Soccer Plus on March 1, will begin its coverage of the Champions League's knockout stage, with round of 16 coverage on Feb. 16-17 and Feb. 23-24
-
I am looking to buy tickets for the Champions league final. Email brandonwhatshisface@hotmail.com I am onsite in Madrid. All transactions are private and discretion is assured.
My local # is +34 6335 78946
brandon - 5/18/2010 3:18:10 PM EDT -
I hope Fox will keep the camera work up to par. It is great that is should be HD but if you contrast how ESPN/ABC do MLS vs. the ESPN feeds of Champions League matches, the US produced MLS broadcasts ZOOM in so much that it is hardly worth watching because there is no context to the possessions, counterattacks, etc. You can’t see where a pass is going, or players are heading, until the ball is already there. To me it takes the beauty out of watching a team that can pass like these Champions league teams will. Hope they keep things zoomed out, except for the one-on-one and replay zoom-ins.
Also hope they sound engineer it better than NFL games. Flipping between NFL games on Fox or CBS, the crowd sounds terrible on fox, like the microphone is in a tub. I don’t like being so critical, but I just hope Fox can live up to the task, and think they should just feed in the English broadcast if they cannot. Thanks Fox, now live up to it!
gk - 2/10/2010 11:53:56 AM EST -
This is incredible news for football fans in the US: the biggest football game in Europe will be broadcast live on a channel that is accessible for everyone in the US. The beautiful game is here!
John Dimitre - 2/10/2010 10:37:51 AM EST
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
