Fox Sports 2

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Fox Sports 2
FS2 logo 2015.svg
Launched July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)
(original launch; as Fuel TV)
August 17, 2013 (2013-08-17) (relaunch; as Fox Sports 2)
Network Fox Sports
Owned by Fox Entertainment Group
(21st Century Fox)
Picture format 720p (HDTV)
(Downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SD feed)
Country United States
Language English
Broadcast area Nationwide
Headquarters Los Angeles, California
Formerly called Fuel TV (2003–13)
Sister channel(s) Fox Sports 1
Fox Soccer Plus
Fox College Sports
Fox Sports Networks
Fox Deportes
Big Ten Network
Website www.foxsports.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV 618 (HD/SD)
1618 (VOD)
Dish Network 397 (HD/SD) [1]
Cable
Available on many other U.S. cable systems Consult your local cable provider for channel availability
IPTV
AT&T U-verse 1651 (HD)
651 (SD)
Verizon FiOS 584 (HD)
84 (SD)
Streaming media
Fox Sports Go Watch live
(U.S. cable internet subscribers only; requires login to stream content)
PlayStation Vue Internet Protocol television

Fox Sports 2 (FS2), is an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of the Fox Entertainment Group division of 21st Century Fox. The channel is based out of the Fox Sports division's headquarters in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, California.

The network was originally founded as Fuel TV on July 1, 2003, focusing on the culture of extreme sports, including skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motocross, surfing, BMX and FMX.[2] The network's prominence expanded further with the introduction of UFC mixed martial arts programming to its lineup in 2012 as part of a wider deal with Fox Sports.[3] On August 17, 2013, Fuel TV was rebranded as Fox Sports 2, refocusing primarily as an overflow channel for the newly-launched mainstream sports network Fox Sports 1. The relaunch of Fuel TV as FS1's sister network received little advanced promotion.[3]

As of February 2015, approximately 45,393,000 households (39% of those with television) receive Fox Sports 2.[4]

History

As Fuel TV

The network's concept originated out of several extreme sports programming concepts. One of them originated from Alistair Gosling, founder of The Extreme Sports Channel and Extreme Sports TV distribution and production company Extreme. The concept, taken by Gosling to David Sternberg of Fox SportsNet, focused on expanding the coverage of extreme sports. This was translated into growing the existing programming block on Fox SportsNet airing in the early evenings during the early 2000s on the network's affiliates, which included Blue Torch TV and EX TV, and combining it with brokered arrangements for individual shows which included among others New Waves Surf Television and 16MM, along with ideas from the Europe-based Extreme Sports Chanternberg, CJ Olivares and Lloyd Bryan Adams.[5][6][7]

Another spoke was the network's name itself, from a concept conceived and launched by independent producer Chris Braly[8] as a weekly regional music and extreme sports broadcast that debuted on September 8, 2001 on WB affiliate WFLI-TV (channel 53, now a CW affiliate) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, using paid programming time on that station on Saturday evenings.[9] News Corporation eventually negotiated a buyout of the concept and trademark in late 2003. The regional weekly version of Fuel TV aired its final episode on WFLI in September of that year.[10]

Original logo, used from July 1, 2003 to August 17, 2012.

The Fuel TV cable and satellite channel featured programs ranging from original series, exclusive events, licensed films and creative interstitials. Extreme sports programming was formerly the bulk of the network, with a diverse combination of sports, music, reality programming, extreme sports news and other content, including comedic programs.[11][12]

Fuel TV's second logo, used from 2012 to closure.

Beginning in late 2011, Fuel became the official cable home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as part of a broader agreement between Fox and the UFC, featuring pre-match and analysis programming involving the circuit such as the weekly UFC Tonight, along with undercard fights for UFC pay-per-view events.[3] By the second half of 2012, Fuel TV's lineup consisted solely of combat sports (such as MMA and boxing) and reruns of reality programs from sister channel Speed.

With the 2012–13 Premier League season, extra live and recorded Premier League matches were carried on Fuel TV, giving Fox Soccer three venues to carry live matches on Premier League match days; this began in May 2012 with Fuel carrying one of nine games on the final day of the Premier League season as part of Fox Sports's "Survival Sunday" effort to air all that day's Premier League matches across the division's cable properties. In March 2013, Fuel TV began adding weekly telecasts of the Super League, the British rugby league championship, on Monday afternoons.

Relaunch as Fox Sports 2

Fox Sports 2's first logo, used from 2013 to 2015

In January 2013, alongside reports that Speed was to be replaced by a national sports network known as Fox Sports 1 (which was officially announced by Fox on March 5, 2013 for an August 17 launch), it was reported that Fox was planning to rebrand Fuel TV as a companion network – Fox Sports 2 – a name which Fox had filed a trademark application for on November 27, 2012.[13][14]

As opposed to the widely publicized launch of Fox Sports 1, the impending replacement of Fuel TV with Fox Sports 2 was met with relatively little fanfare, and was only officially announced roughly a week prior. The relaunch of the channel as Fox Sports 2 took place at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on August 17, 2013 at the same time that Speed was replaced by Fox Sports 1. Upon the relaunch, the channel was expanded into a mainstream sports service with a wider variety of content, although combat sports (such as UFC-related programs) will remain an integral part of the lineup.[3][15] Fuel's signature UFC program, UFC Tonight, moved over to Fox Sports 1 with the launch, though encore presentations will remain part of the Fox Sports 2 schedule.

Programming

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Fox Sports 2 features reruns of some of the news and analysis programs broadcast by Fox Sports 1. Sports programming continues to include UFC-related programs (including UFC Unleashed and live UFC Fight Night events), and overflow coverage of events aired by Fox Sports 1, such as NASCAR and the UEFA Champions League. Limited coverage of the Australian Football League moved to Fox Sports 2 from Fox Soccer Plus, along with full coverage of the State of Origin series live from Australia's Nine Network. This move has proven popular with fans in the United States due to the growing fanbase for Australian rules football in the country.[3][15] According to the websites of the Australian Football Association of North America and Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports has extended its current deal until 2016. Fox Sports 2 will televise some regular season games and finals matches, while most of the 2015 season will continue to air on Fox Soccer Plus.[16]

See also

References

  1. http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/fox-sports-2-now-in-hd.342020/
  2. Fuel TV Continues to Rise -- Cable World, June 26, 2006
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  5. Olivares Steps Down As Fuel TV General Manager, News Corporation Press, April 26, 2011.
  6. Stratus Media Group Hires New Senior Vice President of Entertainment, Business Wire, July 12, 2011.
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  8. Chris Braly
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External links