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Fox Sports (Australia)

From Alfawiki
Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustrySports broadcasting, Television
PredecessorPremier Media Group Pty Limited
FoundedJanuary 26, 1995; 31 years ago (1995-01-26) in Sydney, Australia
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
Australia
Key people
Patrick Delany (CEO as of 2012)
ProductsFox Sports channels, digital services including Fox Sports News, Fox Cricket, Fox League, Fox Footy, Watch AFL, Watch NRL, Fox Netball (via Foxtel or Kayo)
OwnerDAZN Group
ParentDAZN Company
Websitewww.foxsports.com.au

Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited (previously known as Premier Media Group Pty Limited) operates as the Foxtel division responsible for managing the Fox Sports television networks and digital services across Australia. It oversees nine Fox Sports channels, including Fox Sports News, Fox Cricket, Fox League, Fox Footy, Watch AFL, and Watch NRL. Additional channels such as Fox Netball are available through Foxtel or Kayo. Its primary rivals in the market include beIN Sports, ESPN, Optus Sport, and Stan Sport. Unlike its American counterpart, Fox Sports Australia is not under the ownership of Fox Corporation. Until April 2025, News Corp maintained a 65% ownership stake in Foxtel, a sister entity to Fox Corporation. Currently, Fox Sports Australia operates as a part of the DAZN Company.

Initial Launch

Fox Sports originated as the Premier Sports Network (later renamed Premier Sports), which was the sole fully operational local channel at the debut of Australia's first pay-TV platform, Galaxy. Supported by the American firm Prime International (later integrated into Liberty Media), it commenced broadcasting on 26 January 1995 in Sydney. Premier Sports acquired rights to air Australia's cricket tour of the West Indies, sharing these rights with Network 10 due to restrictions imposed by Australia's anti-siphoning regulations that prevented exclusive pay television coverage.

Introduction of Foxtel

With the launch of cable services by Foxtel later in 1995, Premier Sports was incorporated into its offerings. Fox Sports broadcasted games from the NBL until 2010. On 1 March 1996, Premier Sports rebranded as Fox Sports Australia, aligning with the commencement of the new Super 12 rugby union competition and the anticipated Super League. In 1997, a secondary channel was introduced on Foxtel specifically to air Super League matches. After resolution of the Super League war, Fox Sports and rival broadcaster Sports Australia jointly held NRL rights. This secondary channel evolved into Fox Sports Two, initially operating on weekends before expanding to a full-time 24/7 schedule by 2002.

Expansion via Optus (2000s)

Following Optus Vision's discontinuation of C7 Sport in March 2002, it began offering Fox Sports channels, marketed as "Optus Sports 1" and "Optus Sports 2," although the on-screen content retained the Fox Sports branding. The "Optus Sports" name was phased out within that year.

Fox Sports Two covered major sporting events demanding extensive airtime such as the 1998 Winter Olympics, Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the 2004 European Football Championship. Currently, it functions as a dedicated 24/7 rugby league channel under the name Fox League.

During the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Fox Sports provided eight additional channels for comprehensive event coverage available at an extra fee.

From its inception in 2005 until 2020, Fox Sports exclusively broadcasted the A-League. In 2006, it secured a A$120 million agreement with the Football Federation Australia, granting exclusive rights from 2007 onwards to Socceroos home internationals, all A-League fixtures, Asian Cup matches, World Cup qualifiers through AFC, and AFC Champions League games.

This exclusive content significantly enhanced Fox Sports' audience figures; for instance, the 2007 A-League grand final became their highest-rated broadcast at that point. Socceroos matches during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup attracted up to 419,000 pay-TV viewers—a record that was later surpassed in 2009 when a World Cup qualifying match drew an audience of 431,000.

In 2007, Fox Sports acquired rights to air four live AFL games each week, including exclusive Sunday twilight fixtures and Friday night matches broadcast live into New South Wales and Queensland on channel 518 (branded as Fox Sports Plus). This channel also serves to broadcast live events when scheduling conflicts occur on Fox Sports’ primary channels—such as during the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

2010s

In 2010, Fox Sports' broadcasts of National Rugby League matches represented 73 of the 100 highest-rated programs on Foxtel. By February 2012, Premier Media Group underwent a rebranding to become Fox Sports Pty Limited, emphasizing its primary commitment to sports under the leadership of CEO Patrick Delany.

On 2 November 2012, News Corp finalized a $2 billion deal to gain full control of Fox Sports Pty Ltd by acquiring Consolidated Media Holdings. Subsequently, in April 2018, ownership transitioned to Foxtel, a joint venture between News Corp and Telstra.

Fox Sports inaugurated its new headquarters in Sydney at Gore Hill on 5 March 2013. This facility introduced the Clive Churchill Studio, dedicated exclusively to NRL coverage. The launch also showcased several technological advancements including the FoxKopter, FoxMobile Segway, Ref Cam, and Cornerpost Cam, alongside a revamped corporate logo consistent with its global partners.

On 3 September 2014, Fox Sports revealed plans to rebrand SPEED and Fuel TV as Fox Sports 4 and Fox Sports 5 respectively, both debuting in HD on 3 November 2014. At the same time, FOX Sports News launched its HD simulcast, expanding the network’s high-definition offerings to seven channels.

On 23 February 2017, Fox Sports introduced Fox Sports More+, a channel focused on live pop-up event coverage.

Channels

  • Fox Sports News: Channel 500. Began HD simulcast on 3 November 2014 and shifted from channel 513 to channel 500.
  • Fox Cricket: Channel 501. Originally Fox Sports 1 until 23 February 2017; then known as Fox Sports 501 until 17 September 2018.
  • Fox League: Channel 502. Previously Fox Sports 2 until February 2017.
  • Fox Sports 503: Channel 503. Known as Fox Sports 3 prior to February 2017.
  • Fox Footy: Channel 504.
  • Fox Sports 505: Channel 505. Formerly Fox Sports 4 until February 2017; also serves as a pop-up channel for live Fox Netball broadcasts.
  • Fox Sports 506: Channel 506. Previously Fox Sports 5 until February 2017.
  • Fox Sports More+/DAZN: Channel 507. Operates as a pop-up channel featuring occasional programming.
  • Fox Sports UHD channels: Channels include 508 (which replaced the former Fox Sports Ultra HD in March 2022) and UHD channels numbered from 591 to 594, providing an expanded range of Ultra HD sports content since March 2022.

Former channels

  • Fox Sports 501 & 502: These were replaced by Fox Cricket and Fox League, respectively.
  • Fox Sports Plus: Launched in September 2012 to broadcast live and upcoming sports events; discontinued in February 2017 and succeeded by Fox Sports More+.
  • Fuel TV (Australia): Superseded by Fox Sports 505.
  • Main Event: Served as an overflow channel for simultaneous live sports; its use declined following the adoption of multi-casting technology.
  • Speed (Australian TV network): Replaced by Fox Sports 506.
  • Footy Play powered by Fox Sports and Sports Play powered by Fox Sports: Streaming platforms accessible via Xbox and Foxtel Internet TV; phased out after the launch of dedicated Fox Sports channels on these services.
  • Fox Sports Ultra HD: Channel 508 offered in native 4K Ultra HD; ceased operations in March 2022 to enable enhanced Ultra HD sports programming.

This collection of channels illustrates Fox Sports Australia's strategic approach to providing specialized, high-definition sports content across various platforms, targeting diverse viewer segments to optimize market penetration.

Current shows

Previous shows

Australian rules football

  • Australian Football League Premiership Season (Offers three live matches most weekends when sister channel Fox Footy covers other live games; also features magazine and panel programs produced by Fox Footy)

Combat sports

Cricket

  • Australian national cricket team: International Test, One-day, and Twenty20 matches (shared with Seven Network)
  • Australian women's national cricket: Test, One-day, and Twenty20 matches (simulcast from Seven Network)
  • Domestic cricket: Sheffield Shield final, JLT One-Day Cup, complete coverage of Big Bash League’s 61 games (43 shared with Seven Network), Women's Big Bash League (simulcast from Seven Network)
  • Home series involving England, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India cricket teams
  • International T20 leagues including Global T20 Canada, Caribbean Premier League, Hong Kong T20 Blitz, Super Smash, Indian Premier League, SA20, T20 Blast, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, and International League T20

Darts

Field hockey

Golf

Motorsport

Formula racing

Open wheel

Stock Cars

Touring Cars

Sportscars

Drag racing

Motorcycles

Rally

Speedway

Motocross

Netball

Rugby league

  • National Rugby League (Broadcasting every match live, including five exclusive live games and three simulcast matches with Nine throughout an entire round). Fox Sports also features magazine and panel programs produced by Fox League.
  • Holden Cup (2008–2017)
  • New South Wales Cup
  • Rugby Football League's Super League

Surfing

Ten-pin bowling

Baseball

Basketball

Cricket

Ice hockey

Motorsport

Rally

Netball

Rugby union

Soccer

  • Hyundai A-League (Full live coverage; Saturday night games shared with ABC TV, Friday night games shared with SBS Sport) (2004–2021)
  • Hyundai A-League Finals Series (Complete live broadcast, shared with ABC TV) (2004–2021)
  • Australia Cup (One live match per round plus semi-finals and final broadcast live) (2014–2019)
  • Asian Champions League (Live coverage of all Australian teams’ matches, plus select others) (2021)
  • AFC Asian Cup (28 exclusive live matches including Socceroos fixtures) (2021)
  • Socceroos internationals (All matches except FIFA World Cup finals, shared with SBS Viceland and ABC TV) (2021)
  • Indian Super League (2021)
  • Additional international football fixtures
  • Westfield W-League (One live game weekly, plus semi-finals and grand final; shared with ABC TV) (2015–2021)

Tennis

WWE

Availability

Fox Sports can be accessed nationwide through the My Sport package on Foxtel, as well as via the Total Sport package offered by Optus featuring Foxtel.

See also

External links

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