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 Fox Sports
World, America's Soccer Channel, will transition into the Fox
Soccer Channel on Monday, February 7, 2005. The announcement was
made today by David Sternberg, Executive Vice President and
General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel.
Fox Soccer
Channel will draw more than 80% of its first-run programming
hours from world-class soccer competitions, including the
Barclays English Premier League, the English FA Cup, the UEFA
Cup, the Toyota Intercontinental Cup, World Cup qualifying
matches for the United States and England national teams, the
ChampionsWorld Series, and numerous European and Latin American
national leagues. Domestic action on the network will feature
America's top professional league, Major League Soccer, as well
as matches from the United Soccer Leagues.
"Soccer
has long been the world's game and now it is increasingly
America's game as well," said Sternberg. "Participation rates
and attendance at soccer matches, including MLS games and
international exhibitions, have grown dramatically in the past
decade, and the United States national teams have excelled in
both the men`s and women's FIFA World Cups. We at Fox are
committed to creating the single best place for American soccer
fans, players, professional and amateur associations and
business partners to converge and share in the phenomenal
success of the sport."
Corporate
sibling FOX Sports will provide viewers an exclusive first look
at the channel during the Super Bowl XXXIX Pre-Game Show, set
for Sunday, February 6 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Following the Super
Bowl, at midnight on Monday, February 7, Fox Soccer Channel will
officially unveil all-new on-air broadcast graphics, music and
promotional messages, complemented by an extensive consumer
marketing campaign in support of the transition. The first
week's programming schedule will be highlighted by a live
telecast of the international friendly between England and
Holland on Wednesday, February 9, at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, and
a full weekend slate of seven matches from the English Premier
League, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1 and the
Argentine Torneo de Clausura.
In connection
with the transition, Fox Soccer Channel will introduce several
new programs and features, including a soccer scores ticker and
a new weekly show debuting in April called "Fox Soccer USA,"
focusing on the youth and amateur soccer scene in the United
States. Fox Soccer Channel will also continue airing its current
lineup of news and highlight programs, such as the nightly Fox
Sports World Report, Sky Sports News, Fox Football Friday and
MLS Wrap. Other global sports related to or derived from soccer,
like futsal (indoor soccer) and rugby will likewise remain part
of the network's programming mix.
Fox Soccer
Channel will also transition its Web site into Fox Soccer
Channel on MSN, accessible at
www.foxsoccer.com. The network's
site is the already the most popular on-line destination for
English-speaking soccer fans in the United States. The site
delivers comprehensive, up-to-the-minute coverage of world
soccer, including exclusive weekly columns by Fox Soccer Channel
on-air talents Bobby McMahon, Nick Webster and Sean Wheelock.
The site also links Fox Soccer Channel programming directly to
viewers with such interactive features as the Fox Sports World
Report viewer mailbag and an English Premier League fantasy
game.
Originally
launched in 1997, Fox Soccer Channel boasts close to 20 million
cable and satellite subscribers throughout the U.S. and Caribbean, and is available in each of the nation's 25 largest
media markets. Key distributors include DIRECTV, DISH Network,
Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox
Communications and Adelphia Communications, among others.
Fox Soccer
Channel is affiliated with Fox Sports International, an
international sports programming and production entity housed
within Fox Networks Group. Fox Networks Group, an operating unit
of the Fox Entertainment Group, consists of the FOX Broadcasting
Company, Fox Cable Networks, FOX Sports and Fox Networks
Engineering & Operations (FNE&O). Fox Cable Networks are
collectively seen by more than 335 million cable and satellite
television homes and include Fox Soccer Channel, FX, FSN and its
12 owned-and-operated regional sports
networks; Fox College Sports; National Geographic Channel; SPEED
Channel; Fox Sports en Espanol; Fox Movie Channel; action sports network FUEL and the upcoming Fox Reality Channel. For more
information, visit Fox Soccer Channel online at
www.foxsoccer.com.
About the National Soccer Hall
of Fame and Museum
 Located in
Oneonta, NY, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000
square foot, state-of-the-art museum in 1999. The Hall of Fame
tells the story of soccer in
America through artifacts, photographs, and video clips. The new
Hall features an extensive interactive, youth oriented Kicks
Zone where visitors have fun kicking,
heading and playing computer trivia stations and video
soccer games. The VideoWall portrays some of the greatest
moments and the greatest goals in history as well as live soccer
action with World Cup, MLS, and U.S. Soccer matches. Unique and
rare artifacts on exhibit range from the world’s oldest soccer
ball to the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy won by the USA in
1999,
Pelé's and Mia Hamm’s uniforms, Kristine Lilly’s golden
shoes, NASL championship rings, the original MLS championship
trophy, MLS gallery - it’s all at the National Soccer Hall of
Fame. In addition to the interactive Museum, the National Soccer
Hall of Fame complex boasts the
Kicks
Zone Store,
a research library, four world-class soccer fields and
office/meeting facilities. The Hall plans to add a stadium, an
indoor soccer arena and housing facilities in the future.
The mission of
the National Soccer Hall of Fame is to celebrate the history,
honor the heroes, inspire the youth and preserve the legacy of
soccer in the United States.
The National
Soccer Hall of Fame is open every day of the year, except
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Admission is $9.00 for
adults, $8.00 for students, $6.50 for children 6 or older and
senior citizens. Children 5 and under are free.
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