They have nightly shows dedicated here on Fox Sports News including daily reports from US reporter Grant Wahl
I don't think Fox can pull out of Qatar, the rights are bought and paid for. Perhaps they can resell them, but I doubt they can escape paying for them now.
The other way around, then. FIFA wants to switch the time on the calendar when the WC takes place, FOX says "hell, no" then pulls out for breach of contract, then FIFA rebids for the WC since they don't have a partner in America willing to disrupt their winter sports schedule and ESPN decides they want it back. Either way, it's the only way to avoid the suck the next two cycles. Thx, Jay!
Dare to dream! Sadly, I fear that by 2022 ESPN's world class coverage will be a distant memory for those of us in the States. Of course, we can look forward to daily segments with the FOX game picking octopus and Warren Barton explaining the offside rule with help from Homer Simpson. Our only hope is that GuJo gets thrown in a gulag in 2018.
Here's a flashback from the transition from Speed to Fox Sports One: http://deadspin.com/speed-is-dead-fox-sports-1-is-alive-and-heres-the-sa-1158620909 Curt Menefee saying they wouldn't take themselves seriously... And here's Fox Soccer transitioning into FXX...a channel which I don't believe I've watched once. Then again, what would Fox Soccer be showing if they were still around? For what little they have, Fox Sports 1 and 2 seemed to have picked it up nicely, even if they're dumbing it down, not realizing that the "average Joe" doesn't have interest in Celtic v Beşiktaş in the Champions League. http://deadspin.com/watch-fox-soccer-channel-die-in-the-most-undignified-ma-1239477201
bill hofheimer @bhofheimer_espn Members of @FOXSports production team just toured our ESPN #WorldCup set-up in Rio w/ Exec Producer @jed_drake. A good group.
You know Fox may do stupid things at times but they are not totally stupid. They see what ESPN is doing and how their ratings are through the roof. Surely they will emulate many things and in 4 years do a good job. Now, they may still have some gimmicky things going on with Simpsons cartoons and such , but I believe they will see what works this cycle and stick with those things.
Thanks for being the reason Legit got cancelled. Jim Jefferies said that if one more person had watched it, there would have been a season three. Thx, Jay!
how about the voice of Monday Night Football Mike Tirico, who recently, during an NBA broadcast, made fun of soccer for players diving (after an NBA player clearly dived/embellished to get a call). And he's the main host of espn's WC coverge? either he's doing someone at espn a favor or needed a 30 day vacation to Brasil. is he not an NFL personality?
I'd wager if FXX never came into being, it would still be running on FX. The move totally killed the shows numbers. Thx, Jay!
Perhaps. But no doubt FOX had lower ratings expectations for FXX, no? I have no idea, but my guess is the show was under performing when compared to the rest of the network. Much cheaper to plug in another Always Sunny rerun than produce a new show.
Mike Tirico and Bob Ley have been very good. If Fox wants to smarten up they could use Gus Johnson in the studio setting to keep him from play by play duties. Throw Rob Stone there too. Fox needs to find better soccer commentators. Wynalda not good enough for games clearly. Hope we get some ideas soon.
That would be a good 'face saving' move on their part, they have rather put themselves out on a limb anointing GuJo before he even had a chance to full demonstrate he is the wrong choice for lead play by play announcer. It's plausible to think he would be OK as studio host. I wouldn't pick Rob Stone for play by play. That said, the couple of times I heard him call a match back when he worked at ESPN he's was more capable than GuJo has proven to be.
Wynalda will be tolerable for USA matches. Maybe some other CONCACAF matches. That's about it in my book.
Wynalda's not good enough to have the mic at bar trivia let alone during a World Cup. He's also behaving extremely strangely lately. First the fight and then that rant.
Projecting FOX 2018 World Cup Roster - Matt Yoder - AwfulAnnouncing.com - http://awfulannouncing.com/2014/projecting-foxs-2018-world-cup-roster.html Play by Play Commentators - Gus Johnson, John Strong, Mark Rogondino, Daniel Mann, Bill Leslie. Game Analysts - Tim Howard, Brad Friedel, Alan Smith, Niall Quinn, Brian Dunseth, Jason de Vos. Studio Hosts - Rob Stone, Julie-Stewart Binks, Curt Menefee, Georgie Thompson. Studio Analysts - Eric Wynalda, Brian McBride, Warren Barton, Stuart Holden, Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler, Janusz Michallik, Ruud Gullit, Piers Morgan (?!?!)
Chances are Fox will either pick up the best of the English announcers off the international feed or hire someone off BT. I doubt they'll go with Wynalda. GuJo is, of course, the biggest fear, even with four more years of practice. The dark horses are some of the current MLS announcers, some of whom aren't that bad. BTW, Eric isn't the most stable guy out there anyway and the rant on Patrick's show was both intellectually ignorant and professionally incompetent.
By the way, when talking about Wynalda, I missed his recent suspension from the US Cup and other paranoid musings. Extra-curricular antics, following the fracas in Atlanta's fifth-round victory over the Rapids that resulted in red cards and suspension for this game of three players an assistant coach and Wynalda, continued to follow the Silverbacks on Wednesday. http://www.chicago-fire.com/news/2014/07/match-recap-atlanta-silverbacks-1-chicago-fire-3 Colorado defender Marc Burch, the only Rapids player ejected, then charged Chavez and grabbed him, setting off the melee. Chavez and Kwadwo Poku were ejected first for the Silverbacks, then former Central Gwinnett standout Borfor Carr also got a red, reportedly for using foul and abusive language. #Both head coaches and former U.S. National Team players, Eric Wynalda of the Silverbacks and Pablo Mastroeni of the Rapids, also got red cards for leaving their coaching area. Atlanta assistant Ricardo Montoya also got a red card. Wynalda also got into an argument with a Rapids fan as the left the field. http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2014/jun/25/atlanta-silverbacks-survive-five-red-cards-win-us/ The moral of the story is the better team lost,” Wynalda said. “I’ve been watching Chicago for a while, hat’s off to them, they won the game. But it’s pretty clear the referee had his inclusion in this one. I’ll probably get fined for that. http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/pro-sports/silverbacks-us-open-cup-run-ends/ngcXz/ The guy is 45 years old. These are ramblings of a mad man.
Sam Laird ✔ @samcmlaird Credit where it's due: ESPN kicked major ass with this #WorldCup. I'll miss their coverage and Fox has one hell of an act to follow in 2018. Chris LaPlaca @espn_chris It's in the books. Proud of work my @ESPN pals did to make #WorldCup2014 a game changer. Good luck to @FOXSports in 2018!