Way to view English football in USA?

Both Dish Network and Direct TV have FSW in their advanced packages, like the Top 150 or 180 whatever. It's not in the basic packaging.

 

You are never going to find a satellite that has Sky Sports in North America (yet). The Satellite is positioned over the UK, with you being able to pick up the signal (although not as strong) only as far as north west Africa. The Signal from the Sky satellite is just not being broadcast to North America, as they do not sell subscribtions there.

or something similar to that.

 

Get a huge telescope!

 

FOX Sports World (owned by the same company as Sky Sports) shows some EPL games, others air on pay-per-view. Check soccertv.com for listings of the FSW games, the PPV games air live at 10:00 ET on Saturday and 11:00 ET on Sunday.

You get the "international" feed for EPL, while the Sky feed is typically used for FA Cup and England matches.

 

Fans able to see more matches

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Premier League is expanding its television presence in the United States, but there are no plans to play regular-season games outside England.
The Premier League and Fox Sports World announced a three-year contract Wednesday that calls for more telecasts in North America. At the same time, the network announced a four-year deal with the English Football Association to broadcast games of England's national team and the FA Cup.


English clubs have played exhibition games in the United States with increasing frequency - Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are coming this summer. At the same time, major league baseball, the NBA and the NHL have expanded their international presence, moving regular-season games to Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said his league's regular-season games would remain in England.

"It's about attending at the stadium, first and foremost,'' he said. "The idea that those matches would take place elsewhere is pretty unthinkable.''

His deal with Fox, a division of News Corp., calls for the addition of 12:15 p.m. Saturday (5:15 p.m. in England) live telecasts, in addition to the 7:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. in England) games under the previous deal. There will be about 195 games televised a season, an increase of about 15. Fox, which began broadcasting the league in 1998, also has the Premier League rights for its Spanish-language network.

David Sternberg, Fox Cable Networks' senior vice president of emerging networks, said it had not yet been determined how many games would be shown on Fox Sports World, which is available in about 20 million homes, and how many would be sold pay-per-view - last Saturday's FA Cup final was available live in New York City households for $24.95.

Included in the deal with the FA are rights to England's home qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 European Championship. Nic Coward, the FA's director of corporate and legal affairs, said the agreement was "an attempt to turn England into America's second team.''

Fox's news conference was held in a Manhattan soccer bar, and the English officials brought along the FA Cup, won Saturday by Manchester United.

The network holds U.S. rights to the top leagues in England, Spain and France, and also has rights to the UEFA Cup, Europe's No. 2 club tournament. ESPN, a division of The Walt Disney Co., televises the top tournament, the Champions League, which plays on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Sternberg said the timing of Champions League games -- midweek afternoons in the United States -- was a problem.

"From a commercial standpoint, it's a tough square to circle,'' he said.

 

Looks like one of the higher ups in Fox want to take action. Too bad ESPN's contract with CL hasn't expired.

 

Actually, I don't believe it would ever be legally possible to offer Sky Sports to an American audience. I believe that all companies transmitting TV to a US audience must be limited to a 25% foreign stake. BBC America, for example, is owned mostly by the Discovery Channel with BBC owning the maximum allowed foreign stake. I believe the US version of Deutsche-Welle is similiarly structured. Fox Sports World essentially amounts to the same thing, though- using Sky Sports coverage and news transmitted via a US owned company.

 

Sky Sports is a part of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, it would not be a problem for them to work something out.

 

I think they already have and it's called Fox Sports World. I was just pointing out that a straight feed direct from Sky will never be possible.

 

Not to mention that it is unlikely FSW would be able to persuade any of the official sponsors save perhaps Adidas to buy ads, not even for Spanish-language coverage.

Odds are, Setanta Sport will get exclusive Champions League rights once ESPN's current deal expires in two seasons.