The future of SPEED TV

[Billy F 1988]

So, obviously, some of you may have heard the news of the arrival of the new FOX Sports 1 Network on August 17. I first like to say that according to FOX Sports themselves, this FOX Sports 1 network will not replace FOX Sports itself. You will still see football, NASCAR, UFC, and more on most of the local FOX television stations. For instance, where I live, programming airs on KTMF channel 23.2.

Not too long ago in 1996, Speedvision was born. They were covering ARCA, NASCAR regional events, F1, Grand-Am, SCCA, and the 24 hour endurace races at Le Mans and Daytona, and the 12 hour endurance race at Sebring. It then joined FOX Sports when they signed the television contracts with these organizations like NASCAR, ARCA, Grand-Am and such somewhere in 2001, and they became what is now SPEED. But in 77 days, SPEED TV may not be around much longer. Most of its programming will end up under the FOX Sports 1 banner.

Is this a good move or bad move on FOX Sports to replace SPEED's motorsports coverage with FOX Sports 1? I see there's a SPEED 2, so I guess if you still want to see SPEED programming, that may be the channel to go over to once FOX Sports 1 launches on 8/17. Then again, I doubt if SPEED 2 will survive being absorbed by FOX Sports 1.

[SP Cook]

You are not going to lose any motor sports programming, it is just getting moved around as a part of a major reshuffle of Fox's cable channels.

First, there are no plans for a "SPEED 2".  I don't know where you got that from.

Just before this football season, the following reshuffle will go off:

SPEED will become Fox Sports 1, with NASCAR, MLB, college football and basketball, and other major sports.

FUEL (currently an "extreme sports" channel) will become Fox Sports 2, with non-NASCAR motor sports, extreme sports, soccer, and less popular sports.

FX will remain FX, but will no longer carry any sports, nor any original series, and will compete with USA and TNT with recent network drama reruns.

Fox Soccer Channel will become FXX, which will pick up the original series from FX and show recent comedy reruns, aiming at the "18 to 35" market.

Fox Movie Channel will become FX Movies, which will be show more recent movies, with the pre-1970 20th Century Fox library sold off to other rerun channels.

You local Fox station (the one you can get free over the air) and, if you live in an area where this applies, your local Fox Sports regional (Fox Sports Ohio in my case) remain as is.

Fox is also launching Fox Sports GO, an app and website which will show all Fox sports channels (for a price).

The only programming currently on SPEED that has no home is the Barrett-Jackson auto auction, which is an infomercial (they are paid to carry it) which will probably find its way to a new (not Fox owned) channel called "MAV" which launces June 12th.

[bugo]

The only thing on Speed that I like to watch is the Barrett-Jackson automobile auctions.  Hopefully they will remain on the air.

[1995hoo]

I haven't watched SPEED since they lost F1. Reading the channel listing above makes me interested in seeing how this affects my programming on DirecTV. I don't pay the premium for FOX Soccer Channel now. Wonder if we might net out more sports programming as a result of all this.

[SP Cook]

I haven't watched SPEED since they lost F1. Reading the channel listing above makes me interested in seeing how this affects my programming on DirecTV. I don't pay the premium for FOX Soccer Channel now. Wonder if we might net out more sports programming as a result of all this.

The change in formats technically voids all agreements (a studio cannot sign up cable or DBS companies to carry the "all Green Acres reruns channel" and then change it to the "all WW2 hygiene film channel" and still force the company to carry it on the same terms), but the most likely scenario is that FS1 will be in the same packages as ESPN (which is to say  the basic package).  FS2 will probably be in the "sports pack".   FXX, FXM and FX will be in the same packages as TNT, USA, TCM, etc (which is to say the "plus package" which is the one the vast majority of customers get. 

In any event, yes you will get much more sports, just out of FS1, as it (and FS2) have committed to a "no infomercials" format (excepting the 1AM to 5AM ET deadtime) and will do a SportsCenter clone, but without all the shucking and jiving, and will the same amount of NASCAR, a new contract for even more national MLB, and college sports from CUSA, the Pac 12 and the Big 12. 

The B-J programming will find some channel willing to take their money.  Somebody still takes Ron Popeel's money for his infomericals.

[Billy F 1988]

You are not going to lose any motor sports programming, it is just getting moved around as a part of a major reshuffle of Fox's cable channels.

First, there are no plans for a "SPEED 2".  I don't know where you got that from.

Just before this football season, the following reshuffle will go off:

SPEED will become Fox Sports 1, with NASCAR, MLB, college football and basketball, and other major sports.

FUEL (currently an "extreme sports" channel) will become Fox Sports 2, with non-NASCAR motor sports, extreme sports, soccer, and less popular sports.

FX will remain FX, but will no longer carry any sports, nor any original series, and will compete with USA and TNT with recent network drama reruns.

Fox Soccer Channel will become FXX, which will pick up the original series from FX and show recent comedy reruns, aiming at the "18 to 35" market.

Fox Movie Channel will become FX Movies, which will be show more recent movies, with the pre-1970 20th Century Fox library sold off to other rerun channels.

You local Fox station (the one you can get free over the air) and, if you live in an area where this applies, your local Fox Sports regional (Fox Sports Ohio in my case) remain as is.

Fox is also launching Fox Sports GO, an app and website which will show all Fox sports channels (for a price).

The only programming currently on SPEED that has no home is the Barrett-Jackson auto auction, which is an infomercial (they are paid to carry it) which will probably find its way to a new (not Fox owned) channel called "MAV" which launces June 12th.

Well, how I got SPEED 2 is that if you go to SPEEDTV.com, and look where the "FOX Sports Digital" box is at the top, you'll see links to FOX Sports, Scout, Fuel, Yardbarker Network (don't know what this one is), FOX Soccer and then at the end, SPEED 2. I happened to have discovered that when I visited SPEEDTV.com. I first thought that when FS1 launches, SPEED 2 would carry it, but then, at the end, I said " I doubt if SPEED 2 will survive being absorbed by FOX Sports 1." which is to say that SPEED 1 and 2 are being absorbed altogether by FS1.

[apeman33]

The auto auctions would have a logical home on Velocity, if it weren't for the fact that that channel has begin to drift on occasion from being exclusively about all things automotive.

[ctsignguy]

Thing is, who will carry the 24-hour races at LeMans and Daytona now? 

(it was actually fun watching the breaking of dawn while watching the LeMans race this past summer....it reminded me of those days in my youth when it was a race to get back home from my college GF's house before my parents woke up! )