How Fox Soccer Channel Compares to Sky Sports

Looking at this weekend’s schedule of English Premiership matches, how many of them do you think are televised live in England by Sky Sports?

Let’s go through them one by one:

West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea, Saturday, 7:30am ET
West Brom desperately need to claw back some points in this match. It’s live on Fox Soccer Channel, but in the UK it’s only available on PremPlus, Sky Sports’ pay-per-view channel.

Liverpool v Charlton Athletic, Saturday, Noon ET
Liverpool jostle for who’ll end up in second place between them and Man United, Charlton have to be careful that they don’t fall deeper down the table and into relegation panic. The match will be live on Fox Soccer Channel, and only available on PremPlus in the UK.

Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers, Saturday, 3pm ET
The tape-delayed game, playing at 10am earlier that morning, is on Fox Soccer Channel but unavailable on Sky Sports. This could either be a very interesting game with a lot of end-to-end action, or it may end up being the most boring match of the season. An early goal by either team will dictate the tempo of the match.

Manchester City v Sunderland, Sunday, 1pm ET
Tape delayed again, this match kicking off at 8:30am on Sunday morning. However, the 1pm broadcast should see City cruise to victory, strengthening their challenge for a UEFA Cup spot. In the UK, the match will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 (which isn’t the pay-per-view channel).

Wigan Athletic v Manchester United, Monday, 3pm ET
This live match will give Wigan a chance for revenge after last weekend’s Carling Cup final defeat. Live on Fox Soccer Channel and Sky Sports.

Sky Sports 1 is also broadcasting the live match between Spurs and Blackburn on Sunday, available to soccer fans in North America only via pay-per-view. Saturday’s Fulham v Arsenal match, meanwhile, is available on pay-per-view for soccer fans in North America, but not available at all in the UK.

How much does PremPlus cost UK soccer fans? The lowest price I could find is 50 GBP, which is $87 US. PremPlus gives you 50 pay-per-view matches over the entire season. Is this a sign of things to come for soccer fans in the States??

For Saturday entertainment, Fox Soccer Channel rules the airwaves. On Sundays, it’s a different story as Sky Sports offers two live matches versus one delayed match on FSC. And on Monday, both sides of the pond get to watch the match live.