Love it or hate it, Fox Soccer Channel is the number one source for Premier League matches on U.S. television. Sure it could be better. But I don’t believe it’s ever going to be Sky Sports or BBC, or even ESPN. But what it does do is provide essential viewing for soccer fans throughout the United States. Without it, our lives would be completely different, at least for most of us who are addicted to watching the beautiful game.
But no matter how important Fox Soccer Channel is to the Premier League viewing experience in the States, there is room for improvement.
Here’s my top 7 ways that I believe Fox Soccer Channel can be improved. And one of them isn’t that it needs to convince Comcast to carry Fox Soccer Channel in HD or Fox Soccer Plus, no matter how much I wish that would come true!
- Remove the fluff. It’s time to remove the shows that may be good filler, but they’re not worth watching. Shows such as Football Superstar, Football Asia, J-League Highlights and Fox Soccer Match Day,
- Reduce the number of reruns. Not counting the new episode each night, Fox Soccer Report is scheduled to rerun 21 times next week. There are a few other shows that don’t need to rerun as much too, such as the Premier League Review Show, but they’re currently not rerun nearly as much as Fox Soccer Report is.
- Provide must-see programming outside of the actual games. There are some weeks where I’m watching very little Fox Soccer Channel outside of the actual Premier League and Champions League games. But sometimes there is very little reason to watch. I admire Fox’s decision to show the Premier League Archives (classic games from the past decade), but there must be a ton of programming out there that would be worth buying. What about the US rights to the Brian Clough documentary? What about 101 Great Goals or 501 Great Goals? What about old episodes of Match Of The Day? What about old NASL games? There must be hundreds of hours of footage available of quality programming and it doesn’t have to be modern.
- Create a show around Bobby McMahon. Fox Soccer Channel’s most valuable asset isn’t featured on the network as much as he should. The man is a walking talking soccer encyclopedia, who is also affable and someone you’d want to listen to or watch for hours.
- Tap more into Premier League Productions. The much hyped programming available from Premier League Productions hasn’t been seen yet, at least not a lot of it. The production quality of the actual games and pre- and post-match have been improved, but Premier League Productions was supposed to offer networks such as Fox Soccer Channel access to tens of hours of additional programming centered around the Premier League. The US audience would eat this up, if given an opportunity.
- Start games earlier to create more excitement. The way Fox opened up this past Sunday’s Liverpool against Chelsea match was a shame. The announcer had approximately 30 seconds to run through the team line-ups and to send the viewer over to Anfield for Peter Drury and Efan Ekoku to call the game. It was rushed and didn’t create the excitement or pre-match analysis that the game deserved. But Fox had the problem of trying to squeeze the Rome derby in from 9am-11am ET and then squeeze some commercials in before the Liverpool match started. So the rush was understandable. But what isn’t understandable is how Fox does the same thing for its Saturday 10am ET game and other Premier League games it shows. Dump Fox Soccer Match Day and use that time for a true pre-match buildup. And use the full coverage from the international feed which typically begins ten to twenty minutes before the actual game kicks off. And after the game, how about including the post-match interviews with the manager?
Change Super Sunday + into a call-in show. I’ll give Fox Soccer Channel credit for trying to make Super Sunday + work. The show is a lot less stiff than Fox Soccer Match Day and, as a result, is more watchable. But the format of the show is all wrong. The time the show airs, immediately after the 11am ET Premier League match of the week, is perfect for a call-in show where fans can call him and debate the personalities on-air, as well as to discuss the other major stories from the weekend from all of the sports. But it needs to be caller-driven. Make it more interactive. Make it punchier. Make it must-see television.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with any of the above recommendations, or do you have ideas of your own of how to improve Fox Soccer Channel? Post them in the comments section below.
Thanks to EvertonfanKY for suggesting the topic as part of the EPL Talk Readers Choice Month. For the month of November, EPL Talk will be writing articles on topics that you choose. It’s part of EPL Talk’s celebrations of its five-year anniversary. Feel free to suggest your own article ideas today. And we’ll try to publish as many of them as we can between now and the end of the month.
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John
November 24, 2010 at 12:00 am
The most important thing you say is about Bobby McMahon being the most important voice in soccer today. I haven’t watched him in a while, but I will. I was watching him a lot. McMahon really knows how to cover the sport of soccer.
Shots On Goal
November 16, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Agree with points made above:
1. Live games should be live. It’s annoying seeing scores updated online before goals appear on the broadcast.
2. Those of us are on U-verse are stuck without FSP or FSC-HD. (Can we get them, please!) So moving the A-League highlights (and games) to FSP is a loss.
and …
it seems there used to be more international games broadcast during the FIFA windows. What happened to those?
Mike
November 11, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Stacy, You hit the nail on the head with one word: Cheap.
It’s poor production standards, bad sets, dim lighting and lousy on-air talent. At least ESPN has the sense to hire English broadcasters or buy feeds from England.
FSC had one talented character in Steven Cohen and they couldn’t find a way to work together. Regardless of who’s fault it is, Cohen needs to get back to FSC.
http://bit.ly/bv1ING
Stacy Richardson
November 11, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I don’t believe FSC reruns the Premier League Review Show too much. If you check this week’s listings, yeah, it’s on quite a bit, but in part that’s because there’s a rare midweek edition of the program this time around.
Here is what I like about FSC: (1) they air football matches; and (2) Bobby McMahon.
Here is what I don’t like about FSC: everything else. Their presentation of pre-game, post-game, and ancillary programming is execrable and the way they butcher the games by joining the international feed in-progress-and-delayed is absolutely unforgivable.
FSC’s so-called talent is unworthy of working in a market the size of Fort Smith, Arkansas, or to put it another way, none of these guys are worthy of appearing on any national programming service.
FSC needs to quit butchering the game feeds, needs to spend some money on talent, and needs to make wise choices concerning the money they spend, if they ever do so, which I will believe when I see it.
When it comes to televised sports, Fox Soccer Channel is a cheap joke.
Sir Guy
November 11, 2010 at 1:23 pm
As a follow-up to my earlier comment about ESPN’s lack of commitment to soccer in the U.S., I give you today’s “1st and Ten” on ESPN2.
They spent a full five minutes ridiculing an Irish Soccer League own goal with continuous snide/laughing remarks about the lack of fans, lack of stands, quality of play, etc. It went on and on and on.
The corporate mentality toward soccer at ESPN is still very negative. They could put a stop to that nonsense if they wished. At least FSC loves soccer!!
Lizzy
November 11, 2010 at 4:33 am
I would also say adhere to timing…Many a times we wait in front of the television but in vain
Chris
November 11, 2010 at 1:37 am
– too much graphical overload
– too much bottom line
– too much filler not enough football
– too much soccer.com , worldsoccershop.com, whoareyadesigns.com, budweiser, and slyvania ads during the game.
sucka99
November 11, 2010 at 5:26 am
i think they’re the only ones willing to advertise!
Sir Guy
November 11, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Yeah, I wouldn’t be complaining about them. They are the reason we get to watch in the first place. If FSC doesn’t make some money somewhere we’re looking at a test pattern. ProActiv and Bosley during halftime aren’t enough!
Chris
November 11, 2010 at 2:40 pm
ya but every two minutes there is some pop up ad. not acceptable.
Chris
November 11, 2010 at 2:41 pm
ya but every two minutes there is some pop up ad. not acceptable. i purposely avoid those sites now.
Sir Guy
November 11, 2010 at 3:21 pm
So you bite the hand that feeds FSC and makes it possible for them to bid on and broadcast the matches? Well, OK………
William
November 10, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Long time reader, First time replier
I’m just wondering why FSC never shows the international feed for its EPL games, while FSP does. I personally perfer the international feed because it feels untouched, and the production is great, also the little VS stats is great, percentage of the pitch used, stuff like that is welcoming imo
But Yeah im wondering why does FSC NOT use the INT feed and FSP does??
SSReporters
November 11, 2010 at 12:22 am
Uhhhhhh FSC does use the international feed for it’s EPL games. Unless you’re saying FSP does use the clean feed and not Nick Webster butting in for 30 pointless seconds.
kobashi
November 10, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Air Sky Sports News on FSC at 7pm. I’m one of those guys that watches SportsCenter from 6pm to 7p and would flip it to FSC at 7p for Sky Sports News. It was appointment viewing for me as I would get my New American sports news at 6p and would get my fill of International sports news at 7p. It makes sense to me to run first run news programming on the main channel over 1/2 hour clipped highlighted games. More households get FSC than FSP and I would think that soccer fans don’t want to wait till 10pm to get their news for the day.
Speaking of clips, hire young film makers out of UCLA’s film school or find other young aspiring film makers in Hollywood to produce video shorts and features for shows like the Fox Soccer Report, the pregame/postgame shows, and hype commercials. I like watching ESPN’s production because it is much slicker and they do a better job at producing pieces like the feature they ran today at half time about United doing a number on City in injury time last year.
And I agree with Chris that FSC has to do a better job at getting more programming from Sky and Premier League Productions. I still haven’t read anything from anyone that has ever watched the Premier League’s 24 hour channel that is available to people in Dubai or other territories around the world that get the channel. Is Fox or any other broadcaster going to make a deal to show this programming to fans here in the States? Could you guys maybe try and get Georgie Bingham on a podcast to do an interview to talk about the network since she works there or even John Dykes who is one of the lead personalities having left his job in Asia as the face of the Premiership there to work for the league itself?
andrew
November 10, 2010 at 9:21 pm
4, 6, and 7 all the way. But I’m not gonna hate on FSC. I grew up with it, and I like its coverage. A good mix between sky and Ray Hudson.
Go epltalk
SSReporters
November 10, 2010 at 6:38 pm
STOP GIVING BRIAN DUNSETH PLAY BY PLAY!!!!!! Is there anyone with a worse voice than him in broadcasting? He also talks way too much.
I don’t even know where to begin with Fox Soccer Channel. They need a revamp badly when they aren’t showing games live.
Eric
November 14, 2010 at 8:42 pm
PLUS A MILLION! I have to put the TV on mute cause of his 100 word vocabulary.
Manuel
November 10, 2010 at 3:41 pm
More original programming such as shows related to the sport perhaps about the business and player topics or even some more dramas like Dream Team perhaps Footballers Wives for the ladies. What about showing movies and documentaries like the Goal! triology, Damned United, Kicking It, etc. I think to increase their audience attention they need to incorporate more non-match programming so viewers are tuning in to see something else other then a match and still be interested.
Jean-Christian
November 10, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Disappointed to see “remove J-League Highlights / Football Asia” among your hypothetical options. Not only are those shows enjoyable, but they are good ways for fans to expand their horizons. I’d far rather watch them than many Premier League matchups.
Joey
November 10, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Preaching to the choir, Jean-Christian. It basically comes down to which of us are open-minded about soccer as a global sport and which of us think we know what’s best without experiencing the rest. It’s especially sad when Americans will yak and yak about the EPL while their own local MLS teams get no love. Think globally, act locally!
The Gaffer
November 10, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Joey, I also run MLS Talk and help promote the domestic league there. Unfortunately the closest MLS team from my home in Florida is DC United, 1,000 miles away.
I’m definitely open minded and watch other leagues around the world. It’s just in this particular case, I didn’t think it’s worthwhile Fox keeping J League and Football Asia, but if there are enough people to prove me wrong through the ratings, then I stand corrected.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Dave C
November 10, 2010 at 3:27 pm
A lot of people have chimed in already, so I doubt I can add much, but here are some general thoughts:
(a) I won’t try to suggest that FSC should cater specifically to my EPL-centered tastes, since it’s a general soccer channel, not just an EPL channel, and some people do actually like the J-league, A-league, college soccer, womens’ soccer etc.
(b) However, I do suggest that whatever matches they show, they should really focus on improving the presentation of the games. ALL games should be preceded by a 15-30 minute preview show to generate some interest. Explain the standings of the two teams, what the competition is, line-ups, tactics, any points of interest etc.
I hate the way FSC just jumps straight into the action with no pre-game show. Personally, I might be more inclined to watch the J-league, or college soccer or whatever, if I was a bit better informed – eg if one team is hoping to snatch the championship, or if player x is returning to his former team, or if there is a historic rivalry between the two teams, or if there is a specific individual duel to watch out for, etc etc.
EvertonfanKy
November 10, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Great Article thanks gaffer. Im sitting here on the computer at the moment waiting for Everton v Bolton to start on ESPN3 via Xbox Live. They was showing some pictures from Goodison Park as they was testing there on screen graphics and then there was some pictures of Bolton walking into there dressing room and Hibbert and Saha arriving into the Everton dressing room. Then a test card appeared with how long for the game to start. You don’t see that with FSC.
Here is my suggestions.
1 FSC please give all your games to ESPN. At least we can watch them on ESPN3.com via XBOX.
2 Show live feeds from Sky Sports and please get rid of Christina Miles and Warren Barton.
3 More Sky Sports News.
4 Improve your SD picture quality on FSC+
5 Im paying $15 a month for FSC+ give me free foxsoccer.tv and get RID OF YOU ANNOYIING ON SCREEN ADVERTS.
6 Show Soccer AM
7 Start games on time and show the whole internatinal feed.
sucka99
November 11, 2010 at 5:24 am
ESPN3 will show the full International feed because they don’t want to do any production. And your desire for ESPN to get all the games so “we” can watch on Xbox is lovely … for people with Xboxes.
I was forced to watch the Arsenal game on ESPN3 and for almost 20 minutes there was no sound and the PQ was shit for half the game.
But I agree with Soccer AM and Sky Sports (preferably at 6am). I’d also like to see they’re Sunday paper round-up show.
EvertonfanKy
November 11, 2010 at 7:29 am
ESPN3 is great for me on the XBOX and on my monitor in full screen mode.
Mike in Idaho
November 10, 2010 at 2:33 pm
+1 for showing games live. I DVRd a AC Milan/Juventus game off of FSC a couple of weeks ago and they started the game so late that I missed the end because my recording ran out. That is inexcusable! Although since DirecTV started carrying FSC in HD, I’ve had remarkably little to complain about lately.
Mike
November 10, 2010 at 1:14 pm
There needs to be a higher level of professionalism all around. The pre-game shows, if you can call them that, are abysmal and Fox Soccer Report, sorry, is not much better. There are poor production values, the sets are dark and the hosts often unintelligable or incompetent. Fox Football Fone-In was the best talk/highlight show on the channel and it needs to come back in some form.
As for it being an EPL channel, I’d much rather have a predominantly EPL schedule than the stuff they show from Asia, or God forbid, college soccer from the U.S.
And please, someone rescue La Liga games from GolTV; now that’s poor production.
http://bit.ly/aG3aJt
Clampdown
November 10, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Re: La Liga … only if Ray Hudson comes along, too!
Re: college soccer … you’d be surprised, but ratings for the college games are apparently way up.
Mike
November 10, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Clampdown, I am surprised to hear that about college games. It’s not bad soccer, but if you’re not invested in either of the teams, or don’t know the players, what’s the point? I’d much rather have professional football content. Just my 2 cents.
And yes, Ray Hudson must come along. Agreed 100%
Clampdown
November 10, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I can only speculate regarding the college matches that it is largely MLS fans who are watching, considering so many players come through the college ranks. Or perhaps diehards of the US Men’s National Team, looking for potential players.
I must admit, I’ve watched a few matches this season and enjoyed it. Though, I’m not likely to be a regular watcher.
Clampdown
November 10, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Add me to the chorus of people who actually like the J-League highlights show and would like to see FSC show full matches from that league. The quality of play is decent, and the stadiums are packed and energetic. I also would love if FSC showed matches from other leagues, though I can’t say I’d want to watch the lower divisions in England.
Chelsea MPLS
November 10, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I pray that ESPN creates a soccer only channel and get the all the rights to EPL, Championship, and other lower leagues.
Nathan Low
November 10, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Get rid of that Irish bartender 😛
Brandon
November 10, 2010 at 11:53 am
Anyone have this happen to them during the broadcast?
I have Time Warner Cable.
About 6 times a game the action goes into slow-motion for about 2 seconds before it skips ahead exactly one minute. It happens like ever 11 minutes or so. Incredibly frustrating.
Does that sound like a Fox Soccer thing? or a Time Warner also sucks in this way sort of thing?
Also I would like to at least get to the game for the Squad lineups. I spend the first two minutes trying to decipher the lineups and formations.
it is
November 10, 2010 at 11:41 am
I heard a good point a few posts earlier about Championship games. What is the drawback to a channel like FSC from getting the rights to show more of this league? Because as I start to get more in depth with the sport, I’m wanting to watch teams like QPR, Cardiff, Leeds, Swansea, Notts Forest, Burnley, and so on in games that are of some really great quality. Especially now that a handful of teams have been up and down from the Premier League in the past few years (Hull, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Burnley, Derby, Reading) it would be nice to see their fight to get back up or prevent dropping even further.
v.FIOS
November 10, 2010 at 11:31 am
FOX has proven once again their not capable of providing QUALITY football to the masses…still hoping ESPN has a separate football/international channel for us in the US
it is
November 10, 2010 at 11:42 am
Unlikely. You are more likely to see ESPN shuffle most games onto ESPN3 if one of the big four teams are not playing.
Sir Guy
November 10, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I don’t think ESPN is all that committed to soccer in the U.S. They’ll continue to let FSC do all the licensing slog work then pay FSC for whatever they can pick up. It lets them keep their foot in the door without going out on any financial limbs.
The ratings for the EPL on ESPN are basically no better (big matches aside) than what they get for their pre-cannned outdoor shows. Until soccer rocks their world financially speaking you can expect ESPN to stay well clear of any independent bidding for EPL rights.
sucka99
November 10, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Yes – like they’re doing to the Arsenal match today. Online only. 🙁
Phenoum
November 10, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Personally I’m thrilled that the Arsenal match is on espn3!
It means I dont have to resort to nefarious means to watch it live at work, but rather can come home and know that it’s available on demand via my xbox360 🙂 The only thing better is if FSC or ESPN carries it and my DVR grabs it.
So I get a full day of productive work done, and get to enjoy a brew with the game tonight 🙂
Sir Guy
November 10, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Does that mean you won’t be checking in on the live blog this afternoon? 😉
colneyblog
November 11, 2010 at 1:55 pm
sucka99-
if you have YES network you can catch a replay of most of arsenal’s game in HD too. they also show a lot of arsenal tv programs arsenal 360 & arsenal world. i believe the wolves games is on tonight at 8et/7ct
Phenoum
November 11, 2010 at 2:00 pm
I’ve been exposed to the YES network only through feeds in sopcast via myp2p. I’m not a baseball fan at all, but if they had an online offering of their streams I’d gladly pay for it – sounds right up my alley 🙂
Chris
November 10, 2010 at 11:10 am
1. HD on all major providers (selfishly I’ll say especially FIOS)
2. Americans Abroad TV program.
3. I actually wish they would run the Premier League show more than once on Sunday nights.
Ringo
November 10, 2010 at 11:36 am
Yes, HD on FiOS would be my number one request.
sucka99
November 11, 2010 at 5:13 am
Hmm you know GolTV used to have an American Soccer show with a panel of Schoen, Hudosn and one other guy where they’d talk about Americans Abroad and MLS and USL and a bit of college soccer. It’s the kind of thing that was probably better suited for a podcast.
Jleau
November 10, 2010 at 11:08 am
Just show more soccer. Games from the Championship and Ligue 1 would be great instead of all the rerun games.
A pre/post match show from the international feed for the biggest game of the day would also be great.
JXU
November 10, 2010 at 10:55 am
I like the J-League show. (It would be nice to see an actual match, occasionally.)
I think the best way they could supplement their programming is to offer more matches from the lower divisions of England. Championship, League 1, League 2, and Blue Square Premier League. I’m sure that League 1 and below could be had for a song. Add more FA Cup and League Cup matches. Add Scottish and French football, and license whatever Bundesliga, Dutch, and Spanish matches that aren’t being shown in the U.S. from the rights-holders.
English-language coverage of the Mexican Primera.
In the summer months: Show more international matches, and fill in the rest with USL, NASL, and PDL matches (again, cheap stuff). Also, there is alot of MLS that gets shown on other channels, that they could license. Also, the US Open Cup runs in the summer, and there’s alot of matches associated with that.
Is there an MLS-specific highlight show, anywhere?? I don’t know of one.
All of the above seems obvious, to me. I suspect that they don’t do it because they know we’ll subscribe just to get the EPL matches, and they don’t need to pay for anything else to get our $$$.
Ivan
November 10, 2010 at 9:31 am
START THE “LIVE” GAMES ON TIME!!!I AM SICK OF 3 TO 5 MINUTE DELAY ON “LIVE” GAMES! I had to use caps. Hopefully,Fox Soccer pundits reads this blog. This is amateurish and plain unprofessional of FSC. Live means live. Are the people working at FSC plain idiots or do they have a reason for delaying the broadcast of “live” games every time???
I don’t mind J-League and Football Asia shows and do watch it on occasion.
A Bobby McMahon show is a must. The guy knows his football and is very much underutilized by FSC.
Yes, FSC should buy documentaries as suggested by the Gaffer.
There’s still an amateur feel about the in-house programming. Can’t they buy the stuff from Sky Sports?
I sorely miss Pat Dolan’s punditry from Setanta. The guy was priceless. The Setanta Friday Football Show and Mondal show w/ the live audience were pure quality…FSC still has a long way to go to get there…Fox Football Phone-in was at least watchable, and now it is also gone…amateurs…
Drew M.
November 10, 2010 at 9:04 am
It’d be nice if the programmers would take their audiences into account when selling ad time. Watching FSC on Comcast, we’re treated to commercial after commercial for Proactiv. I’m not sure what the crossover is between football fans and girls with pimply backs, but I suspect it’s not as large as the advertisers seem to think.
Also, a bit more enthusiasm would be nice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA6kSTWq318
Pooly
November 10, 2010 at 9:18 am
Great vid! hahaha!
Rod
November 10, 2010 at 8:32 am
The Fox people really need to go to England to see the pre-game and post-game tv programs that are run there. Instead of replicating those kinds of programs perhaps they can just stream them in live. When I’m in England and not attending a game, watching those programs proves to be highly entertaining and informative.
Rabble Rouser
November 10, 2010 at 8:31 am
So you just want your own little EPL channel? Some of us enjoy soccer from other parts of the world and are grateful for the J League and Football Asia shows and the A League and wish they would show more variety instead of rehashing the EPL 100 times.
I know it’s their bread and butter, but you need a little more than bread and butter to survive.
The Gaffer
November 10, 2010 at 9:03 am
I didn’t say to get rid of the A League. But I’m not a big fan of the J League or Football Asia. Fox Soccer Channel is already an EPL channel.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
colneyblog
November 11, 2010 at 1:51 pm
epl games might get the most ratings but it’s a soccer channel after all not an english soccer channel. The previous poster has a valid point, to say they should get rid of A-league games is not fair to viewers who watch those programs.
The Gaffer
November 11, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I say keep the A-League. I just didn’t think Football Asia or J-League games were worthwhile based on what I would think would be low ratings for those.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
sucka99
November 10, 2010 at 9:37 am
look at the ratings. the don’t need any more than their bread and butter.
Joey
November 10, 2010 at 3:03 pm
In response to the idea that Fox Soccer Channel is an EPL Channel: FSC shoes college games, MLS games, Serie A, Champions League, not to mention the “fluff” shows (as you have described them).
Saying that FSC is an EPL channel is kind of like saying America is a white person’s country. I’m not accusing you of being bigoted. What I’m doing is pointing out that you and people who like EPL are not the only people who watch FSC. I like EPL. I also like the fact that soccer is a global game, and I hope FSC maintains and expands its commitment to providing a worldwide view of soccer.
Pooly
November 10, 2010 at 8:25 am
#9 – Bring back Lara Baldesarra
I know she quit on her own, but Lara Baldesarra was so much more entertaining and fun to watch compared to the others on the Fox Soccer Report.
sucka99
November 10, 2010 at 9:36 am
yes – one thing FSC needs is people who know less about the leagues and how to pronounce names.
jeneria
November 10, 2010 at 10:04 am
Sometimes watching Fox Soccer Report is an exercise in futility. They stumble over their lines, can’t pronounce names, and the women newscasters are clearly only there because they look good. They have the one woman broadcaster who’s really good, the two that suck, the Irish guy who’s good, and then the other three male dorks. It’s like watching a small-town Canadian news broadcast (which I have done many times).
sucka99
November 10, 2010 at 12:53 pm
The two who suck have left and the one who is good returned after being away for 4 years working with Toronto FC.
colneyblog
November 11, 2010 at 1:49 pm
get rid of Kyle martino, can’t pronounce names and provides no new insight. just glosses over cliched points. same with christian miles, pronunciation of players names is just horrible.
Hank Sperka
November 10, 2010 at 8:10 am
#8 – Dump Christian Miles.
He is lifeless, adds little value to the educated viewer (yeah, we know who Steven Gerrard is), and his pre-game show is rather dull. No offense to him as a person; he seems like a nice guy.
Rzod
November 12, 2010 at 11:03 pm
It’s not Miles who is the problem. Look who they give him as broadcast partners: Lifeless muppets. If you’re going to get former players, how about some with personalities!
Joey
November 10, 2010 at 7:51 am
As I’ve come to expect when reading about the GLORIOUS epl, one cannot avoid condescension and hypocritical thinking.
In the run up to your list you mentioned how Fox Soccer Channel is essential for those of us who are addicted to soccer. I can’t argue that point.
Then you go on to call “Football Asia” and “J-League Highlights” fluff. I have friends who are from Asia and just as passionate about soccer as any toothless twit on an Anfield Saturday. And one thing they do not get to do on American television is watch the teams from where they grew up. Those shows which you call fluff are providing soccer-obsessed Asians with a way to keep up with the leagues of their home country.
I’m sorry if the AFC Champions League, J-League, or K-League don’t make you wet your pants like a Gareth Bale run or a Rooney slut scandal. Could you turn off the TV and do something else for an hour?
No, we all need to give in to your particular obsession with the same-teams-up, same-teams-down year-in-year-out EPL.
Jake Islas
November 10, 2010 at 11:17 am
This is EPL Talk
it is
November 10, 2010 at 11:35 am
In case the point wasn’t stated strongly enough, THIS IS EPL TALK!
Sir Guy
November 10, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I think Joey is simply noting that the article is about FSC, not the EPL. His point is valid with regard to “other” content, though one may disagree with him about its value.
Personally, with NCAA football and rugby already on my schedule I don’t have time for or interest in anything other than the EPL. FSC could strip everything else away and I wouldn’t care a bit. It’s all garbage to me.
What FSC could do is improve its live match broadcast/production quality. There are times the picture is so lousy I swear I’ve got a pair of rabbit ears on my TV. Since this occurs with no other station I have to assume the problem lies with FSC. They should be able to do better.
Jake Islas
November 10, 2010 at 7:50 am
Right now, my one and only wish for them to improve is putting FSC in HD for U-Verse and giving us Fox Soccer Plus, it’s a disgrace that U-verse doesn’t have either by now.
BBC
November 10, 2010 at 8:10 am
So frustrating
Chris
November 10, 2010 at 9:51 am
Jake I am in the same boat with Cablevision! I spend my weeks praying that ESPN2 has a good match to show on Sat mornings just for the HD. To be honest I could get by without FS+ but not having HD for FSC that is killer!
Jake Islas
November 10, 2010 at 8:15 pm
U-Verse is far and away the best television service there is, miles better than both cable and satellite, so I refuse to get another service, it just kills me that they won’t do this!
sucka99
November 11, 2010 at 5:14 am
far and away? They have such a small offering of channels and you can’t watch more than 2 HDTVs at the same time.
csb059
November 11, 2010 at 10:35 am
Not true. I have Uverse and I can watch 4 HD TVs at the same time.
sucka99
November 11, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Well consider yourself lucky. In my area that’s not the case.
csb059
November 11, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Sucka – Your place of residence may be too far away from the VRAD to obtain more than 2HD but 32/5 profile has been rolled out to all areas. Right now they are completing the update that will change WAN profile for 32/5 customers from 1SD/3HD to 0SD/4HD. Also, by the end of the year all STB will have trick play functionality (pause/rew live TV). Very much looking forward to that update.
colneyblog
November 11, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I’ve been writing to uverse every week and they still won’t add FSC HD yet they add 2 HD channels of Lifetime and Cartoon Network. I think more people should write, maybe just maybe they would do something about it
dan
November 10, 2010 at 7:42 am
Sadly, you didn’t include starting games on time, instead of running several minutes behind live when the same broadcast is running on schedule on FSE.
It’s beyond a joke now, but the lowlight remains the Aston Villa vs Chelsea FA Cup semi final when they ran a full *7 minutes* behind live. Unacceptable in 2010 when we are receiving a live stream via Twitter and live blogs, and obviously something that’s being completely ignored by the execs.
Sundays are the worst. Just last Sunday, they were unable to start the Lazio v Roma game on time, despite nothing but hours of paid programming preceding it. Switch over to FSE and the game was running almost 2 minutes ahead. Inept much?
On the plus side; I’m gradually learning Spanish without really trying.
My other beef lately is the moving of regular content to FSP. My DVR recently stopped recording the weekly A-League highlights show and a little digging revealed that it wasn’t a fault at my end, the show had been switched, along with the weekly game, to FSP.
Except, it would seem, for once a month. What use is a weekly highlight show being shown on FSC once a month? Bait and switch much?
sucka99
November 10, 2010 at 7:29 am
Great idea for SS+. But 1.5 hours for a highlights/wrap up show for MLS, EPL and Serie A seems a bit tight, no? Does that mean that they should drop or tape delay Serie A? Or move it permanently to Fox Deportes (with English SAP)?
Why not have a call in segment on the postgame FSMD too?
Good idea about the NASL games, but like 101 goals (which they did have on this summer), wouldn’t that get old fast?
To be fair, the J League/Asia stuff only airs on Friday.
Fox Soccer Report IS the Bobby McMahon Show essentially. But they are the property of FSWC not FSC. Were they to spend the money to move all that to the US (and show it in High Definition) then I suspect it would cost a whole lot more.
Phenoum
November 10, 2010 at 11:45 am
4 letters folks:
MOTD
The current one-hour game “highlights” is a whole freakin hour! give me at LEAST 2 or 3 matches in that span and i’ll DVR that stuff each and EVERY weekend. Saving me ~30 min per game does nothing for me. Showing me ~15min game run-throughs is a must!
sucka99
November 10, 2010 at 7:06 am
Fixed:
“Love it or hate it, Fox Soccer Channel is the number ONE source for Premier League matches on U.S. television.”