Fox Sports launches in the Philippines

January 23, 2013 (Manila) – FOX International Channels (FIC) Asia, News Corporation’s international multi-media business and Asia’s leading pay-TV network, announced that FOX SPORTS, the world’s leading sports media brand will be launched in the Philippines and in various countries across Asia on January 28.

Following News Corporation’s successful acquisition of ESPN's partnership interest in ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) in November last year, all ESPN networks will be renamed as FOX SPORTS networks in the Philippines such as:

·               ESPN to FOX SPORTS, the flagship sports channel

·               ESPN HD to FOX SPORTS PLUS, the high-definition channel

·               ESPNEWS to FOX SPORTS NEWS, the 24-7 sports news channel

This will take effect across various networks in the Philippines including Sky Cable, PPC, Destiny Cable, Cable Link, Parasat, Unicable, Philippines Multi-Media System (DREAM), MediaScape (Cignal), Global Broadcasting and Multimedia (G-Sat) and various local provincial cable operators.

STAR Sports and STAR Cricket channels will remain unchanged.

Subscribers of ESPN networks in the Philippines will continue to enjoy the same great sporting content and more on FOX SPORTS networks, including comprehensive basketball coverage such as the National Basketball Association, NCAA College Basketball and the ASEAN Basketball League; the most exciting football properties such as the Barclays Premier League, Spanish Liga BBVA, Asian Football Confederation events; top motor-racing events (Formula One, SBK, MotoGP, NASCAR, Dakar Rally); Grand Slam tennis (Australian Open, Wimbledon), events from the WTA Tour and ATP World Tour and the Hopman Cup; the Golf Majors (The Masters, US Open and The Open Championship) as well as the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, popular American sports (Major League Baseball, NCAA College Football), premier Asian sports (OneAsia golf tournaments, HSBC Asian Five Nations) and top cricket properties (International Cricket Council events, Champions League Twenty20, international and domestic cricket from the BCCI, Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board) among others.

Sports fans can continue to follow their favorite sports at foxsportsasia.com in place of espnstar.com for comprehensive, real time and authoritative content across an unrivalled breadth of sports news, scores and editorial opinions.

Driven with a single-minded aim to deliver the most engaging sports experience through an innovative and cliché-busting approach, FOX SPORTS will also launch the new sports news programme FOX SPORTS CENTRAL. The show’s bold sports presentation brings alive the most important sport news by offering a comprehensive 360 degree coverage delivered by the most credible presenters and unique insights and opinions from the most knowledgeable and well-informed experts. The new FOX SPORTS CENTRAL programme will replace the current program SportsCenter on ESPN and will be aired on FOX SPORTS, weeknights at 7.30 pm.

The new fan-focused initiatives also include the recently launched programming block ‘ABL Friday Basketball’ featuring the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) where the local Philippines’ team, the San Miguel Beermen will aim to finish this season on top. In addition, FOX SPORTS will continue to offer its world-class expertise and sports coverage for Asian sports fans, with the broadcast of Sky Sports’ studio coverage of the key games of the Spanish Liga BBVA this season.

“It is exciting to be launching in Asia the leading brand that has changed the sports experience for fans across the world,” said Peter Hutton, Senior Vice President, Sports, FOX International Channels.  “Moving forward, FOX SPORTS is committed to further enhancing this experience for sports fans in the Philippines by showcasing even more engaging, localized programming and delivering to them all the best content in the most convenient ways.”

FOX SPORTS, along with its associate sports networks is the world’s no. 1 sports media brand with the widest coverage across the USA, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Middle East and North Africa and Asia, and has a strong record of fan-centric innovations and unrivalled expertise in sports presentation, such as being the first to introduce on-screen time-clocks and scoreboards that revolutionised the way viewers enjoy LIVE sports.