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View Full Version : SI MEDIA CIRCUS: Where do you see Fox Sports 1 five years from today?



CaribouJim
07-01-2013, 12:16 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20130630/interesting-people-sports-media-roundtable/?sct=hp_wr_a5&eref=sihp

Media Circus is one of the first things I look for on Monday mornings. On a separate subject, I kind of agree on the Gus Johnson discussion for the most part.

Panel Discussion Among some Media Types:

Littal: Depends on how different they want to be. Going head-to-head with ESPN is like fighting Floyd Mayweather. Everyone has the same plan, but it is different when you get in the ring. You have to be more creative. You can't just hire the same old sports reporters, TV people and ex-athletes. You have to think out of the box. They should have given Bomani Jones whatever he asked for times 10. Those are the type of people who are future of the industry. You have to give some of these young bloggers and journalists making waves in the industry opportunities. They have fresh faces, perspectives, and more importantly, they are hungry to make a name for themselves. If they do that, they will be a legitimate alternative for people who are dying to hear fresh voices and see fresh faces on a network not named ESPN.
Lepore: I think they'll be the most credible alternative to ESPN. I suspect that it will be largely determined by the network's commitment to studio programming and journalism. Both networks have baseball and enough college sports to be able to program live events 52 weeks a year, if not every single night. That said, I like Fox's taking some pieces of what other sports networks do well (i.e. a daily football show, which ESPN and NBCSN already do) and trying out some new things (a night per week dedicated to UFC). I think if they let anchors Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole perform to their full potential, "Fox Sports Live" could garner some younger viewers looking to mix in sports highlights with reruns on Adult Swim.
McIntrye: Rolling out a third channel, minting money and becoming a network that people look to for sports besides just football.
Miller: Some industry economics won't change. A-Rod and Brian Cashman will sing "Kumbaya" together before John McCain's a la carte bill becomes law, and sports fans don't cut cords. Five years from now, Fox Sports will be over $1.00 sub, and if you're a News Corp shareholder, that's a beautiful thing.
Ourand: It will be the clear number two to ESPN in sports media. It has enough rights (MLB, World Cup, NASCAR, college football) to ensure that it will have a successful launch.
Yoder: A clear number two in the sports cable world, and well ahead of NBC Sports Network and CBS Sports Network, but still behind ESPN's global behemoth. Considering Fox's history in network TV and cable news and the rights they already have, FS1 will be a success, just not an all-conquering one.

TheSultan
07-01-2013, 12:42 PM
I would be thrilled if the bolded part ended up being true.

CaribouJim
07-01-2013, 01:00 PM
...as would I. Hopefully we can say the same about the Big East.

The Reptile
07-01-2013, 01:18 PM
Yes, the panel of talking heads whose predictions are meaningless and never come to pass. We can put together a Brew City Ball Panel that could provide better commentary and maybe offer up a more accurate assessment of the media landscape that Fox is heading into.

If I were on the panel, I would say that this past week's non-stop coverage of Aaron Hernandez proves that another point of view is needed in sports broadcasting. One where the majority of time is spent on players other than Lebron, Tebow, Kobe, Tiger, etc; ESPN's own statistical categories; or the loud voices and opinions of people whose opinion I don't care about like Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. Fox Sports 1 can't come fast enough.

On another note, I picked up my son from Duke's Lacrosse camp last week and their head coach was telling the campers to ignore all of the crazy talk on ESPN and focus on getting better every day both on the field and in school. Nice to see this opinion extends from someone whose team was on full display winning a championship on ESPN just a few short weeks ago.

MU/Panther
07-01-2013, 01:37 PM
FS1 will get a huge jump in 2014, when many MLB regular and playoff games come to that network.