Fox Sports (Latin American TV network)

(Redirected from Fox Sports Latinoamerica)

Fox Sports was a group of sports television channels available in Latin America. Several years after acquiring 20th Century Fox in 2019, The Walt Disney Company announced its decision to unify its sports broadcasting operations in Latin America exclusively under the ESPN brand. As a result, all Fox Sports channels were rebranded as ESPN by February 2024.[2]

Fox Sports
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaCentral America
South America
Caribbean
NetworkFox Sports International
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, United States[1]
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
(downscaled to 480i/576i for the SD feed)
Ownership
Owner
History
LaunchedFox Sports:
31 October 1995 (1995-10-31)
Fox Sports 2:
12 October 2009 (2009-10-12)
Fox Sports 3:
5 November 2012 (2012-11-05)
ReplacedSpeed (Fox Sports 3)
ClosedFox Sports:
1 December 2021; 2 years ago (2021-12-01)
Fox Sports 2:
14 June 2023; 16 months ago (2023-06-14) (Central America and Dominican Republic)
15 February 2024; 8 months ago (2024-02-15) (South America)
Fox Sports 3:
15 February 2024; 8 months ago (2024-02-15)
Replaced byESPN 4 (Fox Sports)
ESPN 7 (Fox Sports 2)
ESPN 6 (Fox Sports 3)
Former namesPrime Deportiva (1995–1996)
Fox Sports Americas (1996–1999)

History

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Fox Sports logo, used from 2001 to 2009.
 
Fox Sports logo, used from 2009 to 2012.

The network was launched in 1996 as Prime Deportiva, under the ownership of Liberty Media. Prior to its launch, on October 31, 1995, News Corporation acquired a 50% ownership interest in Liberty's Prime Network group and its international networks (including sister channels Premier Sports and Prime Sports Asia) as part of an expansion of its Fox Sports properties in the Americas.[3][4] In 1996, the channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Américas, later shortened to Fox Sports in 1999. In 2002, Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst, a Dallas private equity firm, Liberty Media Corp and News Corp created a holding company (Fox Pan American Sports) to jointly operate FOX Sports Latin America.[5] News Corp owned approximately 38% interest.[6] Liberty later exited leaving HMTF and News Corp as co-owners of the cable network. News Corp purchased the ownership rights from HMTF of FOX Sports en Espanol and rebranded as FOX Deportes in 2010. News Corp purchased the remaining ownership rights for the holding company from HMTF and fully owned the FOX Sports Latin America cable network in 2011.

 
Fox Sports logo, used from February to November 2012.

In 2009, a second feed called Fox Sports+ (FOX Sports mas) was launched, to allow simultaneous broadcasting of football. In 2010, FOX Sports signed a deal with UFC to be the first cable network to show it in Latin America. FOX Sports also opened a studio in 2010[7] in Mexico City where it broadcasts original programming and licensed programming. In 2012, the channel was renamed to Fox Sports 2, whereas Speed Channel was rebranded to Fox Sports 3.

In March 2019, the network became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company after it acquired 21st Century Fox.

In December 2019, it was announced that its Chilean, Peruvian, Uruguayan and Colombian channels would go off the air.[8][9][10]

In November 2021, Disney announced that Fox Sports' main channel would be renamed ESPN 4 on December 1, 2021, and it was also announced that on May 1, 2022, Fox Sports Premium would rebrand to ESPN Premium,[11] while Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 3 would continue on the air with the premium channel (Fox Sports 1) in Chile continuing on the air as well until February 15, 2024, when Disney announced in November 2023 that Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 3 would reorganize and rebrand to ESPN 6 and ESPN 7, while in Chile, the premium channel would rebrand to ESPN Premium.[12][13][14]

On May 17, 2023, It was announced that Fox Sports' secondary channel would close in Central America and Dominican Republic on June 14, 2023, with the South feed continue to being kept on air.[15]

Feeds

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Fox Sports

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Fox Sports 2

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Fox Sports 3

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Localised channels

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  • Fox Sports (Chile) — localized feed exclusively available for Chile, replacing Fox Sports in November 2013.
  • Fox Sports 1 (Chile) — formerly known as Fox Sports Premium, it was launched at the same time as its sister channel. It covered pay-TV events from Fox Sports and Fox Sports 2 that couldn't be aired live on the localized feed due to broadcast licenses.
  • Fox Sports (Colombia) — localized channel launched in 2016 as an independent feed with original programming.
  • Fox Sports (Peru) - localised channel launched on 1 March 2018, with exclusive voice-over narrations for matches involving Peruvian football clubs and the Peruvian football team.
  • Fox Sports (Uruguay) - localised channel launched in February 2014 with original programming and voice-over narrations for Uruguayan football teams.

Programming

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Fox Sports Latin America broadcast sports-related programming 24 hours a day in Spanish. The network carried a wide variety of sports events, including football (UEFA Champions League, Copa Lib, etc.), MLB and WWE programming. Fox Sports also aired talk shows (NET: Nunca es tarde) as well as other programming including exercise programs.

Sports programming

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Football

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Motorsport

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Other sports

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Other programming

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Alongside its live sports broadcasts, Fox Sports also aired a variety of sports highlight, talk, and documentary styled shows. These include:

North feed

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  • Central Fox
  • Cara a Cara
  • La Previa del fin de Semana
  • Impacto NFL
  • Fox Sports Punto Extra
  • Polémica Fox Sports
  • Tribuna Fox Sports
  • Auto Show TV
  • Fox Gol
  • La Hora de Cuauhtemoc Blanco
  • La Historia de los Mundiales
  • Mobil 1: The Grid
  • Crítica 12
  • Lo Mejor de lo Fox Sports
  • Feria de Goles
  • Fox para Todos
  • Expediente Fútbol
  • Auto Show TV
  • Gillette World Sport
  • Full Tilt Póker
  • Volvo Ocean Race
  • El Show de las Copas
  • Lo Mejor de la UEFA Champions League
  • El Show de la NFL en Fox Sports
  • El Show de la Copa Libertadores
  • El Show de la UEFA Champions League
  • La Última Palabra
  • Fox Sports Review

South feed

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  • Central Fox
  • Minuto Cero
  • Última Vuelta
  • La Última Palabra
  • 90 Minutos de Fútbol
  • El Show de la Fórmula 1
  • Fox Sports Radio (Peru, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay)
  • Expediente Fútbol
  • Máxima Velocidad
  • 5ta a Fondo
  • Stop and Go
  • Invierno Fox Sports
  • Atlas, la Otra Pasión
  • Fox Sports Clásico
  • EuroGol
  • Car News TV
  • Nunca es Tarde
  • Rally On Board
  • Circuito Fox Sports
  • Más Motor
  • Recta Principal
  • Motociclismo Extremo
  • Show Red Bull
  • World Touring Car Championship: Inside WTCC
  • La Última Palabra
  • Car and Travel
  • Pasión Xtrema
  • Fox Sports Show
  • Futsal AFA
  • Fox Gol Colombia
  • Sín Anestesia
  • PokerStars.net
  • Full Tilt Poker
  • El Show de las Copas
  • El Show de la UEFA Champions League
  • X-perience Tour
  • Arena mix
  • De Gira
  • Fox Fit

Personalities

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North feed

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South feed

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Company Overview of Fox Latin American Channel, Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  2. ^ "Disney creates Espn 5, Espn 6 and Espn 7 in order to discontinue Fox Sports brand in the region". tavilatam.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  3. ^ "FOX AND LIBERTY OUTLINE PLANS FOR NEW CABLE VENTURE". Sports Business Journal. Advance Publications. November 1, 1995. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  4. ^ "TCI, LIBERTY AND NEWS CORP. HAMMER OUT SPORTS NET DETAILS". Sports Business Journal. Advance Publications. May 10, 1996.
  5. ^ "Hicks Muse, Fox Sports in Spanish-language sports venture". Dallas Business Journal. February 5, 2002. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  6. ^ "SEC filing".
  7. ^ "Fox Sports inaugurated new studios in Mexico | Superfights". en.superluchas.com. 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  8. ^ "Fox Chile cerró sus programas más importantes y Rodrigo Sepúlveda analiza el año: "Ha sido duro"". 16 December 2019.
  9. ^ "La señal Fox Sports deja de emitir desde Uruguay".
  10. ^ "Eddie Fleischman: Periodista deportivo comunicó que Fox Sports dejará de operar en el Perú". 25 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Argentina: Fox Sports Premium pasará a ser ESPN Premium". www.anmtvla.com (in Spanish). Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  12. ^ "Confirmado: Disney lanza Espn 4 en sustitución de Fox Sports" (in Spanish). November 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "¿Fin de una era? Disney discontinuaría Fox Sports en 2024". Urgente24 - primer diario online con las últimas noticias de Argentina y el mundo en tiempo real (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  14. ^ Amaya, Hernán (2023-11-15). "Latinoamérica: Disney crea Espn 5, Espn 6 y Espn 7 para abandonar definitivamente la marca Fox Sports en la región". TAVI (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  15. ^ "Fox Sports 2 será descontinuado de Centroamérica en Junio". TVLaint (in Spanish). May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "Tune In: Rolex 24 At Daytona". IMSA.com. Retrieved January 13, 2014.