Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) is planning on hosting several Premier League viewing parties at pubs across the United States from January through May according to its website.

The cities that will host the viewing parties are New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Columbus, Miami and Boston.

Both the network and website are advertising the upcoming events. However, at time of writing, no specific dates have been announced.

The idea by Fox is an excellent one if marketed correctly. It’s a great opportunity for the network to engage with its loyal viewers as well as introduce new viewers to the channel. For the EPL, it’s an excellent way to promote the league to fans nationwide.

Organizing a national campaign such as the viewing parties is no easy task. There’s the danger that, if not marketed properly, the events could be a bust. Another key factor is choosing locations in each of the respective cities that are appropriate.

Just as one example, closer to home, Miami is a poor choice for a viewing party for Premier League football. Reason being, despite a population of 400,000 people, there are only a handful of pubs that are considered English soccer friendly pubs. The most popular of them all, Churchill’s Pub, is a tiny pub located near one of the worst areas of Miami, so it wouldn’t be an appropriate choice for Fox. It would have been wiser for FSC to select Fort Lauderdale as one of the viewing cities instead, which is a much more soccer friendly city.

If you live in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Columbus, Miami or Boston, are you planning on attending your local Fox Soccer Channel viewing party?