CBS announces 24/7 soccer channel, CBS Sports Golazo Network

A first for the United States, CBS revealed on Wednesday its plans to debut a 24/7 soccer channel. The name of the program is CBS Sports Golazo Network, and it debuts on April 11.

According to CBS, the channel will have live and past broadcasts of matches, pregame and postgame coverage of CBS’s soccer properties, documentaries and studio shows. The centerpiece of those studio shows is a daily two-hour program on weekdays titled Morning Footy. The four-person studio crew covers a variety of topics, not just those on CBS’s soccer properties. Those include the UEFA Champions League or Serie A.

Pete Radovich, the VP of Production and Creative Director of CBS Sports, spoke to World Soccer Talk about the potential for CBS Sports Golazo Network.

“We’re going to find out pretty quickly if we are hitting the right places and if we are not,” Radovich said about what the focus of Morning Footy. “Obviously, we’re going to focus as much as we can on storylines that matter to American fans. If that’s American players in Europe, or if that’s MLS and NWSL, we’re going to do that.”

CBS Sports Golazo Network is available in a number of places. For example, it is available on the CBS Sports website. Then, it is on the CBS Sports app for connected TV devices, the CBS Sports mobile app and Pluto TV. Also, you can find CBS Sports Golazo Network on Paramount+, which has other 24/7 channels to go along with it.

The difference between CBS Sports Golazo Network and the CBS Sports Channel is that the Golazo Network is specifically soccer. It is similar to the 24/7 channel on Peacock.

CBS Sports Golazo Network is 24/7 soccer channel

“We’re always looking to innovate, always looking for new ideas on ways to expand not just our properties, but the sport in general,” Radovich said. “We’re pretty excited about what things look like so far.”

Importantly, and as stated, the coverage on CBS Sports Golazo Network goes beyond just what CBS has rights to. Granted, the live and pre-recorded matches and the pregame and postgame shows may center around the UEFA Champions League, Serie A, Scottish Premiership, Brazilian Serie A, Argentine Primera or more. However, the Morning Footy show goes beyond that. Take the largely successful Champions League Today show on CBS. That show often includes Premier League or other domestic league highlights outside the CBS portfolio.

‘Morning Footy’ is the centerpiece of CBS Sports Golazo Network

In fact, Morning Footy has immense ties to Major League Soccer. The four members of the studio show can all tie back into the top American soccer division.

“If you are an MLS fan, this is without question a place for you to tune in,” Radovich said. “When you think about how connected all four of them are to that league.”

That group relies on chemistry, which Radovich says is the key word for how successful a show can be. In distinguishing Morning Footy from other studio soccer shows in the United States, Radovich says social media and having clips go viral can help grow the show and its following.

“I think a big differentiator is going to be social media,” Radovich explained. “Our culture, whether a video is going viral or whatever is happening on social media that people are talking about, or post-reposting, or liking and its going viral around the world, is going to be a key element in our show. The four people at the desk are very locked into social media. They are very aware about what people around the world, particularly younger people, are tuning in to.”

CBS’s Champions League coverage is a good example of what the potential of social media can do. Clips from Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Thierry Henry and Kate Abdo regularly exceed one million views on Twitter alone.

That will be the hope when Morning Footy anchors the launch of CBS Sports Golazo Network on April 11.

PHOTO: Mary Kouw / CBS