David Sternberg
As each day passes, more and more details are unveiled about Fox Soccer Channel televising the Champions League, which begins this summer. The latest revelations come from an interview with an interview in The New York Times with the executive vice president and general manager of Fox Sports International.
Here’s what can be revealed:
- Champions League games on the channel will not be in high-def until the start of the first knockout stage in February 2010
- In addition, games from Italy’s Serie A, for which FSC has four live windows each weekend, will have games in high-def. Likewise, two English Premier League games now covered by Sky are produced in HD and available in the United States. That’s the Saturday 12:30 p.m. (Eastern) match and the 11 a.m. (Eastern) Sunday games (presumably starting near the end of 2009)
- Fox’s HD format and production will be more akin to the true or “native” HD, as the industry calls it, used in recent years by HDNet (which is no longer carrying M.L.S. or N.H.L. games) than most of the HD productions available to date on ESPN, which Sternberg called “up-converted.” That is, a standard-definition feed that is enhanced.
What are your thoughts about the above news especially the type of HD format and the Premier League games that will be shown on Fox on HD? Share your opinion by clicking the comments link below.
