Ever since the end of last season, Special 1 TV has been quietly pimping itself trying to find a new home. The hit soccer comedy show started life at Setanta Sports before moving to BBC. But during the summer, it has been trying to find a new home. According to a tweet on the official Special 1 TV Twitter account, an announcement should be coming in the next 24-48 hours. But where Special 1 TV will be available, whether it’s on TV or online, we don’t know as of press time. But if we could make a recommendation, we’d advise FOX Soccer that the time is ripe to acquire the popular show.
In the past 12 months, FOX Soccer has been working hard to improve its product. That includes a new name, new branding, addition of HD, new sets, an iPad app, a relaunched broadband product and much more. Not everything it has done has been perfect, but if it wants to expand its audience and acquire new soccer fans, a show like Special 1 TV is perfect.
While the topics discussed on the show are very topical and intricately tied to the Premier League news stories each week, there’s an immediacy to the show which embraces the soccer fan, whether new or old. The hysterical characters, the weekly episodes and the soap opera cliffhangers of the show mirror the real life Premier League itself, where we wait with anticipation to see what the Joey Barton, Mario Balotelli and Mick McCarthy’s will do or say each week, as well as falling for the absorbing storylines both on and off the pitch.
If FOX Soccer wants soccer to become more popular in the United States, Special 1 TV is the perfect show to promote its network. We already know that each episode is a viral video hit before it’s even published, so the free publicity and brand awareness the show would create for FOX Soccer would be priceless. Plus, it would add a whole new appreciation for FOX Soccer. It would break down the walls that make FOX Soccer feel stuffy at times. And, most important of all, it gives FOX something of value to put during their half-time shows that isn’t so predictable as the current format.
I have no indication that FOX Soccer is even interested in signing Special 1 TV for the upcoming season. But what I do know is this. The Premier League season has been an eyeopening one so far with plenty of wonderful goals and exciting displays. But the season doesn’t feel the same without Special 1 TV, and that goes for soccer fans around the world. Whoever picks up Special 1 TV will have a guaranteed hit on their hands. Maybe it’ll be FOX Soccer, or maybe it’ll be a US company with the marketing sense to wrap their brand around the show, I don’t know. Whoever it will be is on to a winner. Be Champions.
