<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-378749" src="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Possible-sale-of-FOX-Sports.jpg" alt="possible sale of FOX Sports" width="1200" height="725" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/04/Possible-sale-of-FOX-Sports.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/04/Possible-sale-of-FOX-Sports-600x363.jpg 600w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/04/Possible-sale-of-FOX-Sports-150x91.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/04/Possible-sale-of-FOX-Sports-768x464.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure>
FOX’s latest exit of top talent could signal the possible sale of FOX Sports, according to an industry insider.
Recently, longtime American football commentating duo <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/sports/football/joe-buck-troy-aikman-monday-night-football.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Joe Buck and Troy Aikman departed FOX Sports</a>. The pair worked together and for FOX Sports for over 20 years. The popular tandem made the switch to ESPN. Buck and Aikman now call Monday Night Football for the upcoming 2022 NFL season.
Commentators and on-air talent switch networks fairly often. However, the details behind Buck and Aikman’s change are very interesting.
<h5>Unexpected departure</h5>
According to reports, FOX Sports allowed Buck to leave the network a year prior to his end of contract to join Aikman at ESPN. Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand reported that FOX Sports permitted this move in exchange to televise the Purdue vs. Penn State college football game on September 1. Previously, ESPN held the rights to air the Thursday night game on its network.
Ourand <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/espn-joe-buck-trade-fox-big-ten/p63djxpiphtl4wov9riutdsq">explained the transaction</a> on the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-marchand-and-ourand-sports-media-podcast/id1587364692">Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast</a>.
“Because it’s a new window in a new game, (FOX is) going to be able to sell an added ad sales revenue target that’s in the millions. They’re going to make millions off of this.”
This stems from what each channel and provider wanted from the deal. FOX Sports prioritized the game. Meanwhile, ESPN targeted the commentary talent.
“I don’t want to say [the] deal is a win-win because they’re almost never win-win, but this is a game ESPN didn’t prioritize,” claimed Ourand.
“This is a game FOX really did want, and each network has 27 (Big Ten) games this year coming up. (Now) ESPN is going to have 26 Big Ten games. FOX is going to have 28 Big Ten games. And that is what they came up with in order for Joe Buck to leave his contract early and move to ESPN.”
FOX Sports makes millions of dollars on the acquisition of one college football game. Moreover, allowing Buck and Aikman to leave the network reportedly saves the company around $160 million.
<h3>A possible sale of FOX Sports</h3>
Speculation in the sports media following these decisions is that FOX could be set to make their sports section for sale. <a href="https://frontofficesports.com/aikman-buck-exodus-fuels-speculation-fox-could-sell-sports-arm/">Eric Jackson</a>, EMJ Capital hedge fund’s founder and president, claimed that the departure of Buck and Aikman shows FOX’s desire to cut costs.
<blockquote>“The fact that FOX Sports let Joe and Troy walk suggests that they are in cost-cutting mode. If that’s the case, it’s reasonable to guess whether Fox Corp is thinking of selling all of FOX Sports.”</blockquote>

Furthermore, an insider told Front Office Sports that “[The cost cutting] could mean [Fox] is going into acquisition mode.
“When you are selling off assets, you are trying to make yourself more attractive to a buyer or losing some weight so you can purchase something.”
FOX possibly selling their entire sports department may not be as far-fetched as it seems. Previously, the mammoth American broadcast company sold off all of its regional sports networks to Bally Sports in 2019. The decision to sell, however, wasn’t exactly down to FOX. The U.S. Department of Justice forced the company to make the sale following Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 21st Century FOX.
Nevertheless, even if FOX does not sell their sports department, it is obviously clear that the company is making major cutbacks. Along with letting Buck and Aikman leave and selling their RSNs, FOX has also recently allowed their Thursday Night Football game to switch to Amazon Prime, backed out of their 12-year deal to televise PGA tournaments, including the U.S. Open, and even lost their UFC coverage in 2018.
<div class="ckeditor-em"><iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1246159042&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true"></iframe></div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/worldsoccertalk" title="World Soccer Talk Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener">World Soccer Talk Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/worldsoccertalk/is-fox-soccer-for-sale-and-the-lure-of-relegation" title="Is FOX Soccer for sale, and the lure of relegation" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener">Is FOX Soccer for sale, and the lure of relegation</a></div>
<h5>Impact on soccer content and potential buyers</h5>
As far as FOX’s soccer content, the corporation has a lot of rights. Yes, some MLS matches are available on FOX Sports, as well as select U.S. men’s and women’s national team games. On the other hand, FOX Sports have a very valuable portfolio. For instance, that includes the FIFA World Cup, Euro 2024, Euro 2028, Copa America, Gold Cup and Women’s World Cup.
FOX Sports’ current media rights deal with Major League Soccer ends this year. Reports are that the broadcaster <a href="https://theathletic.com/3194631/2022/03/18/mls-media-rights-deal-not-likely-to-be-a-game-changer-sources-say/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">isn’t interested in renewing</a> its rights to the domestic league. At the same time, FOX Sports have been <a href="https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1510729935018729474" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cutting costs in its production of MLS games</a>.
Although tech companies such as Apple and Amazon might be potential buyers should FOX decide to sell their sports division, the aforementioned Bally Sports, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, could possibly become interested according to sources with Front Office Sports.
PHOTO: Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic/Getty

FOX Sports’ latest cutbacks suggest possible sale, says insider

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman worked for FOX for over 20 years. Could their departure signal a possible sale of FOX Sports?

FOX Sports' latest cutbacks suggest possible sale, says insider - World Soccer Talk

<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-344951 aligncenter" src="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MLS-Cup.jpg" alt="MLS Playoffs" width="1024" height="696" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/MLS-Cup.jpg 1024w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/MLS-Cup-300x204.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/MLS-Cup-600x408.jpg 600w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/MLS-Cup-150x102.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/MLS-Cup-768x522.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>
The MLS Playoffs are just around the corner. With the 12-team single-elimination tournament starting in mid-November, we have news about the postseason MLS schedule.
Among notable differences from previous years, there will be a game on Thanksgiving for the first time.
Additionally, ABC will air four consecutive weekends of MLS coverage. ABC and the network’s of ESPN will cover all four rounds of the MLS Playoffs. Their over-the-air network coverage includes every round from every weekend of the tournament.
<h3>MLS Playoffs</h3>
Unlike the majority of professional soccer leagues in the world, Major League Soccer determines their season champion with a tournament. The top seven teams in each conference qualify.
For both the eastern and western conference, the top teams in each side of the bracket receive a bye to the second round. The other 10 teams begin their single-elimination tournament based off their regular-season seeding.
<div id="attachment_344953" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-344953" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-344953 size-medium" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20210909_CMS_344877_Atlanta-United-300x225_92d1784d.webp&amp;width=300&amp;height=225" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/Atlanta-United-300x225.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/Atlanta-United-600x450.jpg 600w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/Atlanta-United-150x113.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/Atlanta-United-768x576.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/Atlanta-United-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2021/09/Atlanta-United-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"></figure>Atlanta United won the MLS Cup in just their second MLS season.</div>
For example, if the MLS Playoffs were to start <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/standings/2021/conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">right now</a> (Sep. 9), the New England Revolution and the Seattle Sounders would receive first-round byes. Essentially, they begin their tournament after four teams are knocked out.
Formerly, MLS used two-leg ties to advance teams throughout the playoffs. Starting in 2019, the single-game elimination rule came into effect.
Moreover, the MLS tournament used during 2020 differed significantly from that which we will see in 2021. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic caused MLS to base playoff seeding off of points earned per game. This season, they revert back to the total points accumulated during the regular season. Moreover, there will not be a play-in round as there was in 2020. The top-team in each conference does receive a bye. Yet, the bottom teams do not play to qualify for the MLS Playoffs.
There is one change that could cause some controversy similar to 2020. MLS outlined mechanisms for postseason qualification. Among them, there is a certain minimum number of games played required for a team to qualify for the playoffs.
<h3>Playoff TV Coverage</h3>
All 12 of the single-elimination playoff matches in the tournament will air on national television in the United States. To start, the four opening-round games are on the weekend of Nov. 20/21. ABC and ESPN doubleheaders will bring coverage of the first round and the conference semifinals. Additionally, FOX will carry a portion of these games.
READ MORE: Where to watch MLS on U.S. TV.
FOX is making history with the MLS Playoffs as they bring a first for the league. A Thanksgiving Day showdown will air on the FOX broadcast network and FOX Deportes.
Together, FOX and the ESPN/ABC family of networks provide coverage of each game on national television.
For Spanish-language coverage, ESPN Deportes and FOX Deportes will also carry complete coverage of the MLS Playoffs. Univision will also have coverage, marking the 10th-consecutive year Univision network’s will broadcast the MLS Championship over the air.
Canadian coverage of the MLS Playoffs is available through TSN and TVA Sports. TSN and TVA Sports will provide comprehensive coverage of the postseason with coverage of every match. Channels are set to be announced at a later date.
Coverage of the tournament begins on Saturday, Nov. 20. Over the ensuing four weekends, the tournament culminates in the 2021 MLS Cup. On Dec. 11, the two conference champions play one game. The host is whichever team earned more points in the regular season. Consequently, the winner is the 2021 MLS Cup Champion.
The MLS Cup Final will be on ABC on Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. ET.

MLS Playoffs to air across FOX, ABC and Univision

The MLS Playoffs are just around the corner. With the 12-team single-elimination tournament starting in mid-November, we have news about the schedule.

MLS Playoffs to air across FOX, ABC and Univision - World Soccer Talk

Latest news from Fox. Find out about all the news related to Fox on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Fox - Page 5"

FOX Sports

FOX Sports’ latest cutbacks suggest possible sale, says insider

News

MLS Playoffs to air across FOX, ABC and Univision