In a repeat of last year’s successful programming of NFL Sundays, Fox Sports has decided to bring back tape delayed English Premier League games and UFC shows to help fill the period before or after NFL regional action on five separate weeks.
Fox found an audience for the English Premier League games and the UFC shows also brought a lead-in audience to the 4:05 p.m. ET game or held their audience after the 1 p.m. contests.
Fox will start the programming this week with the premiere episode of “Being Liverpool”, a new documentary series that will air on Fox Soccer throughout the season. The show will air either at 3 p.m. ET for markets getting the 4:05 game or at 4:30 p.m. following NFL action.
Fox has announced three English Premier League games, two of which involve Manchester United, to fill time and then on December 2, Fox will have a UFC special that will preview a mixed martial arts card on the network the following weekend.
Here’s the schedule for Fox NFL Regional Sundays.
FOX SPORTS PACKS MORE ACTION INTO SINGLEHEADER SUNDAYS
Ground Breaking Series BEING: LIVERPOOL Premieres Sunday, Sept. 16
English Premier League & UFC’s Road to the Octagon Heat Up Fall NFL ScheduleNew York, NY – FOX Sports brings fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at soccer’s most iconic football club, the best matches in English Premier League Soccer and the most intense, in-depth preview of UFC on FOX 5 to complement singleheader NFL action on Sundays this fall.
It all begins this Sunday, Sept. 16 with the premiere of BEING: LIVERPOOL, a ground-breaking profile of the Liverpool Football Club. The documentary marks the first time that cameras have been allowed inside a English Premier League locker room, with FOX Sports onsite during the club’s formative transition under new manager Brendan Rodgers. The six-episode series is narrated by Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Clive Owen.
BEING: LIVERPOOL airs either preceding (3:00 PM ET) or following (4:30 PM ET) local NFL on FOX singleheader coverage, with two repeats that night on FOX Soccer. Future episodes of BEING: LIVERPOOL debut in prime time on FOX Soccer and MundoFOX beginning Sunday, Sept. 23 (9:00 PM ET/PT).
FOX Sports’ regular season English Premier League (EPL) coverage kicks-off Sunday, Sept.23 with a tape-delay match featuring Liverpool vs. Manchester United. It is the first of three marquis matches showcasing some of the world’s most storied soccer clubs. In addition to the Sept. 23 match, FOX Sports airs EPL contests on Sunday, Oct. 7 when Newcastle takes on Manchester United (tape-delay) and Sunday, Nov. 4 when Liverpool and Newcastle face-off (tape-delay). All three tape-delay games, which air either from 2:00-4:00 PM ET or 4:30-6:30 PM ET, will have aired live earlier in the day on FOX Soccer.
On Sunday, Dec 2, in anticipation of the UFC’s next live prime time main event on FOX the following weekend, FOX Sports offers UFC’s ROAD TO THE OCTAGON, a powerful one-hour, behind-the-scenes look at the fighters’ preparation leading up to the Saturday, Dec. 8 bouts.
NFL game assignments determining what time these specials air regionally are announced two weeks prior to game day.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
BEING: LIVERPOOL
3:00 – 4:00 PM ET for markets getting 4:00 PM NFL
4:30 – 5:30 PM ET for markets getting 1:00 PM NFL
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER
Liverpool vs. Manchester United (Tape-Delayed)
2:00 – 4:00 PM ET for markets getting 4:00 PM NFL
4:30 – 6:30 PM ET for markets getting 1:00 PM NFLSUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2012
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER
Newcastle vs. Manchester United (Tape-Delayed)
2:00 – 4:00 PM ET for markets getting 4:00 PM NFL
4:30 – 6:30 PM ET for markets getting 1:00 PM NFL
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2012
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER
Liverpool vs. Newcastle (Tape-Delayed)
2:00 – 4:00 PM ET for markets getting 4:00 PM NFL
4:30 – 6:30 PM ET for markets getting 1:00 PM NFLSUNDAY, DECEMBER, 2, 2012
UFC’S ROAD TO THE OCTAGON
3:00 – 4:00 PM ET for markets getting 4:00 PM NFL
4:30 – 5:30 PM ET for markets getting 1:00 PM NFL
There you have it.
