Here comes Fox Soccer Channel

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Fox Sports World, America's Soccer Channel, will transition into the Fox Soccer Channel on Monday, February 7, 2005. The announcement was made today by David Sternberg, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel.

Fox Soccer Channel will draw more than 80% of its first-run programming hours from world-class soccer competitions, including the Barclays English Premier League, the English FA Cup, the UEFA Cup, the Toyota Intercontinental Cup, World Cup qualifying matches for the United States and England national teams, the ChampionsWorld Series, and numerous European and Latin American national leagues.  Domestic action on the network will feature America's top professional league, Major League Soccer, as well as matches from the United Soccer Leagues.

"Soccer has long been the world's game and now it is increasingly America's game as well," said Sternberg. "Participation rates and attendance at soccer matches, including MLS games and international exhibitions, have grown dramatically in the past decade, and the United States national teams have excelled in both the men's and women's FIFA World Cups.  We at Fox are committed to creating the single best place for American soccer fans, players, professional and amateur associations and business partners to converge and share in the phenomenal success of the sport."

Corporate sibling FOX Sports will provide viewers an exclusive first look at the channel during the Super Bowl XXXIX Pre-Game Show, set for Sunday, February 6 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Following the Super Bowl, at midnight on Monday, February 7, Fox Soccer Channel will officially unveil all-new on-air broadcast graphics, music and promotional messages, complemented by an extensive consumer marketing campaign in support of the transition. The first week's programming schedule will be highlighted by a live telecast of the international friendly between England and Holland on Wednesday, February 9, at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, and a full weekend slate of seven matches from the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1 and the Argentine Torneo de Clausura.

In connection with the transition, Fox Soccer Channel will introduce several new programs and features, including a soccer scores ticker and a new weekly show debuting in April called Fox Soccer USA, focusing on the youth and amateur soccer scene in the United States. Fox Soccer Channel will also continue airing its current lineup of news and highlight programs, such as the nightly Fox Sports World Report, Sky Sports News, Fox Football Friday and MLS Wrap. Other global sports related to or derived from soccer, like futsal (indoor soccer) and rugby will likewise remain part of the network's programming mix.

Fox Soccer Channel will also transition its Web site into Fox Soccer Channel on MSN, accessible at www.foxsoccer.com.  The network's site is the already the most popular on-line destination for English-speaking soccer fans in the United States.  The site delivers comprehensive, up-to-the-minute coverage of world soccer, including exclusive weekly columns by Fox Soccer Channel on-air talents Bobby McMahon, Nick Webster and Sean Wheelock.  The site also links Fox Soccer Channel programming directly to viewers with such interactive features as the Fox Sports World Report viewer mailbag and an English Premier League fantasy game.

Originally launched in 1997, Fox Soccer Channel boasts close to 20 million cable and satellite subscribers throughout the U.S. and Caribbean, and is available in each of the nation's 25 largest media markets.  Key distributors include DIRECTV, DISH Network, Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox Communications and Adelphia Communications, among others.

Fox Soccer Channel is affiliated with Fox Sports International, an international sports programming and production entity housed within Fox Networks Group. Fox Networks Group, an operating unit of the Fox Entertainment Group, consists of the FOX Broadcasting Company, Fox Cable Networks, FOX Sports and Fox Networks Engineering & Operations (FNE&O). Fox Cable Networks are collectively seen by more than 335 million cable and satellite television homes and include Fox Soccer Channel, FX, FSN and its 12 owned-and-operated regional sports networks; Fox College Sports; National Geographic Channel; SPEED Channel; Fox Sports en Espanol; Fox Movie Channel; action sports network FUEL and the upcoming Fox Reality Channel. For more information, visit Fox Soccer Channel online at www.foxsoccer.com.