Sources: News Corp. Considers Rebranding Fox Soccer As Non-Sports Channel

News Corp. is “considering revamping its Fox Soccer cable channel into a general entertainment network,” according to sources cited by Joe Flint of the L.A. TIMES. The sources said that plans are “in a preliminary stage and are not definite.” With News Corp. “planning to convert its Speed channel into a national sports cable network later this year and Fox Soccer recently losing some marquee events to rival outlets, the long-term viability of the network is uncertain.” The remaining Fox Soccer programming “could easily find its home on Fox Sports 1, which is the tentative name of the new national network.” The new channel could become “a sister channel of FX," and the net "may even be called FX2." The challenge for News Corp. with Fox Soccer will be “convincing cable and satellite distributors to let it rebrand the channel” (LATIMES.com, 1/15).