Fox News is a "blueprint within 21st Century Fox" for what Fox Sports National Networks President Jamie Horowitz "wants to do with Fox Sports 1," according to Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Horowitz said, "Fox News positioned itself as provocative and opinion oriented. I believe Fox Sports 1 can take a similar tack." He theorized that opinion "costs less than news and documentaries, and is likely to stand out more in the busy sports media world." Fox Sports President & COO Eric Shanks said that the changes at FS1 "are not about money." He said, "Whether it is more or less expensive, I think this would still be our strategy." Flint notes FS1 "draws solid ratings for coverage of sporting events like NASCAR, baseball, soccer, college football and ultimate fighting," but the problem is "when there aren't live sports on." The net has "scrapped most of its debut lineup." Long gone are "ambitious efforts such as 'Being,'" a biography program FS1 "hoped would be compared favorably to ESPN’s prestigious documentary series '30 for 30.'" "Crowd Goes Wild," a talk show "with an eclectic mix of panelists that included former daytime television host Regis Philbin, also bombed." Even "Fox Sports Live," the channel’s flagship program, has "gone through several iterations." Fox Networks Group Chair & CEO Peter Rice yesterday at the '16 CAA World Congress of Sports said of FS1, "I’m striving for it to be better, to be more engaged and for the audiences to be bigger" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/14).
LEFT OF CENTER: Horowitz wasted no time at the opening panel yesterday at the World Congress of Sports criticizing his former employer, ESPN, and its continued focus on the flagship "SportsCenter" program. In Horowitz’ opinion, viewership trends have veered sharply away from highlight-based shows, reflected in FS1’s continuing shift toward more opinion-based programming. "I loved ESPN," Horowitz said. "I have great memories of my time there. And ‘SportsCenter’ has helped give it an identity for 30 years. But if you look at recent trends, they’ve lost 30% of the audience in the last five years. And among younger viewers, it’s 40%. That’s a staggering fall. I would be a little worried if I were them. … There has been a seismic shift in how people consume content. If you want to see a highlight, you’re not going wait eight hours to see it" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
