Country | Australia |
---|---|
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Fox Sports Pty Limited |
Sister channels | Fox Sports News Fox Cricket Fox Footy Fox Netball Fox Sports |
History | |
Launched | 27 February 2017 |
Replaced | Fox Sports 502 |
Links | |
Website | foxsports.com.au |
Availability | |
Streaming media | |
Foxtel Go | Channel 502 |
Kayo Sports | Channel 502 |
Fox League is an Australian subscription television channel dedicated to screening rugby league (both domestic and international) matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited and is available throughout Australia on Foxtel. The channel was launched on 27 February 2017. [1]
On 27 November 2015, the Australian Rugby League Commission announced that Fox Sports had secured the rights to air all National Rugby League games excluding the NRL Grand Final (which continues to be aired on Nine Network) live for the 2018–22 seasons. [2] Additionally, it was announced that the current rights agreement had been altered to allow Fox Sports to also have the live rights for all games excluding the Grand Final for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, [3] however, a dedicated yet-to-be-named NRL channel to showcase these rights would not launch until the 2017 season. [2]
In February 2017 it was announced the new channel would be called Fox League and would officially launch on 27 February 2017. [4] Ultimately, Fox League replaced Fox Sports 2 on channel 502. [5] [6]
In 2017, the NRL preliminary finals had 418,000 and 407,000 viewers. [7] In 2020, Fox League began carried in Canada on the pay streaming service DAZN.
Sports programming on Fox League includes the following:
Fox League airs several studio shows including the programs listed below:
Network executives announced a number of key hosting personnel at the public launch of the station on 16 February 2017. [11] [12]
Network personalities and the media attended the launch for Fox League's 2018 programming slate on 20 February 2018. Further key hosting personnel were announced, in addition to some pre-existing roles from 2017. [13]
HostsThursday Night League [13]
Friday Night Footy [13]
Super Saturday [13]
Sunday Ticket [13]
Sunday Night with Matty Johns [11] [13]
Controversy Corner
Big League Wrap [13]
NRL Try Time [13]
The Greatest [13]
The Late Show with Matty Johns [11] [13]
The Professor's Late Hit [11] [13]
Matty Johns Face to Face
Benji
| CommentatorsPlay-by-play
Special Comments
Sideline
Narrator
NSW Cup
NRLW
|
Outside of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Fox League operates Watch NRL, a global streaming network. The network streams all games live, including State of Origin and the Grand Final, unlike its domestic counterpart, who broadcasts these games on delay.
The National Rugby League is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.
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Fox Soccer was an American television specialty channel specializing in soccer, owned by 21st Century Fox, which operated from 1997 to 2013. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but in its final years it was devoted strictly to soccer.
The Seven Network is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of the five main free-to-air television networks in Australia. The network's headquarters are located in Sydney.
NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was established as a 50/50 joint venture between News Limited and Telstra, with News Corp and Telstra holding 65% and 35% ownership shares respectively.
Matthew James Johns is an Australian rugby league media personality, commentator and former professional player. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative five-eighth, Johns played his club football primarily with the Newcastle Knights, alongside his younger brother, Andrew. Since March 2011, Johns has been a co-host on the Triple M Sydney breakfast show called The Grill Team with Mark Geyer. Since 2012, Johns has been a part of the Fox Sports NRL coverage. He had his own show on Channel 7 for one season in 2010, The Matty Johns Show and since 2013 has hosted a rugby league analysis and light entertainment show on Foxtel airing two nights each week.
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Nine's Wide World of Sports is a long running sports anthology brand on Australian television that airs on the Nine Network and streaming service Stan. All major sports, events and series covered by the network are broadcast under this brand, the flagship sports being rugby league, rugby union and Grand Slam tennis, the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games, and spring horse racing. Previous sporting rights include the Australian rules football, Australian Cricket Team home season, autumn horse racing, swimming until 2008, and golf since 2018.
Fox Footy is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Australia operated out of its Melbourne based studios and available throughout Australia on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel is a revival of the former Fox Footy Channel, which was in operation between 2002 and 2006. The channel recommenced prior to the 2012 AFL season after a new broadcast agreement was reached between the former Premier Media Group, Austar, Foxtel and the Australian Football League (AFL).
Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as well as Fox Sports News, Fox Cricket, Fox League, Fox Footy, Watch AFL and Watch NRL. Fox Sports channels such as Fox Netball are available via Foxtel or Kayo. The group's main competitors are beIN Sports, ESPN, Optus Sport and Stan Sport. Unlike The American Fox Sports, the group is not owned directly by the Fox Corporation. However News Corp which holds a 65% stake in Foxtel is Fox Corporation's sister company.
The NRL Grand Final is an annual rugby league match to determine the premiers of every National Rugby League season. It is a major sport event in Australia and regarded as the biggest showcase of rugby league football in the world. Since 1999, it has been contested at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The first year it was held at Stadium Australia, it set a new record for attendance at an Australian rugby league game, with 107,999 people attending.
The NRL Under-20s was the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Australasia. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition commenced in 2008 and was originally known as the Toyota Cup. The competition runs parallel to Australasia's professional competition, the National Rugby League, with NYC matches played immediately prior to the NRL games. Similar to the NRL, the NYC enforces a salary cap and puts a heavy focus on life outside football for the players.
10 Bold Drama is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Network 10. It originally launched on 26 March 2009 as One HD with a focus on broadcasting sports-based programming and events, but rebranded to One in April 2011 to more reality, scripted and adventure-based programming aimed at males between the ages of 25 and 54. As of October 2018, the channel now primarily broadcasts dramatic programming aimed towards viewers 40 and older.
Sky Sport is a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by New Zealand's satellite pay-TV company, Sky.
Tara Rushton is an Australian sports presenter and journalist. Rushton previously presented the association football series Kick Off and Sunday Shootout on Fox Sports Australia as well as appearing on Fox Sports News.
Fox Soccer Plus is an American sports channel dedicated to soccer and rugby league football. Launched in 2005 by the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports to offer live and tape-delayed mainstream sports events in the United States and Caribbean, it was rebranded on March 1, 2010, as a spin-off of the now-defunct Fox Soccer after its owner News Corporation acquired the channel and its coverage rights from Setanta in January 2010.
10 Sport is the brand that all sporting events broadcast on Network 10, an Australian free-to-air commercial television network. Sports streamed on Paramount+ in Australia since August 2021 are also broadcast under the 10 Sport banner.
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Fox League will replace Fox Sports 2 on 27 February 2017.