 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide International |
| Network | Fox Sports |
| Headquarters | Fox Network Center (Fox Studio Lot Building 101), 10201 WPico Blvd,Century City,Los Angeles, California |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) (downscaled toletterboxed480i forSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Fox Sports Media Group (Fox Corporation) |
| Sister channels | Fox Sports 1 Fox Soccer Plus Fox Deportes Big Ten Network |
| History | |
| Launched | July 1, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-07-01) |
| Former names | Fuel TV (2003–13) |
| Links | |
| Website | www www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Fox Sports app | Watch live (U.S. only) |
| FOX.com | Watch live (U.S. cable internet subscribers only; requires login to stream content) |
| DirecTV Stream,FuboTV,Hulu + Live TV,Sling TV,YouTube TV, Vidgo TV | |
Fox Sports 2 (branded on-air asFS2) is an Americansports-orientedpay televisionchannel owned by theFox Sports Media Group, a unit ofFox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in theCentury City section ofLos Angeles, California.
The network was founded asFuel TV on July 1, 2003, focusing on the culture ofextreme sports, includingskateboarding,snowboarding,wakeboarding,motocross,surfing,BMX andFMX.[1] The network's prominence expanded further with the introduction ofUFCmixed martial arts programming to its lineup in 2012 as part of a wider deal with Fox Sports.[2] On August 17, 2013, Fuel TV was rebranded as Fox Sports 2, refocusing primarily as an overflow channel for the newly launched mainstream sports networkFox Sports 1. The relaunch of Fuel TV as FS1's sister network received little advanced promotion.[2]
As of September 2018, approximately 57.5 million households (62.3 percent of households with cable TV) received Fox Sports 2.[3] By June 2023, this number has dropped to 52.6 million households.[4]
The network's concept originated in severalextreme sports programming concepts. One of them originated from Alistair Gosling, founder of the Extreme Sports Channel and Extreme Sports TV distribution and production companyExtreme. The concept, taken by Gosling to David Sternberg ofFox Sports Net, focused on expanding the coverage of extreme sports. This was translated into growing the existing programming block on theregional sports networks Fox Sports Net airing in the early evenings during the early 2000s on the network's affiliates, which includedBlue Torch TV andEX TV, and combining it withbrokered arrangements for individual shows which included among othersNew Waves Surf Television and16MM, along with ideas from the Europe-based Extreme Sports Chanternberg, CJ Olivares and Lloyd Bryan Adams.[5][6][7]
Originally, the name FUEL TV was conceived and launched as a regional weekly tv show that was also focused on extreme sports and indie music by Chris Braly, founder and president of BIG Studios production company.[8] That series first debuted on broadcast television on September 8, 2001, onWB affiliateWFLI-TV (channel 53, now aCW affiliate) inChattanooga, Tennessee, airing on Saturday evenings at midnight.[9] After nearly 100 episodes,News Corporation and CJ Oliveras took notice and eventually negotiated a buyout of the concept and trademark from Braly in late 2003. This weekly episodic version of Fuel TV aired its final episode[10] in September of that year just as FOX was launching their Fuel TV cable and satellite network.[11]
The Fuel TV cable and satellite channel featured programs ranging from original series, exclusive events, licensed films and creative interstitials. Extreme sports programming was formerly the bulk of the network, with a diverse combination of sports, music, reality programming, extreme sports news and other content, including comedic programs.[12][13]
Beginning in late 2011, Fuel became the official cable home of theUltimate Fighting Championship as part of a broader agreement betweenFox and the mixed martial arts promotion, featuring pre-match and analysis programming involving the circuit such as the weeklyUFC Tonight, along withundercard fights for UFCpay-per-view events.[2] By the second half of 2012, Fuel TV's lineup consisted solely ofcombat sports (such as MMA and boxing) and reruns of reality programs from sister channelSpeed.
With the2012–13 Premier League season, extra live and recordedPremier League matches were carried on Fuel TV, givingFox Soccer three channels to carry live matches on Premier League match days; this began in May 2012 with Fuel carrying one of nine games on the final day of the Premier League season as part of Fox Sports's "Survival Sunday" effort to air all that day's Premier League matches across the division's cable properties. In March 2013, Fuel TV began airing coverage of theRugby Football League (RFL)Super League andChampionship.
In January 2013, alongside reports thatSpeed was to be replaced by a national sports network known asFox Sports 1 (which was officially announced by Fox on March 5, 2013, for an August 17 launch), it was reported that Fox was planning to rebrand Fuel TV as Fox Sports 2–a name which Fox had filed atrademark application for on November 27, 2012.[14][15]
As opposed to the widely publicized launch of Fox Sports 1, the impending replacement of Fuel TV with Fox Sports 2 was met with relatively little fanfare, and was only announced roughly one week prior. The relaunch of the channel as Fox Sports 2 took place on August 17, 2013, at the same time that Speed was replaced by Fox Sports 1. Upon the relaunch, the channel was expanded into a mainstream sports service with a wider variety of content, althoughcombat sports (such as UFC programs) remained an integral part of the lineup.[2][16] Fuel's signature UFC program,UFC Tonight, moved over to Fox Sports 1 with the launch.
The network's two highest-rated telecasts came from UFC events temporarily airing on FS2 due to overruns on FS1. The first bout of theUFC 200 preliminary card (moved due tobaseball overruns on FS1) drew an average of 582,000 viewers, a network high.[17] The first main card bout ofUFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov also aired on FS2 in April 2017, drawing an average of 430,000 viewers.[18] After the move of the rights for the UFC toESPN andESPN+ in 2019, its schedule has become more varied, and is less tied to a certain sport than in the past.
Fox Sports 2 features reruns of some of the news and analysis programs broadcast by Fox Sports 1. Sports programming post-UFC includes overflow coverage of events aired by Fox Sports 1, such asBig East basketball,Mountain West football and basketball, andNASCAR, along with second-tier programming that formerly would have aired as part of theFox Sports Networks schedule. Fox Sports 2 also shows selectARCA Menards Series races live. Limited coverage of theAustralian Football League moved to Fox Sports 2 fromFox Soccer Plus (simulcast from Australia via the Seven Network along with full coverage of theState of Origin series live from Australia'sNine Network. This move has proven popular with fans in the United States due to the growing fanbase forAustralian rules football in the country.[2][16] According to the websites of the Australian Football Association of North America and Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports has extended its current deal until 2016. Fox Sports 2 televised some regular season games and finals matches, while most of the 2015 season was aired on Fox Soccer Plus.[19]
As of 2019, UFC-related programming no longer airs on the channel due to UFC's new deal with ESPN which started that same year. TheNew York Racing Association provides a substantial portion of FS2's daytime programming, carrying live racing from its tracks under the bannerAmerica's Day at the Races, with select races airing on FS1 and the NYRA-sanctionedBelmont Stakes airing on Fox.[20]
In May 2018, it was reported that due to viewer backlash surrounding a preemption of part of aWashington/Stanford football game from FS1 to FS2 due to aNASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, that Fox would now prefer usingFox Business Network (which has distribution more in line with FS1, and only carries non-criticalpaid programming on weekends) forPac-12 overflow in the future.[21][22][23][24]
In 2020, Fox Sports 2 started broadcasting weeklyMajor League Rugby matches[25] as well as reruns of the 1989roller derby programRollerGames.
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