FOX Sports Channels Rebranding Across Asia

SINGAPORE: Starting in August, FOX International Channels will implement a wide-scale rebranding of its FOX Sports Asia network across most of the continent, with the exception of China and South Korea.

The upgrade will affect the network’s portfolio of channels, which currently includes FOX Sports, FOX Sports Plus HD and STAR Sports. The trio of channels will all be available in HD, with each catering to distinct groups of sports fans.

Flagship channel FOX Sports will broadcast popular local athletic events, as well as top-tier games and matches such as the Barclays Premier League, La Liga, UFC and the Tennis Grand Slam semis and finals. FOX Sports Plus HD will now be FOX Sports 2, becoming the go-to for athletics and ball and racquet sports, including the Tennis Grand Slams, Golf Majors, European and Asian football leagues, Major League Baseball and the Indian Badminton League. Finally, STAR Sports rebrands to FOX Sports 3, airing motor sports, combat and extreme sports, among them F1, MotoGP, One FC and Extreme Games Asia.

The changes will happen in all territories across Asia where FOX Sports network channels are available, except for China and South Korea, where the STAR Sports brand will be offered.

Jon Lee, the executive VP of content and communications for APAC and Middle East, said, “Since we’ve taken over ESPN STAR Sports in 2012 and relaunched it as FOX Sports, our vision has always been to shake things up and change the sports broadcasting paradigm is this region. Sports viewing is surprisingly relatively low across Asia, but those who do watch are passionate sports fans. Our aim is to service those die-hard fans but also open up sports viewing to new audiences in a big way. Watching sports in Asia should be a family affair, it should speak to women as much as it does traditionally to men, we should be inspiring kids to play sports and be active. We can only start to change the way these audiences think about sports viewing by doing things differently, like making sports more accessible through offering the content in as many local languages as possible, and making it more relevant by bringing to screens in each country across Asia sports that are locally popular.”

He added, “In less than two years since we brought the FOX Sports brand to Asia we have made strides in improving the product through better content, availability on multi-screens, etc. Now, we’re ready to take the brand to the next level and really invigorate the excitement, entertainment and just pure enjoyment of watching sports amongst traditional and new viewers in Asia.”