Fox ruined the worst kept secret in sports television on Tuesday, announcing plans for a national sports network that launches Aug. 17. News Corp. COO Chase Carey said the key to the new cable network was to “not try to beat ESPN,” but the million-dollar question remains: What does Fox Sports 1 have to do to rival the worldwide leader in sports?
ESPN is the 800-pound gorilla of the sports media world, one of the most profitable networks on TV and one of the most successful media companies of the last quarter century. Fox Sports 1 has a chance to do the unthinkable: upset the balance of power.