Fox Sports Asia
Fox Sports Asia was a pan-Asian pay television network operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company Pte. Ltd. It also oversaw a version of Star Sports available in mainland China and South Korea.
The network was originally launched in 1991 as Star Sports and ESPN by Satellite Television Asian Region and ESPN International. The two companies combined their Asian operations in October 1996. News Corporation assumed full control of the venture in 2012 and relaunched the channels in two phases, in January 2013 and August 2014.
History
Early years
Star Sports
In March 1991, HutchVision announced it would jointly operate a sports channel with Denver-based Prime Network International, to be distributed in more than 30 Asian countries, reaching an audience of nearly three billion.Star Sports was first launched on 21 August 1991 as Prime Sports, and its first broadcast was the US Open tennis tournament. Operated by Hong Kong–based company Star TV, the channel was a 24-hour multi-sport television channel broadcasting in English and Chinese. It was carried on AsiaSat 1 and could be reached from the Far East to the Middle East. Star TV later regionalized the service to better serve its audience.
On 1 February 1996, the channel changed its logo from the original 1991 design to a box-type Star symbol featuring a frame, a star, and a square.
On 1 April 1999, the channel introduced its first major logo redesign, changing from a vertical to a horizontal layout, consistent with other Star TV channels.
During this time, the feed was used in both Southeast Asia and the Chinese region until it was split into two dedicated channels on 31 March 2001.
ESPN
was part of the "Gang of Five", a consortium formed with CNN International, HBO, TVB, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, to compete against Star TV in the region. The group's channels were initially transmitted via the Palapa satellite, and later also via the Apstar satellite.ESPN opened its production facility at New Tech Park in Lorong Chuan, Singapore, in May 1995.
Operations combined as ESPN Star Sports
ESPN and Star Sports were competing with each other across Asia, but their businesses were operating at a loss. In October 1996, both channels agreed to combine their operations in the region. The resulting joint venture, later named ESPN Star Sports, was headquartered in Singapore.On 16 January 1998, a version of Fox Sports launched in the Middle East, carried by Star Select. This replaced ESPN Star Sports in the region, but the pan-Asian version was available via the AsiaSat and Palapa satellites.
Relaunch as Fox Sports
On 6 June 2012, News Corporation announced it would buy ESPN International's share in ESPN Star Sports. Later, Star India took over ESPN Star Sports' businesses in India and relaunched its sports channels under the Star Sports brand on 6 November 2013.In October 2012, Fox Football Channel was launched in Malaysia. The channel ceased transmission in 2015.
On 28 January 2013, ESPN and ESPN HD were relaunched as Fox Sports and Fox Sports Plus HD in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The regional version of ESPNews was relaunched as Fox Sports News, and SportsCenter Asia was relaunched as Fox Sports Central.
On 15 August 2014, Star Sports was rebranded as Fox Sports 2, and Fox Sports Plus HD was renamed Fox Sports 3. The corresponding HD and SD versions of all three channels were also launched. This rebranding did not affect much of East Asia: a version of Star Sports continued to broadcast to mainland China and South Korea, and the ESPN feed for Mainland China was renamed as Star Sports 2 on 10 January 2014.
ESPN International has since refocused on its digital business by developing online properties for football, cricket, Formula One, and Australian rugby union, and established a partnership with Multi Screen Media in India, TV5 Network in the Philippines, Tencent in mainland China, and Mediacorp in Singapore.
On 31 March 2020, the website of Fox Sports Asia merged with the global ESPN website. Fox Sports Asia's social media accounts remained unaffected.
On 8 March 2021, Fox Sports partnered with Emtek's OTT media service, Vidio, to make the networks available for Indonesian viewers.
Closure
On 18 September 2020, Disney announced that it would shut down Fox Sports operations in Taiwan at the end of 2020. It was later revealed that operations in Taiwan would end on 1 January 2021, following years of financial losses in the region.On 27 April 2021, Disney announced that the Fox Sports network, along with the rest of the Fox channels, would permanently cease operations on 1 October after 30 years of broadcasting. This move folded the former Prime Sports/Star Sports Asia and ESPN Asia channel spaces as Disney shifted focus to its streaming platform, Disney+. The last events covered by the channel were the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, the 2021 Superbike World Championship at Circuito de Jerez, and UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega.
Prior to the shutdown, Korean sports network SPOTV acquired the rights to broadcast the remainder of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, taking over the Fox Sports network's place once its transmission went offline; this ensured the remaining MotoGP races were broadcast. They also carried the Superbike World Championship. Vietnam had no TV broadcaster for MotoGP until SPOTV officially launched on 24 December 2023.
Hong Kong pay TV provider Now TV picked up coverage of the 2021 US Open, the remaining races of the 2021 Formula One World Championship, and future UFC fights prior to the closure of the Fox Sports network.
The remaining coverage of both Formula One and UFC was aired on Astro in Malaysia on Astro SuperSport 5 ; Premier Sports from the TAP Sports network in the Philippines, which replaced Fox Sports and also secured most of the another rights formerly held by ABS-CBN's sports division whose had sharing several rights with Fox Sports until its winddown following the expiration and subsequent cancellation of legislative broadcast network franchise in 2020; StarHub TV and Singtel TV in Singapore ; and TrueVisions' True Sport in Thailand. Mola streamed the remaining UFC fights in Indonesia while also sub-licensing to both Singapore and Malaysia for future live fights, including Dana White's Contender Series; these had not been aired previously when Fox Sports focused on UFC main events. Meanwhile, the Emtek group aired the remaining Formula One races on Champions TV, O Channel and their OTT media service Vidio, which previously carried the Fox Sports network.
As reported exclusively by SportBusiness, Formula One coverage in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia transferred to beIN Sports starting in 2023. beIN Sports also held rights for both the Australian Open and French Open, while SPOTV, which was already available across Southeast Asia, broadcast Wimbledon and the US Open. The extension for UFC coverage in Southeast Asia had yet to be finalized.
The John Dykes Show was announced to resume on Disney+ Hotstar in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, and was yet to be announced for other Disney+ territories, including Singapore and Hong Kong, as Star Originals.
A few days after the closure, Disney relaunched the ESPN brand in Asia as a digital media portal through its official YouTube channel and social media pages.
Channels
- Fox Sports
- Fox Sports 2
- Fox Sports 3
- : The channel was first launched as ESPNews in November 2009 in Singapore on Singtel's Mio TV, and later expanded to other areas, including Hong Kong, where it launched in August 2011 on PCCW's Now TV. It was renamed Fox Sports News on 28 January 2013. The channel was gradually discontinued in 2017: it ceased broadcasting on 1 April 2017 in most areas, but continued until 24 April in Hong Kong, 3 May in Malaysia, and 31 May in Taiwan.
- : The channel launched in October 2012 in Malaysia. Its programming consisted mainly of association football matches and shows. It ceased broadcasting in 2015.
Regions
- Hong Kong: A schedule variant offered to Hong Kong Cable Television customers due to broadcasting rights issues. This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Hong Kong and produced from studios in Hong Kong. The headquarters closed on 1 October 2021.
- Indonesia: This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Indonesia and produced from studios in Indonesia. The headquarters closed on 12 November 2021.
- Malaysia and Brunei: This feed did not provide coverage of field hockey events. This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Malaysia and produced from studios in Malaysia. The headquarters closed on 12 November 2021.
- Philippines: This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Philippines and produced from studios in the Philippines. The headquarters closed on 1 October 2021.
- Singapore: This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Singapore and produced from studios in Singapore. The headquarters closed on 12 November 2021.
- Vietnam: This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Vietnam and produced from studios in Vietnam. The headquarters closed on 1 October 2021 in Hanoi, and 12 November 2021 in Hồ Chí Minh City.
- Taiwan: This variant was transmitted by Fox Networks Group Taiwan and produced from studios in Taipei. The headquarters closed on 1 January 2024.
In South Korea, Fox Sports partnered with JTBC until 11 March 2020, which operated JTBC3 Fox Sports. As ESPN Star Sports, it had previously partnered with MBC from 2001 until July 2010, and SBS from late 2010 until 2014.