Fox Footy Channel
| Fox Footy Channel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 6 March 2002 |
| Closed | 1 October 2006 |
| Owned by | Foxtel |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) |
| Audience share | 0.6% (July 2005, [1]) |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Replaced by | Fox Sports 3 |
|
Availability at time of closure
|
|
| Satellite | |
| Foxtel | Channel 506 |
| Austar | Channel 506 |
| Cable | |
| Foxtel | Channel 506 |
| Austar | Channel 506 |
| Optus TV | Channel 506 |
| TransTV | Channel 24 |
The Fox Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. It was owned by Foxtel and operates out of their Melbourne based studios. From 2002 - 2006 it was available on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television, TransTV and Neighbourhood Cable until transmission ceased on 1 October 2006. The channel was revived as Fox Footy for the 2012 AFL season after a new broadcast agreement was reached between Fox Sports and the AFL.
The channel was created in 2002 after News Limited won the television broadcast rights to the AFL for the 2002 to 2006 seasons. It granted to free to air rights to the Nine Network and Network Ten and granted the subscription rights to Foxtel. Fox Footy was originally offered by Foxtel for an additional subscription during the first two seasons of the rights agreement; however, it was moved to the Basic package in February 2004, making it available to all Foxtel subscribers without additional charge for the balance of its life.
Due to broadcasting rights, each state had a separate version of the channel to allow free-to-air right holders exclusive live coverage. For example, if Channel Nine or Channel Ten broadcast a match between the Adelaide Crows and Sydney Swans live in Adelaide, Fox Footy would have been prevented from showing the match live, whereas if Nine or Ten didn't broadcast it in Melbourne, Fox Footy would be allowed to show it live there. Fox Footy typically repeated all matches after they were played, although often with the commentary of the free-to-air network that presented it live originally. Fox Footy only broadcast the AFL and not any state football leagues such as SANFL, WAFL or VFL.
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