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Fox Sports Live

Fox Sports Live
The logo during the second run of the show.
GenreSports news
Presented byJay Onrait
Dan O'Toole
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
Production
Executive producerMichael Hughes
Production locationsFox Network Center (Fox Studio Lot Building 101), 10201 W Pico Blvd, Century City, Los Angeles, California
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyFox Sports
Original release
NetworkFox Sports 1
ReleaseAugust 17, 2013 (2013-08-17) –
February 5, 2016 (2016-02-05)
ReleaseFebruary 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) –
February 23, 2017 (2017-02-23)

Fox Sports Live is an American sports news program that aired on Fox Sports 1. It was hosted by Canadian sportscasters Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole, who had been well-known locally for their late-night editions of TSN's SportsCentre.

The program was initially formatted as the channel's sportscast of record, in a similar manner to ESPN's SportsCenter, featuring highlights and analysis of the day's major sporting events and previews of upcoming events, as well as panel discussions, and other, sometimes-comedic segments.

After low viewership and a realignment of FS1's editorial operations towards personality and opinion-based programs, the program was retooled in February 2016 as Fox Sports Live with Jay and Dan. It adopted a late-night talk show-styled format, with a larger focus on comedy segments and interviews than straight sports news. Fox Sports Live was cancelled on February 23, 2017, with Jay and Dan subsequently returning to TSN to host a revival of their previous show.

Overview and format

The first editions of Fox Sports Live aired most evenings starting at either 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. – depending on when a scheduled sporting event on FS1 concludes – and running until 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time. On some nights, the program would begin at 9:30 p.m. Eastern or earlier (such as on February 14, 2015, the Saturday before the 2015 Daytona 500, when a special daytime edition of FSL titled "Drive to the 500" aired at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time). From the program's inception until July 2015, Fox Sports 1 aired short 90-second capsules known as the Fox Sports Live Update at various times in-between commercial breaks;[1] these update segments were alternately branded as America's Pregame Update (titled after the sports preview show America's Pregame, which itself was cancelled by the network in September 2015)[2] – providing updates of certain stories or reports on headlines that broke since the previous night's initial Fox Sports Live broadcast – during updates aired on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

Until the end of the first run after Super Bowl 50, the program was primarily anchored by Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole on Tuesday through Saturday evenings, and by Ryan Field on Sundays and Mondays.[3] The program also featured a panel of rotating talent with Charissa Thompson serving as moderator and segment host, helming a standalone show at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Fox Sports Live: Countdown, on nights when FS1 is not airing a major sports event (during the college football season, the Friday edition of Countdown was known as Fox Sports Live: Countdown to Kickoff).

The program often leads each broadcast with different, and sometimes more expansive, event coverage than SportsCenter – in particular, during the 2014 postseason, the program maintained a larger focus on Major League Baseball coverage, roughly double the amount covered by SportsCenter. Fox Sports executive vice president Scott Ackerson noted that the program bases what it leads each edition with on "the biggest, most important story there is" on that day, with editions leading out of an event tending to skew coverage toward the sport that was broadcast beforehand.[4]

During broadcasts anchored by Onrait and O'Toole, FSL aired short segments under the Fox Sports 1 Sneak Peek title, which feature either behind-the-scenes featurettes or comedic spots such as the "FSL Thrill Cam" (with the two stating that the pieces were crafted as an homage to the comedy skits featured on Late Night with David Letterman).[5] The channel provided a more detailed news ticker during Fox Sports Live broadcasts, incorporating a panel on the right side of the screen that displayed additional statistics pertaining to the teams discussed in the highlight or topical discussion segment being shown and a sidebar which resembled that seen on SportsCenter (with the cosmetic difference being that FSL's sidebar was placed on the right side of the screen, whereas SportsCenter's sidebar is placed at the left).[6][7] Off-the-collar segments were also featured on nights in which Onrait and O'Toole anchor, such as "Are They Related?" (comparing the resemblance of an athlete with another celebrity or fictional character) and "Check the Tweeter" (featuring Twitter posts from sports luminaries). Most of the lighter moments during the program occurred during the segments "Get Me that Stat!" (featuring player and team statistics) and "The 1" (which focuses on the top play of the day).

History

Development

On March 5, 2013, as part of Fox Sports Media Group's announcement of Fox Sports 1's launch (replacing the motorsports-focused Speed), the division announced that it would launch Fox Sports Live as a daily sports news and analysis program that would compete directly opposite with ESPN's longer-established sports news program, SportsCenter (which maintains a more straightforward news, analysis and features format). Fox Sports executives later stated that the program would be treated in the form of multiple shows incorporated within a single three-hour block. Initial plans for the program called for Fox Sports Live to expand to include a morning edition (with New York City being considered to serve as the production base for the proposed broadcast) in January 2014, which ultimately did not launch at that time.[8][9][10] Fox Sports previously had attempted national sports news programs (which focused more on highlights than analysis) on its Fox Sports Net slate of regional networks, beginning with the 1996 premiere of Fox Sports News, which in 2000, evolved into the National Sports Report; six years after the cancellation of that program, FSN Final Score premiered on the regional networks in 2006, lasting for three years.

On May 6, 2013, Fox Sports named Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole as the program's main anchors; the two came to FS1 from TSN, a Canadian sports channel minority-owned by ESPN, where the pair gained popularity for their irreverent presentation of sports news while serving as anchors of the late-night editions of its version of SportsCenter.[11][12] O'Toole stated in an interview with the sports website The Big Lead that the two gave a directive to Fox Sports Live's writing staff to avoid giving away the highlight within the program's headline segments, in order to use game highlight to help expand upon the story, saying "It's not just highlights, we want to make it into an actual show and try to develop that 'show within a show world.'" In turn, Fox Sports executives gave Onrait and O'Toole free rein to maintain the humorous, lighthearted approach that made them well known in their home country during their SportsCentre tenure.[13][5]

Two weeks later on May 23, former tennis player Andy Roddick was announced to become a contributor for Fox Sports Live, joining host Charissa Thompson (who rejoined Fox Sports, where she previously served as an NFL sideline reporter and co-host of Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, after a four-year run as host of ESPN2's SportsNation) as part of a panel feature discussing the day's sports headlines that would also incorporate interview segments.[14][15] Then on July 25, Fox Sports announced that former NBA player Gary Payton and former NFL players Donovan McNabb and Ephraim Salaam would be added as contributors; Don Bell and Ryan Field were named anchors of the Sunday and Monday editions as well as breaking news anchors for the daytime Fox Sports Live Updates, while Molly McGrath and Julie Stewart-Binks were also named as contributors to the program.[16][17][18]

Launch

The program premiered on August 17, 2013, the date of FS1's launch, following the conclusion of its first UFC Fight Night telecast (featuring a main event card between Maurício Rua and Chael Sonnen).[19][20][21] The extended 67-minute premiere telecast averaged 476,000 viewers and registered an overnight rating of 0.3 (only three-tenths of a point below the 0.6 earned by that night's 11:00 p.m. edition of SportsCenter).[22][23]

Reviews for the program were mixed (many comments of which in print reviews and on social media complimented Onrait and O'Toole's presentation); Awful Announcing's Joe DeLessio and USA Today's Chris Chase noted similarities to SportsCenter's format, with DeLessio adding that Fox Sports Live "[added] a layer to [the sports news format] by having the same panel on the show every night and throwing to it regularly", while Time columnist Sean Gregory stated the production quality had "the Fox Sports feel." Others noted issues with the chemistry of the contributors to the "Fox Sports Panel" segment. Boston Globe columnist Saul Austerlitz stated that although he felt the program was "often amusing", it felt "strained because of its efforts to differentiate itself from [...] SportsCenter".[23][7][24][25][26][6][27] Within a few months of its debut, the format of Fox Sports Live shifted more toward a focus on game highlights and less on panel discussions.[28]

Since its premiere, viewership for the 11:00 p.m. broadcast has fluctuated wildly on most nights when the program did not have the help of a strong event lead-in. With declines experienced during its first week (including a 0.0 overnight rating it registered for the August 19 edition), the August 20 edition registered the program's lowest audience up to that point with 61,000 viewers (along with an additional 6,000 viewers on average with simulcasts on many of the Fox Sports regional networks factored in); overall during the period from August 19 to 26, Fox Sports Live averaged 61,451 viewers (compared to the 1,002,588 that SportsCenter averaged during that week).[29][30] The program saw its highest ratings (to date as of January 2014) on November 10, 2013, when the program averaged 161,000 viewers after FS1's telecast of the Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 race. Its morning rebroadcast also registered the network's highest ratings in the Sunday 10:00 a.m. Eastern timeslot, with 132,000 viewers on average during the fourth quarter of 2013.[13] Fox Sports Live's highest ratings to date occurred in October 2014, on nights when it had college football and National League Championship Series games as lead-ins, with an average of 353,000 viewers. On October 16, the program earned a single-day ratings high of 2.3 million viewers, following Game 5 of the NLCS, beating the previous high of 2.2 million following a February 2014 NASCAR race telecast (the October 20 edition, without a strong lead-in, comparatively was viewed by only 23,000, a 99% decline); overall during that month, Fox Sports Live averaged 1.3 million viewers leading out of postseason baseball coverage, and just 75,000 viewers without any live event lead-ins, with very limited increases on nights when Fox aired coverage of the World Series (despite heavy promotion during the games).[31]

In February 2014, Fox Sports started scaling back its rebroadcasts of Fox Sports Live; as a result, the 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. Eastern repeat block of the program was moved to sister network Fox Sports 2, while FSL repeats on Fox Sports 1 from 5:00 to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. On June 26, 2015, Fox Sports announced that it would eliminate the Fox Sports Live Update segments as part of a cost-cutting effort done to restructure Fox Sports 1's news operations and streamline the division's television and digital operations, resulting in the layoffs of some of FS1's news and production personnel. The segments were replaced by video content from Fox Sports Digital's @The Buzzer website. In addition, Fox Sports 1 would scale back on live reports for events to which the network does not hold broadcast rights to air.[1]

2016 retooling

On February 22, 2016, Fox Sports Live was re-launched with a revamped format as Fox Sports Live with Jay and Dan; the new format was more akin to a late-night talk show rather than a conventional sports news program, with a larger focus on sports-related comedy and interviews.[32]

The new format opened with "Here's What Happened Today", a monologue-like segment recapping the day's sports headlines, as well as "Jay and Dan's Selected Summation of Today's Athletic Achievements in Sports" (JADSSOTAIS). Other segments may be included in the opening. On some nights, Jay and Dan present "The Producer Tim", the worst play of the day. This leads into a guest for the night (The show also shows the main guest plus two guests that never actually appear on the show, but are provided as comedic relief.).

The show ends with "Video you've Already Seen On Your Phone", a series of viral videos, most comedic, before Jay and Dan unveil "The Greg" (referring to former anchor Greg Wolf), the best play of the day. The one holdover segment that remained was "Ya Blew It", during which Jay and Dan correct their mistakes.

Cancellation

Fox Sports 1 announced the cancellation of Fox Sports Live on February 23, 2017, with the program's final edition airing the previous night.[33][34] The duo subsequently returned to TSN in September 2017, hosting a new show called SC with Jay and Dan on that network.[35]

On-air staff

This section lists the program's main hosts and principal panelists (or "opinionists", as termed by Scott Ackerman, executive vice president of Fox Sports), some of whom also served as substitute presenters. In addition, Fox Sports Live also periodically used reporters and commentators from the various Fox Sports regional networks.

Anchors
  • Don Bell – Sunday and Monday anchor; also substitute anchor (2013–2015); left in 2015 to become sports director at KYW-TV
  • Jay Onrait – Anchor (2013–2017)
  • Dan O'Toole – Anchor (2013–2017)
  • Charissa Thompson – Monday-Friday host/moderator of Fox Sports Live: Countdown (2013–2015)
  • Ryan Field – Saturday and Sunday; also substitute anchor (2013–2016)
  • Jenny Taft – Sunday and Monday segment host/moderator; also substitute anchor (2013–2016)
  • Greg Wolf – Saturday and Sunday; also substitute anchor (2013–2016)
  • Mike Hill – Saturday and Sunday; also substitute anchor (2013–2016)
Opinionists
All were mainly seen Monday through Fridays during the old run. The second run rarely featured the opinionists; however, some of them remained with the network to contribute to the show.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Joe Lucia (June 26, 2015). "Fox Sports 1 is cutting back its television news operation". Awful Announcing. Bloguin. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  2. ^ Matt Yoder (September 29, 2015). "FS1 is canceling America's Pregame". Awful Announcing. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  3. ^ Reid Cherner (August 12, 2013). "Fox Sports 1 not the usual new kid on ESPN's block". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  4. ^ Paul Sanford (October 14, 2013). "Execs From ESPN, FS1 Detail Coverage Decisions On Flagship Highlight Shows". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Christopher Botta (August 12, 2013). "Fox Sports 1 anchors bring their own style". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Saul Austerlitz (March 1, 2014). "'Fox Sports Live' struggles to make good on its game plan". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Chris Chase (August 21, 2013). "FOX Sports Live isn't better than SportsCenter ... yet". For The Win (USA Today). Gannett Company. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  8. ^ Michael Hiestand (March 5, 2013). "Fox Sports launches direct challenge to ESPN dominance". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  9. ^ "FS1 To Take Aim At "SportsCenter" With Three-Hour "Fox Sports Live" Airing Nightly". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. March 11, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  10. ^ Matt Rudnitsky (May 6, 2013). "'Fox Sports Live' Might Not Suck And Actually Has A Chance To Beat Out SportsCenter". SportsGrid. RotoGrid LLC.
  11. ^ "Fox Sports 1 Setting Talent Lineup For Three-Hour Nightly News Program". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. May 6, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  12. ^ Joe DeLessio (July 29, 2013). "The New Dan and Keith?". Sports on Earth. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
  13. ^ a b Mike Cardillo (January 3, 2014). "The Sports Highlight Show Isn't Dead Yet, Claim Fox Sports Live's Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole". The Big Lead (USA Today). Gannett Company. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  14. ^ "Roddick To Co-Host FS1 Flagship News Program; Not Looking For Tennis TV Role". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. May 23, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  15. ^ Chris Strauss (October 23, 2013). "Charissa Thompson: 'Not everything is a clown show' on 'FOX Sports Live'". For The Win (USA Today). Gannett Company. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  16. ^ "Fox Sports 1 Rounds Out 'Fox Sports Live' Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. July 25, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  17. ^ "Fox Sports Announces On-Air Roles For "Fox Sports Live" On FS1". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. July 25, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  18. ^ Jason Dachman (July 26, 2013). "Behind the Mic: Fox Reveals Talent Lineup for FS1's Fox Sports Live; ESPN Adds FiveThirtyEight.com's Nate Silver". SportsVideo. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "Fox Sports 1 Sets Opening Day Schedule". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. May 9, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  20. ^ "FS1 Ready To Take On ESPN, Though Fox Execs Know The Battle Could Take A While". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. August 16, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  21. ^ Josh Sanburn (August 16, 2013). "Fox's Sports Network To Debut Saturday, With or Without the Sound". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  22. ^ "Fox Sports 1 Premiere Ratings Boosted By Primetime UFC". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. August 19, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  23. ^ a b "FS1's UFC Debut Averages 1.78 Million Viewers; "Fox Sports Live" Reviews Promising". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. August 19, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  24. ^ "Early Reviews Of "Fox Sports Live" Flood The Twittersphere". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. August 18, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  25. ^ "FS1 Still Seeing Mixed Reviews For "Fox Sports Live;" Daily Football Show Has Promise". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. August 23, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  26. ^ Deven Persaud (August 19, 2013). "Does SportsCenter need to worry about the new Fox Sports 1 anchors?". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  27. ^ Steve Lepore (August 19, 2013). "'Fox Sports Live' will find its way, but opening weekend showed some speed bumps". SBNation. Vox Media. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  28. ^ John Ourand (March 3, 2014). "Fox Sports execs like trends at FS1". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  29. ^ Austin Karp (August 23, 2013). "Audience Trends Lower For FS1's "Fox Sports Live" After Debut 11:00pm Show". Sports Business Daily. American City Business Journals. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  30. ^ Matt Yoder (August 28, 2013). "Fox Sports 1's ratings are falling back to earth". Awful Announcing. Bloguin. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  31. ^ Matt Yoder (November 11, 2014). "Fox Sports Live's ratings have been an insane rollercoaster". Awful Announcing. Bloguin. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  32. ^ "Fox Sports Live With Jay And Dan" moves away from SportsCenter and towards late night". Awful Announcing. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  33. ^ Bonesteel, Matt (February 23, 2017). "FS1 blows up its late night: 'Fox Sports Live' canceled, Katie Nolan in limbo". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  34. ^ Mandell, Nina (February 23, 2017). "FS1 cancels Fox Sports Live". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  35. ^ "Jay and Dan return to Scarborough parking lot roots". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
  36. ^ Brian Stelter (July 12, 2015). "Donovan McNabb off the air at Fox and NBC after arrest". CNN Money. Time Warner. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  37. ^ Joseph Zucker (July 12, 2015). "Donovan McNabb Suspended by Fox Sports Indefinitely Following DUI Arrest". Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
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