Fox Sports 2

Fox Sports 2 is an Argentine subscription television channel devoted to sports. It began broadcasting in 2009 as Fox Sports+, initially serving as an additional outlet for events including UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches, as well as some Copa Libertadores matches that could not be shown on Fox Sports because of scheduling conflicts. The channel’s Southern signal began broadcasting around the clock on 15 August 2011, except in Chile, where it was available for selected sports transmissions. The channel’s programming has been described as concentrating mainly on less popular and niche sports, including urban-oriented disciplines, alongside sports analysis through Fox Sports Radio. Its reported event coverage has included the Liga ACB, CONMEBOL Libertadores and UEFA Champions League. In its post-relaunch programming plan, Fox Sports 2 was assigned a distinct role centred on less mainstream and niche urban sports, complementing the more traditional-sports focus of Fox Sports and the esports, streaming and social-media orientation assigned to Fox Sports 3. Mediapro became the channel’s owner following a divestment connected to the acquisition of Fox by The Walt Disney Company. Argentina’s competition authority conditioned Disney’s acquisition on measures to restore competition in the market for basic sports channels, leading to a proposed sale of Fox Sports Argentina and related signals, including Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 3, to Mediapro. The Argentine government approved the sale on 27 April 2022. Mediapro began operating the three Argentine Fox Sports signals on 1 August 2022. The channel’s name and several programmes are licensed from Fox Corporation’s Fox Deportes subsidiary under an agreement reported in October 2022. A refreshed Fox Sports identity was introduced across the three channels in August 2022. The new Mediapro-led Fox Sports service began on 6 February 2023 with a renewed visual identity, a new journalistic team and programming organised around each channel’s designated audience and sports focus. Fox Sports 2’s place in that lineup is as the channel for niche disciplines and urban sports. The available evidence identifies Argentina as the channel’s market; it does not establish a separate headquarters, a founder, or its current individual executives.

Fox Sports 2 began broadcasting in Argentina in 2009 under the name Fox Sports+. It was introduced as an additional channel for sporting events, including UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches, and some Copa Libertadores fixtures that could not be carried by Fox Sports because of schedule overlaps. At the time, Sergio Veiga, identified as commercial vice president of Fox Sports Latin America’s Southern Region, described the channel’s role in relation to those events. From 15 August 2011, the Southern signal broadcast 24 hours a day, although in Chile the channel was made available only for selected sports transmissions. The channel’s programming developed a focus on sports and disciplines that were less popular or more niche, including urban-oriented sports, as well as analysis programming through Fox Sports Radio. It also carried events such as the Liga ACB, CONMEBOL Libertadores and UEFA Champions League. Its later channel-specific programming brief retained this niche focus, distinguishing Fox Sports 2 from Fox Sports, which was assigned a more traditional sports orientation, and Fox Sports 3, which was assigned esports, streaming and social-media-related content. A change in ownership followed the regulatory process associated with Disney’s acquisition of Fox. In 2020, the Argentine Football Association ended its television contract in the context of that acquisition. In January 2021, The Walt Disney Company reached a new agreement with the AFA and the Liga Profesional de Fútbol for television rights through 2030. The account of the transaction notes that Disney’s acquisition of Fox had not yet been approved by Argentine regulators, and that Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3 and Fox Sports Premium continued broadcasting in Argentina after Fox Sports channels elsewhere in Central and South America were replaced by ESPN 4 on 1 December 2021. On 18 January 2022, Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia conditioned the acquisition, requiring measures to restore effective competition in the market for basic sports channels and the divestment of specified key content in Argentina. Disney submitted a divestment proposal covering Fox Sports Argentina and its related signals, Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 3, as well as some of the identified content. On 27 April 2022, the Argentine government approved the sale, making Mediapro the new owner of the channel and most of the specified content. Disney retained Argentine football rights that had previously belonged to Fox and the Fox Sports Premium signal; the latter was renamed ESPN Premium on 1 May 2022. Mediapro began operating Argentina’s three Fox Sports signals on 1 August 2022. On 3 August, Fox Sports introduced a new visual identity and slogan across the channels. A 4 October 2022 report described a licensing agreement between Mediapro and Fox Deportes, a Fox Corporation subsidiary, for use of the channel brands and production of programming in Argentina. The new Fox Sports service under Mediapro began on 6 February 2023, with a renewed visual identity, a new journalistic team and programming divided by channel. Fox Sports 2 was designated for less popular and niche urban disciplines. The available source does not specify the channel’s current individual executives or a separate headquarters.

• Launched as Fox Sports+

• Southern signal began 24-hour broadcasting

• Fox Sports 2 remained on air in Argentina

• Competition authority conditioned Disney’s Fox acquisition

• Sale to Mediapro was approved

• Mediapro began operating the three Argentine channels

• Three-channel rebrand introduced

• Brand and programming licence agreement reported

• New Mediapro-led Fox Sports service began

An Argentine sports channel positioned within the Fox Sports lineup for niche and less widely followed sports, including urban-oriented disciplines.

• Fox Sports 2 subscription channel

  An Argentine sports television channel whose programming focuses largely on niche and less widely followed disciplines.

• Fox Sports Radio

  An analysis programme cited as part of the channel’s programming.

• Competition remedies required for Disney’s Fox acquisition in ArgentinaOther

• Government approved the Mediapro saleOther

1. 1Fox Sports 2 (Argentina)es.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fox Sports 2wikidata.org
3. 3Fox Sports official websitefoxsports.com.ar