Three days ahead of its launch, Fox Sports 1 has reached an agreement with major MSOs DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Dish Network to carry the all-sports cable channel, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
The three distributors will add 40 million homes to the network, which makes its much-anticipated debut Saturday. When it was announced back in March, Fox Sports 1 was planning to launch in 90 million homes, which would be the largest cable sports network launch in history.
Fox, which will roll out the network from the racing channel Speed, was reportedly seeking a big fee increase from distributors to carry the network. According to SNL Kagan, Speed received about 23 cents per-subscriber, per-month, while the price for Fox Sports 1 in the first year is said to be around 80 cents.
Sports Business Journal is also reporting that Bright House Networks, whose programming deals are negotiated by Time Warner Cable, will carry the channel as well.
Fox could not be reached by presstime.
