After much speculation, Atlanta United officially announced Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast as their first television partner. The two parties agreed to a multi-year contract. The two Fox Sports Regional Networks will hold exclusive regional television rights and broadcast every non-nationally televised match the club has in its inaugural season, save for three scheduling conflicts.
In addition to every match being televised, a 30-minute pregame show entitled Atlanta United LIVE! will precede each match. There will also be a mid-week TV show dedicated to the team.
Beginning Tuesday, April 4, FOX Sports Southeast will debut Atlanta United: Match Week, an exclusive weekly series that will deliver unprecedented access to Atlanta United, featuring interviews and profiles of players and coaches.
Here’s the full schedule for Atlanta United matches on FSS and FSSE:
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Three matches will be aired on CW69 live on TV due to scheduling conflicts. Those matches will be available online via the Fox Sports Go app. Those games are on April 22 against Real Salt Lake, Sept. 9 vs. Dallas, and Sept. 23 vs. Montreal.
The networks’ regular season coverage of 19 games will begin with Atlanta United at Toronto FC on Saturday, April 8, at 7:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports South and FOX Sports GO. Each telecast will include Atlanta United LIVE!, a 30-minute show before and after every game. Due to anticipated scheduling conflicts with other FOX Sports programming commitments, three matches will be televised on CW69 in the Atlanta market and will be available for fans outside of Atlanta to view on the FOX Sports GO mobile app.
“We are very pleased to announce FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast as our exclusive television rights holder,” said Atlanta United President Darren Eales. “Through this partnership, Atlanta United matches will reach a broad audience across the Southeast, and will allow us to reach new fans in the region. The FOX Sports Regional Networks are committed to high quality sports coverage and we look forward to collaborating on innovative content for our inaugural season and beyond.”
FSS has consistently delivered good content for all their clientele, not just through the coverage of games, but through team-specific shows as well. There’s no doubt they’ll do the same for Atlanta United.
All Atlanta United matches not nationally televised during the 2017 season will air on FOX Sports South or FOX Sports Southeast, reaching 10 million households across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Additionally, a SAP feed will be available for every telecast.
Here’s a full map of the coverage area.
“Atlanta United is an exciting addition to our networks’ regional programming mix of Atlanta Braves, Hawks, Dream and Georgia Tech games,” said FOX Sports South general manager and senior vice president Jeff Genthner. “We are honored to be the regional television home of Atlanta United in their inaugural season and look forward to bringing these games to soccer fans across the Southeast by combining the dynamic network production quality of FOX Sports with the far-reaching distribution and promotional muscle of Atlanta-based FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast.”
The team says that on-air talent could be hired in a week or two. Stay tuned for updates.