This could be the end for fans of the Fox Soccer network as reports emerged Thursday that FX leadership will convert the soccer channel into a third FX-branded entertainment network, to be called FXX and focus on young adults.
According to reports from the upfront presentation, FXX will launch Sept. 2 and start out with four original comedy series and one late-night show. The network also plans to expand its movie channel, FXM. Each channel will target different groups. According to Deadline Hollywood, FX will focus on people between the ages of 18 to 49. FXM will target adults 25 to 54.
FXX will go after a smaller section of younger adults, those between the ages of 18 and 34. Three shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, will move over to FXX when it starts up, the Los Angeles Times reported. The network also announced plans to ad two new comedies to the network with more coming in the future.
FX and Fox Soccer are owned by News Corp. FX has grown a reputation over the years as a home for high-quality and risk-taking television programming, including shows such as The Shield and Justified. Will cloning itself pay off? Only time will tell if the gamble works. And the future of the programming on Fox Soccer also remained murky. Could it move over to the in-the-work Fox Sports station being prepared to launch as a challenge to ESPN?
FXX is scheduled to launch Sept. 2, the Times reported, and executives said they expect it to reach about 70 million homes. The future leader of the new network wasn't named Thursday.
"We are embarking on an incredibly ambitious ramp-up of program development and production required to sustain these networks," said FX President John Landgraf, quoted in the Times.
