FS1 morning show won’t be highlight-driven, still has fluid format

On the heels of FS1 seeing its best numbers ever during the National League Championship which led to its proclaiming that it was “America’s #1 Sports Network,” and seeing ratings gains in all dayparts, one Fox Sports exec is confident about the network’s future.

Charlie Dixon, executive vice president of content, joined Jamie Horowitz, the president of Fox Sports National Networks to develop programming that could rival their former employer, ESPN.

Gone are the days of the Mike Francesa Show which was a ratings loser for the network. Now, it’s Embrace Debate programming with Undisputed with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe and Speak for Yourself featuring Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock.

What’s next down the line for FS1 is a live morning show based from New York which would lead into Undisputed and an afternoon show to lead into SFY.

Dixon talked with the Sporting News about the plans for the morning show and how it may look once it premieres.

Here’s the reality. When we launched “Undisputed,” we had our own internal goals. We’ve far surpassed even those goals — early. … Once we looked at it, we realized, “Wow, not only is ‘Undisputed’ doing amazing, the five highest weeks of Colin’s show (‘The Herd’) are the five weeks ‘Undisputed’ has led into it.” So obviously anybody who’s in the programming game would say, “What the next logical step?” We should identify the window that would help “Undisputed” in the same way. That would become this early morning sports show.

Right now, Fox Sports officials are determining the format whether the morning show will have multiple personalities or have two people.

And what about FS1’s history-making week which gave the network its highest-ratings and beat ESPN for the first time in all dayparts?

We had the highest single day in FS1 history. Then you have the announcement we had the highest week in FS1 history. We have internal goals that we set, that are on backs of napkins for Jamie and myself. We’re starting to have to create new ones. …My goal originally was to create habit-forming programming. We didn’t have that when we got here. There were some really quality shows. But there wasn’t a full slate of programming. We do know what the sports fans want. They want people, and talent, who are incisive and entertaining. Now we’re two puzzle pieces away from having that lineup that we desire in the daypart.

So it appears the Embrace Debate strategy is working for Fox. Will there be any chance of airing sports news and highlights during the new morning show?

No. We’re not programming news and highlight shows, where people get that information from their phone. We want to have the conversation that real authentic sports fans are having themselves — and the ones they would seek out on television.

So it appears the mission statement of FS1 that when it’s not airing live events, it’s all about conversation, talk and debate. And for the afternoon window, there are some limitations as FS1 has rights to NASCAR and UEFA Champions League games. Any program that is slotted into the 3-5 p.m. ET window will see plenty pre-emptions that Dixon said that it will be tough lure viewers there, but Fox is forging ahead hoping to find the right mix and personalities to host the show.

Combining the new debate programs with the existing Katie Nolan show, Dixon is confident that FS1 has found its niche and viewers are finding the network, three years plus after its launch.

And if Dixon and Horowitz can find the right combination for a signature morning show, they feel the sky’s the limit for FS1.

[Sporting News]