Bundesliga fans can rejoice; Saturday’s match between first-place Bayern Munich and second-place Borussia Dortmund will now be shown on widely-accessible TV, as Fox announced Friday that the game will be broadcast on FX. From their release:
The live telecast of “Der Klassiker,” a Bundesliga clash between first-place Bayern Munich and second-place Borussia Dortmund tomorrow, Saturday, March 5, has been moved to FX, 21st Century Fox’s widely distributed (92 million homes) general entertainment cable channel, and its authenticated streaming service FXNOW. It is also being streamed via FOX Sports GO (at FS1 level authentication). Match coverage begins at 12:00 PM ET with BUNDESLIGA MATCH DAY hosted by Ian Joy, with analysts Eric Wynalda and Jovan Kirovski. Kickoff follows at 12:20 PM ET with the match called by Derek Rae and analyst Owen Hargreaves. Check local cable operator listings for FX channel locations. FX has the following channel assignments on national video providers: AT&T U-verse – 129 (SD) & 1129 (HD); DIRECTV – 248; DISH Network – 136; Verizon FiOS – 53 (SD) & 553 (HD).
“We’re extremely happy that we’ve been able to work with our colleagues at FX to make this meaningful match widely available live on television,” said Patrick Crakes, FOX Sports Senior Vice President, Programming, Research and Content Strategy. “FX’s cooperation and understanding is greatly appreciated, and FOX Sports is pleased to make it much easier for Bundesliga fans to watch this big matchup live.”
The match was initially scheduled to only be televised on premium channel Fox Soccer Plus thanks to Big East basketball, as Fox is televising Georgetown-Villanova at that time, while FS1 has Providence – St. John’s. FS2 is tied up with qualifying for the NASCAR Boyd Gaming 300. Finding a way to get this on more widely-distributed television is a good move for Fox, as not broadcasting a match with these kinds of implications would raise questions about the company’s commitment to the Bundesliga. They’ll be re-airing it on their sports channels at various times throughout the weekend, too, including Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern on FS2 and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on FS1. Moving the game to FX isn’t a perfect solution, especially on this kind of short notice as some fans will undoubtedly be looking for it on FS1 and FS2, but it’s much better than only showing it on Fox Soccer Plus.
Correction: this piece initially said the game was only going to be streamed on Fox Soccer Go. Initial plans were to show it on Fox Soccer Plus.
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About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.