FS1 launched more than 10 years ago seeking to move ESPN off its perch as the Worldwide Leader in Sports. While that dream quickly evaporated, the network has been able to find solid footing with its offering of live sports from the Fox portfolio.
But as for its daytime lineup and going head-to-head with ESPN in leading the daily sports conversation in America? That has been another story altogether. As far as its relevancy outside live sports goes, that dream seems to have completely capitulated as FS1 is now becoming a graveyard of original content.
The cancellation of Breakfast Ball, The Facility, and Speak speaks to the failure of the network to create any programs that have stuck outside of its two remaining pillars in Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright. The Herd and First Things First are the only programs that will have now survived two cycles of reinventing the entire FS1 daily lineup.
In 2024, the breakup of Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe from Undisputed led to a Fox reshuffle. In place of The Carton Show came Breakfast Ball with Craig Carton joining Mark Schlereth and Danny Parkins. In place of Undisputed came The Facility with a football-focused show led by Emmanuel Acho with Chase Daniel, James Jones, and LeSean McCoy. Paul Pierce and Keyshawn Johnson split from Undisputed to join Joy Taylor at Speak. Now all of them have been relegated to the dustbin of history.
So what’s next for FS1? Where does the network go from here? With a year of failed television shows, lawsuit sex scandals, and high-profile departures now behind them, does the network take a big swing once again? Do they concede defeat? Or do they try a different route altogether?
FS1 takes another big swing
If there’s one thing that Fox Sports has, it’s a lot of resources. This is the same company that is paying Tom Brady $375 million to call 20 football games every season after all. Its signing of the likes of Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless from ESPN did not come cheap. In some instances, those high profile signings have worked as Cowherd is now one of the anchors of the network. In many other instances, though, it hasn’t.
If anything, FS1 is seemingly stuck in the same cycle that ESPN’s NBA studio coverage is in trying to compete with TNT’s Inside the NBA. While Inside the NBA has been in cruise control at the top of the industry year after year, ESPN seemingly changes their NBA studio crew every year in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. Sage Steele, Bill Simmons, Magic Johnson, Michael Wilbon, Jalen Rose, Adrian Wojnarowski, Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins, Bob Myers, Michelle Beadle, Doug Collins, and Rachel Nichols were just a few of the cast of thousands that ran through the NBA Countdown turnstiles. Finally, ESPN gave up and will now license Inside the NBA moving forward under the league’s new media deals now that the NBA on TNT is no more.
Of course, FS1 isn’t going to just license or simulcast ESPN programming. But they can look to make an impact with more former ESPN personalities in the hopes that something sticks. Two obvious names are Max Kellerman and Tony Reali.
Kellerman has hardly been seen since his First Take departure, only resurfacing recently for a boxing event. If a non-compete clause is done, FS1 could do far worse than pairing him up with a counterpart if they wanted to provide a First Take alternative. Maybe he can rekindle his longtime partnership with another former FS1 personality in Marcellus Wiley or do something new with Danny Parkins if he sticks around.
As for Reali, he certainly has a ton of goodwill and fans from his many years on ESPN at Around the Horn. And he’s already indicated that he is open to a conversation. Letting him run with a vision for a personality based sports show of positivity could provide a fresh alternative and name value to the network instead of just another debate show or football talk.
And if Fox makes a big play and it all fails, then they can start over and try again next year.
The simulcast route
If FS1 wants to go with a much more efficient option, they could follow in ESPN’s footsteps with The Pat McAfee Show and turn their daily lineup over to licensing already existing shows. There are no shortage of sports podcasts on the market to choose from. And it just so happens that one of the network’s biggest stars in Colin Cowherd has his own podcast network at The Volume that could provide ample opportunities for simulcasts or licensing.
Then there’s a ton of sports podcasts that could be brought to FS1 airwaves by partnering with one of the many sportsbooks that sponsor podcast networks as well. Although Fox currently isn’t tied to any of the major betting companies, they were an original investor in DraftKings and have a stake in FanDuel, although that relationship seems to be complicated at the moment.
FanDuel has Up & Adams, Golic and GoJo, Run it Back, and Bussin’ With the Boys all as part of their portfolio. One or more of those might be an attractive option to FS1 to maintain a foothold in the daily sports conversation without having to spend a ton of creative energy banging their head against the wall trying to compete with ESPN when the reality is they will likely never be able to succeed in doing so directly.
What about a relationship with Barstool Sports to bring some of their shows to a national television audience? It would be an ironic full circle moment after ESPN’s cancellation of Barstool Van Talk many years ago.
If the FS1 original lineup has a glass ceiling with viewership, then linking up with another content provider may represent the best case scenario for moving forward with viable programming that knows what it is and what it isn’t.
Throwing in the towel
The final option for FS1 is admitting defeat and accepting that the network only exists as a vehicle for live sports and that is what will realistically keep the network afloat for as long as it is able to do so. Fox has zigged while the entire industry has zagged in recent years, delaying the launch of a streaming service and committing to linear television. Thus far, it seems to have worked. But the company is now finally entering into the streaming revolution.
After the failed ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery partnership around the Venu Sports streamer, Fox is going it alone with a new Fox One platform containing their entire library of sports, news, and entertainment content.
With sports content that would normally be seen on FS1 soon to be available on streaming, how much longer can FS1 justify existence as a standalone channel with the vultures circling around the cable world? Maybe a more piercing question is just how strong the FS1 rights portfolio truly is these days with a few MLB postseason games, some college football and basketball, and NASCAR races here and there. This weekend features a lot of IndyCar and The Basketball Tournament, neither of which will draw huge numbers.
With streaming viewership now surpassing linear viewing recently for the first time, it may only be a matter of time before FS1 shifts strategies and follows what NBC did by shuttering NBC Sports Network and moving the majority of their sports content to Peacock. If Fox throws in the towel on original programming, how much longer will it truly be before they do the same with the entire network?
It may be a few years before we get there, but the eventual shuttering of FS1 is more likely than finding a daytime lineup that can do the one thing the network was created to do in competing with ESPN.
About Matt Yoder