Cox Cable

AFANA was advised this afternoon (6/22/12) that following the July 7th telecast, MHz Networks will drop Australian football.  The announcement suggests financial costs are the reason however we have no detailed explanation.  We will post further information as it becomes available.  Coverage will continue on Fox Soccer Plus. AFANA is deeply disappointed at this unexpected news.  [Ed. note (07/09/12):  Please see the comment below regarding the AFL response.]

The AFL announced today that it had reached a three year deal (2012-2014) with Fox Sports for weekly AFL coverage on FOX Soccer Plus (FSP).  FSP is the subscription channel counterpart to Fox Soccer (formerly Fox Soccer Channel and before that Fox Sports World).  The cost will be $14.99 a month and FSP is available to customers of DirecTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse, most Time-Warner and Brighthouse cable systems, Cablevision, Cox, BlueRidge, Bendbroadband, SureWest, FullChannel, Frontier, and RCN cable.  The AFL was unable to come to a deal with ESPN for continued coverage on their outlets.  Coverage will be two live matches per week typically (will vary occasionally) plus all finals live. The AFL Winners weekly highlight show will be available on FSP also. AFANA will post more detailed schedules in the next few days and update all of our TV pages to reflect this change in coverage. (TV pages have been updated)  Canadian TV coverage will remain on TSN2 with one live match per week.  (Addendum: 03/23/12: MHz has confirmed they will continue coverage this season with games on Monday nights at 10:00 PM EDT, repeated on Saturdays at 4:00 AM EDT.  Matches will be edited to 2 hrs and they will not carry the highlights programs ("AFL Winners") this season on Saturdays. Also, FSP on some Time Warner systems which offer the Sports Pass package of channels,  FSP will be just $5.99 -- price may vary slightly in some areas.)

Setanta Sports has finally gained distribution on one of the major cable companies in the USA.   It was announced on Wednesday and confirmed today that Setanta will begin appearing on cable systems in northern Virginia owned by Cox Communications.  That will eventually be followed by wider distribution on Cox systems nationwide.  The cost is expected to be similar to that of existing outlets, about $14.99 per month, on a subscription basis.  At this time no definitive schedule for the rollout on Cox has been released but it will likely take several months or more.  Thus it is not known how soon viewers on Cox systems can expect it to be available in their area of the United States (fans are encouraged to call their local Cox cable office but understand that they may not know the local rollout date just yet).  Initial areas to get Setanta will be the Cox systems in Fredericksburg and Fairfax, Virginia.  Cox has indicated Fairfax area fans may subscribe as early as today (ch. 298), and Fredericksburg will follow soon.

Up to this time, Setanta has only been available via satellite, Verizon FiOS, and IPTV systems.  AFANA will provide updated information on our TV pages as it becomes available.