Due to conflicts on TXA21 related to the Dallas Cowboys, the remaining FC Dallas 2020 schedule will now air on Fox Sports Southwest. This includes three of the four games that have been announced so far. The fourth announced game is a national broadcast on Univision.
Currently, there is one game left for FCD in Phase One of the resumed 2020 MLS schedule – the now twice rescheduled game against the Colorado Rapids this Wednesday. The first three games of Phase Two have been announced – of the expected 12 – and FCD says the remaining nine will be announced “in the near future.”
There should also be the third extra game against Nashville SC for FCD to play as a makeup game after dropping out of the MLSisBack Tournament. The other two make up games against Nashville were played prior to Phase One.
Side note: Fox Sports Southwest, along with all the Fox Regionals, was recently purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Possible Pros of a FSSW Deal
- Cross-promotion between FCD and other Dallas teams in their broadcasts. This can be a big boost to audience building.
- Cachet from joining the local “big” sports network.
- Increased production value that comes with Fox SPorts assets.
- Promotional inventory throughout the FSSW schedule.
- FSSW as a partner. If FSSW is invested, wants to support the broadcasts, and helps raise ratings it will make a big difference.
- Potential growth in coverage and mentions on FSSW in general.
- Hypothetical pre/post game air time availability.
Possible Cons of a FSSW Deal
- Is this a time-buy deal? FSSW will be much less invested in the success and rating of FCD games if it is.
- FCD currently has a shared production cost set up with TXA21. This new deal might be 100% on FC Dallas. Potentially doubling or tripling the costs before the time-buy is even factored in.
- FCD might have been forced to give up all or partial control of the commercial inventory to get the deal done.
- DFW cable penetration rates are some of the lowest in the country at approximately 60%. TXA21 being over the air was 100%.
- While FSSW potentially reaches more of Texas than TXA21. FCD on FSSW is probably blacked out anywhere outside of the DFW media market due to ESPN+ deal and the FCDTV Network.
Announced FC Dallas 2020 Schedule
According to FC Dallas, all matches broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest and FOX Sports Southwest Plus will also be streamed live on the FOX Sports GO app and at FOXSportsGO.com. All locally broadcast matches will continue to be streamed on FCDallas.com/Stream courtesy of AdvoCare.
