Fuel TV runs dry
From November 3rd Fuel TV will be no more. After ten years of broadcasting the decision has been made by Fox Sports, the owners of Fuel TV, for the Australian sports channel to cease operations.
The change is part of a strategy that will see Fuel TV and another Fox Sports channel, Speed, become fully fledged Fox Sports branded channels - Fox Sports 4 and Fox Sports 5.
According to Fuel TV Channel Manager, Adam Howarth, "The key programming from Fuel TV will sit across the various Fox Sports channels and this will include our live ASP coverage. It [live surfing] will be scheduled around all the other live programming we have on at the time and could land on any of our channels."
In Australia pro surfing has had strong branding on Fuel TV but Howarth sees only benefits from the change. "This is great news for surfing fans, as all events will now be in HD and will have the marketing and promotional power of the Fox Sports channels behind it."
The first surfing competition under the new screening arrangement will be the Pipeline Masters, beginning on December 8th.
Comments
Can't believe it. I mean Fuel TV has been putting up unreal viewer numbers the last two years. Just look them up. Crazy why they would drop the millions of viewers of the ASP.
Sorry kids, the ASP version of 12 million households reached is an easy read thru by anyone who know anything about anything. Try using facts next time kids.
I thought Fuel TV did a good job of the broadcast, and I hope that the live broadcast will continue. The comment made by Adam "This is great news for surfing fans, as all events will now be in HD and will have the marketing and promotional power of the Fox Sports channels behind it." Does not include the important words, LIVE..... HD yes, promotional power, check, but LIVE.....? Let's hope that we will still get all heats live, as watching the events all the way through is the only way to enjoy a surf contest.
CJT - it's worth pointing out that it's actually the ASP who produce/broadcast their events (Fuel TV provide a channel for the vision). My understanding is that next year will be broadcast live as per this year.
Cheers for the info, im hoping it wont be pre-recorded and shown later. They do that with some motorsport, the stuff they deem as not as popular. Boards crossed.
Hey Stu, I'll get in on a positive note before the vitriolic onshore starts whenever ASP viewership is a sub, or even sub-subject. Wondering if you known anything about the re-make of Point Break? My opinion is the 1st one was pretty lame, however, if there is a better mainstream successful Hollywood film based on surfing I've not heard of it? Read last week that Laurier Towner nearly drowned at To'o doing stunt work for the film.
The first Point Break movie was abysmal and, no, there isn't a better mainstream succesful Hollywood surf film.
I take Matt Warshaw's line that the best surf film outta Hollywood is Apocalypse Now. For the vast majority of surfers there is no big wave scene or great competitive moment, but surfing has attached itself like a virus to a host body, so much so that even ordinary surfers will do ridiculous things to get a wave. Bomb a point, surf a bullet riddled wave, try and recreate their SoCal beach life on a steamy Asian shoreline.
That is capturing the essence of surfing.
Loved Point Break. Spawned one of the best quotes too - "Go back to the valley man"
Stu aren't you forgetting Big Wednesday?
Nup, not forgetting it. I'm just a harsh film critic.
Yes I will pay that.
And yeah, Laurie broke his jaw while doing stunts for Point Break 2. We had some footage on Swellnet but had to pull it.
What about In Gods Hands Stu?
Apparently Rottmouth was the main script supervisor and rewrote the key scenes.....you know the ones that red-lined the latent homo-eroticism.
North Shore....
If I was on your trip Stu, I would have had to do everything in my power not to make an arse of myself and recite Occy's lines from the movie.
Sorry to jump on a topic shift...
Big Wednesday - Corny, maybe, but at least it mentions different swells for differing moods and displays surfers as the animalistic turds they usually are.
Every surfer has a big wave scene, it's just that the term big is relative to each surfer and not all rise to their challenge.
Speaking of dry holes, every single oil or gas well dig comes with 10 to 1 odds of failure. Yet that never stopped drillers from digging!
Hey, even bands fail all the time.
And it is no different in the world of films, tv shows, surf comps.
The peaks and valleys of popularity and prices never stopped people from planting tulips!
Does this mean I can drop one package off my foxtel account? Cos' off the top of my head
to get fuel it was in a different package from the rest of the sports? t(-_-t)
It is in either sport or basic gillos because that's all I've got.
Fuel TV finishes up today. Pro surfing on pay TV will now be spread across the Fox channels, whichever one can host them at the particular time.
But no one watches Fox Sport do they, and they not a big media company owned by Newsltd and they not profitable either? Too much research!
Looks like the Target Maui Pro will be broadcast on Fox Sports 3HD and Fox Sports 3 (starting Nov 23, 4:30am AEDT).
I love the Target logo. Much better than all other surf brands.
shit I miss the UFC on fuel already....let alone wondering what Fox sports channel surfing will now be on...waaaaahhhhhh
For all that are interested to know that it wont be called POINT BREAK 2.
But just Point Break. Of which they have taken my wave of James Hollmer-Cross and put into the new edit. So that wave that nearly killed him well at least be put to good use. May I add that the story of that day at Pedra Branca will be featured in our upcoming ASMF 12 touring nationally in Nov & Dec. www.ASMF.net.au