ESPN FC

ESPN FC
Owner ESPN Inc.
Website http://espnfc.com/
Registration Optional
Launched 1995 as SoccerNet

ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) was a website owned by ESPN Inc., which covered association football. Originally established in 1995 as SoccerNet, the website was acquired by ESPN in 1999.

Regardless of the status of its main page, however, ESPN FC still publishes news regularly on its website (as of June 2018).

History

Originally titled SoccerNet, the website was established by Greg Hadfield and his then-teenage son Tom in 1995, initially providing live score updates, tables and news articles. Greg, at that time, worked for the Daily Mail and in order to gain capital, effectively rescinded ownership of the site to his bosses in return for £40,000 and a revenue sharing scheme.[1]

In 1999, Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG) acquired a controlling interest of 60 percent in SoccerNet from the Daily Mail and General Trust for £15M.

Television program

ESPN eventually launched a U.S. television studio program on ESPNews and ESPN2 dedicated to Soccer, also known as ESPN FC. The program airs on weekday evenings at 6 PM,[2] and a weekly recap show airs on Sunday nights. The program is normally hosted by Dan Thomas. Regular contributors include Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop, Alejandro Moreno, Steve Nicol, Paul Mariner, Raphael Honigstein, Gabriele Marcotti, Brian McBride, Taylor Twellman, Ian Darke, Kasey Keller, Frank LeBoeuf, Stewart Robson, Sid Lowe, Julien Laurens, Uli Hesse, Nilton Batata and Santiago Solari.[3] As of April 2018, the show became exclusive to subscribers of the new streaming service ESPN+.

Controversy

A favorable story about Qatar's preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the site was met with backlash for author Phil Ball's dismissal of allegations of abuses toward migrant workers by the Qatari government. ESPN later apologized and removed the story from the website, saying that it did not meet their "journalistic standards".[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Focus: Fortune favours the Internet brave". The Independent. London, UK. December 1, 1999.
  2. ↑ "ESPN FC Schedule - TV Listings | TWC Central". tv.twcc.com. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  3. ↑ "ESPN launches new daily soccer show: ESPNFC on TV". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Manfred, Tony (November 22, 2013). "Here's The Glowing Story About The Qatar World Cup That ESPN Doesn't Want You To Read". Business Insider.
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