Fox Soccer Channel HD is expected to launch on DirecTV on August 11, sources confirmed to EPL Talk on Tuesday.

It’s been a long and anxious time for soccer fans in the United States who have been waiting for news regarding the announcement. Fox Soccer Channel HD began broadcasting in HD in late January and then originally launched on DISH Network in early February. Slowly but surely, Fox Soccer Channel HD has been added to TV providers across the United States. But the largest satellite provider, DirecTV, hasn’t added the 24/7 soccer network as of yet, but will now do so in August, six months after the launch of Fox Soccer Channel HD.

DirecTV is also working on adding Fox Soccer Plus in HD in the near future.

As of press time, there is no word from Comcast regarding when they, as one of the largest TV providers, will add Fox Soccer Channel HD to its programming. But as soon as we get news, EPL Talk will report it here. In the meantime, please reference How to Demand Your TV Provider Adds Fox Soccer Plus or FSCHD.

In addition to the expected launch of Fox Soccer Channel HD on August 11, sources advised that GolTV HD is supposed to be added to DirecTV on August 4.

DirecTV announced today that approximately 30 new HD channels will be added beginning in May. The good news is that GolTV HD will be available. However, Fox Soccer Channel in HD and Fox Soccer Plus in HD were not included in the list.

This is frustrating news for soccer fans in the United States because GolTV only announced three weeks ago — on March 29, 2010 that they would be launching a HD channel this summer. And now the news has been released that GolTV is following through with their plans.

On the other hand, Fox had been discussing HD since the summer of 2009 and soccer fans had been led to believe that HD would be available as early as January 1, 2010. However, it wasn’t until February 10 when the first TV provider, DISH Network, made Fox Soccer Channel in HD available. As of press time, personalities on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus continue to plug that both channels are available in HD, but not one TV provider is showing Fox Soccer Plus in HD and the only ones showing FSC in HD is the aforementioned DISH Network and some Time Warner regional carriers. Technically both networks are being broadcasted in HD, but when only a relatively minor portion of the audience can watch the games in HD, you can see why it’s a frustrating experience for soccer fans in the United States.

At the same time, DISH Network doesn’t carry GolTV at all (even in SD), so there is no one TV provider in the United States who offers the complete experience for soccer fans.

What are your thoughts regarding the story? If you’re a DirecTV customer, are you considering moving to DISH Network? Or vice-versa?

In the meantime, read my related article, How to demand your TV provider adds Fox Soccer Plus or FSCHD.

Fox Soccer Plus launched Monday, March 1, 2010 to lucky subscribers of DirecTV, DISH Network and Verizon FiOS. For the rest of us, it’s an anxious wait until the powers that be decide that there’s a spot on the programming dial for us.

But for those of you fortunate to have Fox Soccer Plus, what are your impressions thus far? Please use this open thread to post your observations, ask questions and provide us feedback on what we’re missing out on (such as the Premier League games that Setanta US used to show in addition to Coca-Cola Championship, FA Cup, Champions League, Serie A and more).

You can view the TV schedule for Fox Soccer Plus here. And you can see the list of live games featuring Premier League teams on Fox Soccer Plus here.

The first program aired on Fox Soccer Plus was the classic Premier League game between Arsenal and Manchester United from the 2009/2010 season. And the first big live game will be the England against Egypt friendly, which will be shown live on Fox Soccer Plus on Wednesday, March 3 at 3pm ET.

What’s your opinion about Fox Soccer Plus? Click the comments link below and share it with us.

On Friday night, Fox released a press release stating that Fox Soccer Plus would be available on Time Warner Cable beginning March 1. EPL Talk broke the news on Twitter. Time Warner Cable customers got excited.

Except that Time Warner Cable won’t be launching Fox Soccer Plus on Monday. Time Warner Cable will start carrying the network in select markets on dates yet to be specified, Fox Cable Networks spokesman Brian Peterson told the Associated Press on Friday. How vague is that compared to the original quote from the press release which sounds quite concrete:

“Fox Soccer Plus has reached agreements with DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS to offer the service to subscribers beginning March 1, 2010.”

This is obviously very frustrating news for Time Warner Cable customers. Their expectations were raised last night only for those hopes to come crashing down. And how much more vague can you get as “select markets on dates yet to be specified.” Ugh! Your best bet is to check with your regional TWC office.

In other Fox Soccer Plus news, Fox Soccer Plus will not be available in HD when it launches on Monday on DirecTV, DISH Network.

DISH Network announced today that it will launch Fox Soccer Plus on Monday, March 1.

As of Monday, Fox Soccer Plus will be available on DirecTV, Verizon FiOS and now DISH Network. The announcement was made by a crawl at the bottom of the Setanta channel on DISH on Friday, mentioning that the channel would be available as Fox Soccer + on Monday.

Fox Soccer Plus will feature much of the programming that Setanta US used to have including Premier League games, FA Cup, Champions League, Coca-Cola Championship, Carling Cup as well as England games, Serie A and select rugby leagues and tournaments.

Fox Soccer Plus will be available as a premium service at the same price as Setanta Sports, $14.99 per month.

DISH Network is currently the only TV provider in the United States to announce the availability of both Fox Soccer Channel in HD AND Fox Soccer Plus. No word yet when Fox Soccer Plus will be available in HD on DISH Network.

The first quarter of 2010 has been the most traumatic ever for Premier League fans in the United States with several key changes that significantly impact the quantity and quality of matches on television. Setanta US will close its doors after February 28, and will be replaced by Fox Soccer Plus which launches March 1 on DirecTV and FIOS. DISH Network customers meanwhile did a jig when Fox Soccer Channel launched in HD on that network on February 10.

But for the large majority of soccer fans in the United States, we won’t be able to watch Fox Soccer Channel in HD anytime soon (unless you’re a DISH customer). And Fox Soccer Plus won’t be available in the near future (unless you’re a DirecTV or FIOS customer).

There is something you can do about it, though. And that’s by contacting your satellite or TV provider. Here’s how:

The following is a list of contact information for the major TV providers in the United States. Included are all forms of contact that are available. If you’re a customer of any of these services and you want Fox Soccer Plus and/or Fox Soccer Channel in HD, I highly encourage you to make your voice heard and tell your provider:

AT&T U-verse:

• Twitter
• E-mail
• Contact form
• Phone: 1-877-U-ASK-ATT

Cablevision:

• Contact form
• Live chat
• Phone

Comcast:

• Twitter
• E-mail
• Contact form
• Live chat
• Phone: 1-800-266-2278

COX:

• Twitter
• Contact form (select your state from the drop-down)
• Live chat (select your state from the drop-down)
• Phone (select your state from the drop-down)

DirecTV:

• Twitter
• Contact form
• Phone: 1-800-531-5000

DISH Network:

• Twitter
• Contact form
• Live chat
• Phone: 1-888-686-2388

RCN:

• Twitter
• Contact form
• Phone: 1-800-RING-RCN

Time Warner:

• Twitter
• E-mail
• Contact form
• Phone

Verizon FIOS:

• Twitter
• Contact form
• Live chat
• Phone: 1-888-881-8161

When you’re contacting the customer service reps, be courteous and patient because they’ll often not know much (if anything) about the availability of Fox Soccer Plus and/or Fox Soccer Channel in HD. Ask them how you can request that a channel be added. And if they’re aware of either network, ask them when they plan on adding the networks to its programming lineup.

There may be a lot of upset soccer fans on March 1, 2010 when Fox Soccer Plus is launched and the network isn’t available on all satellite and cable TV providers.

During the most crucial phase of the Premier League season, the run-in from March through early May when titles are won and lost and the relegation battle takes plenty of twists and turns, it’s imperative that as many Premier League games are on television as possible. With the demise of Setanta Sports at the end of February, all of the Premier League TV rights in the United States (except for the two games per week on ESPN2) will return to Fox. The majority of them will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel but many of the other crucial games will be shown on Fox Soccer Plus.

The problem is that there’s no guarantee that all cable and satellite providers will have Fox Soccer Plus on March 1.

The same frustration that many soccer fans have been experiencing since last month when Fox Soccer Channel has been touting “Fox Soccer Channel Now available in HD” (when it wasn’t, but is now but only on DISH Network) is going to seem like nothing compared to the Fox Soccer Plus chaos.

Everywhere you look, whether it’s on Fox Soccer Channel itself during games or commercials, or on the FoxSoccer.com website or elsewhere, Fox’s promotion boasts “Fox Soccer Plus, Coming March 1″ but the reality is that it’s extremely doubtful that the majority of providers will have it available then. In fact, it’s entirely likely that it could take some cable and satellite providers months before Fox Soccer Plus is available. That’s because Fox will be negotiating deals with each satellite and cable TV provider separately. And while we would love to think that businessmen have the best interests of soccer fans, the reality is that business is business. And negotiations can sometimes drag on and on.

Fox Soccer Channel is walking a dangerous tightrope again by raising the expectations of soccer fans to expect to see Fox Soccer Plus on March 1. At the same time, Fox is not communicating with its viewers to prepare them for the possibility that FSC+ may not be available for quite some time (for many of us). Plus, Fox Soccer Channel – yet again – is doing an extremely poor job at telling us what we need to do as soccer fans to influence the satellite and cable providers so we can add pressure to them to carry the station.

Fox Soccer Plus’s ChannelFinder tool and its one page of information is simply not enough. If Fox wants us to contact our cable and satellite providers, then there are no details about that on its website. Are you we supposed to just sit back and wait for a deal to happen? Wouldn’t Fox want us to apply pressure to the TV providers and use that as leverage during its negotiations? If so, they’re doing a lousy job.

Worst case scenario, many of us in the United States may not be able to watch many of the crucial Premier League games between now and the end of the season that will be on Fox Soccer Plus. And, after February 28, with the demise of Setanta US, Setanta-i not making Premier League games available online anymore, and FoxSoccer.tv still in the dark ages by not making games available until 36 hours after they are played, what are soccer fans supposed to do? Sadly the only option for many of them will be to watch the games illegally online.

The shame regarding Fox Soccer Plus is that Fox is leaving soccer fans in the dark. By not effectively communicating with its core audience, soccer fans yet again have to scour sites like this one and BigSoccer to find the latest news and developments. For example, what will happen when Setanta US goes dark at the end of this month. Will Fox Soccer Plus immediately replace Setanta on that channel on providers such as DirecTV and DISH Network? Right now, the answer is unknown because the negotiations continue. It’s entirely likely that the station will go black.

For soccer fans, every day counts. Every day when Fox Soccer Plus is not available will seem like a lifetime for hardcore fans. When Fox flicks the switch and launches Fox Soccer Plus on March 1, there’s a possibility that no carriers will be showing it. And because there are so many Premier League games on television each weekend, as well as other leagues, Fox Soccer Channel has no way to show all of the games.

Looking at the Premier League schedule, here are some of the crucial games that could be missed by soccer fans who won’t have Fox Soccer Plus:

• Manchester United v Fulham, Sunday, March 14, 8:30am ET
• Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday, March 21, 8:30am ET
• Burnley v Blackburn, Sunday, March 28, 7am ET
• And many others.

From Fox’s perspective, they probably don’t want to say much if anything at this time especially when they’re in negotiations with the different carriers. But loyal Fox Soccer Channel subscribers deserve to be treated better and there are so many unanswered questions. What will happen to the online Premier League rights that Setanta US were showing on Setanta-i? What leagues will be shown by Fox Soccer Plus? Which Premier League timeslots will be shown on Fox Soccer Plus? Will Fox Soccer Plus be available as a paid subscription of $14.95 per month? The list goes on and on.

There are only 16 days between now and the launch of Fox Soccer Plus but there are so many unknowns and so little information. Behind the scenes, EPL Talk will try to get as much information to you as soon as we find out the details. But until then, it looks like we need to exercise some patience and trust that Fox will secure the deals with the TV providers as quickly as possible to ensure that Fox Soccer Plus is available for soccer fans nationwide.

Now that DISH Network was the first satellite or cable provider to broadcast Fox Soccer Channel in HD on February 10, 2010, the race is on for other TV providers to get the channel as part of its programming.

For those of you who have DISH Network and you’re able to get FSCHD, use this thread to tell us what the quality of the HD picture is, to post questions and to discuss the techie topics you want to discuss.

Fox Soccer Channel HD will present more than 3,500 hours in the enhanced format, including England’s Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, Major League Soccer and Women’s Professional Soccer. Among the studio shows planned in high-definition: Fox Soccer Match Day, Super Sunday+, Fox Football Fone-In and various World Cup programming.

Fox Soccer Channel in HD will be available to DISH Network customers beginning February 10, 2010 according to Fox Soccer’s Channelfinder tool.

The HD version of Fox Soccer Channel will be available to customers nationwide. For more information about how to get DISH Network, visit their website at http://www.dishnetwork.com/

DISH Network is the first satellite or cable provider known to be adding Fox Soccer Channel in HD as of press time.

UPDATE: Fox Soccer’s Channelfinder tool now shows no specific date for the availability of FSC in HD on DISH Network. A couple of possibilities exist. Either Fox made a mistake. Or Fox or DISH don’t want the news to be released quite yet until they can officially announce the news on their own terms. My prediction is the latter.

LATEST UPDATE (Feb 9, 2010): A Dish Network customer service representative has confirmed that Fox Soccer Channel in HD will launch tomorrow (Feb 10, 2010) at or around 5pm ET (or earlier). More details here. Thanks to EPL Talk reader Robert George for the tip.

LATEST UPDATE (Feb 10, 2010): EPL Talk readers are now reporting that Fox Soccer Channel in HD is now being displayed in HD on channel 9520.

Fox Soccer Channel is now broadcasting in HD, according to several reports from viewers nationwide. The 24/7 soccer network has added the HD symbol to its coverage and is now available to all carriers nationwide. However not all programming shown by Fox is HD content, and not all carriers have added the HD feed as of yet.

The next step for cable and satellite carriers will be to manually add a HD channel (cable) or HD sub-channel (satellite), so while Fox is now broadcasting in HD, the ball is firmly in the hands of the TV carriers nationwide.

DirecTV is receiving the HD signal from Fox Soccer Channel but DirecTV has not yet added the HD feed, a source confirmed to EPL Talk on Thursday.

In additional news, FSC HD showed up in the uplink reports from DISH Network yesterday. Basically this means a link has been made for the channel and then DISH will “flip a switch” to make it viewable for their customers. Fox Soccer Channel is on channel 149 on DISH.

If you’re a Fox Soccer Channel viewer, please post in the comments section below whether you’re able to see FSC in HD.