FOX Sports 1 Launch Heavy on UFC and NASCAR Programming; 3 UFC Live Events Announced

FOX Sports on Thursday unveiled its opening day line-up for its new national sports network, FOX Sports 1.

The Aug. 17 launch will focus heavily on UFC and NASCAR programming.

“We’ve been working for months now, but a lot has come together in the time since we officially unveiled our plans for the launch of FOX Sports 1 in March,” said Eric Shanks, FOX Sports’ co-president and COO. “The programming schedule has been solidified, and we really come out of the gate incredibly strong from Day 1.”

FS1 officially launches at 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 17, and includes 18 hours of original programming on the first day, 16.5 hours of which are live.

The first half of the day features NASCAR content, but then goes head-first into several hours of UFC programming.

UFC Ultimate Insider launches the UFC on FS1 at 3:30 p.m. ET, triggering a marathon of coverage. UFC Unleashed and UFC Tonight follow, leading up to the first live UFC fight event on FS1, which includes two hours of preliminary bout coverage and a three-hour main card.

FS1 moves past the launch with a generous amount of original programming, but it’s clear from the start that UFC programming is going to be a staple on the network, particularly on Wednesday nights.

Live MMA returns to FS1 on Aug. 28 with a FOX UFC Wednesday Live event and prelims scheduled from 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET.

FS1’s third live UFC event comes Wednesday, Sept. 4, with two hours of live fight coverage preceding the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET).

As previously announced, The Ultimate Fighter moves to its new Wednesday 10:00 p.m. home that night, where it anchors the network’s Wednesday prime time UFC block. The coming season features UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Cat Zingano as coaches.

FOX Sports 1 Launch – UFC Schedule: