Fox Soccer Channel Discontinued & Other DIRECTV Programming Changes

There have been a number of programming changines including channel numbers changed, new channels added and some channels discontinued such as Fox Soccer Channel.

This is a quick rundown of the recent changes on DIRECTV.

Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) Discontinued

Fox rebranded its Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) to FXX on Sept. 2^nd and moved FSC programming to other Fox channels. The rebrand and programming changes are primarily due to the launch of Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. These changes affect all MVPDs/Pay TV providers and are NOT a DIRECTV decision.

FXX launched Monday Sept. 2^nd at 7:00am EST on channel 619. FXX content includes entertainment geared toward a young adult audience. The schedule will feature original series, movies, and acquired series. A free preview of FXX has automatically replaced FSC through Friday Sept. 13^th at 6:00am EST on channel 619. All customers who currently subscribe to FSC will receive the free preview

It’s Always Sunny and The League have a new home on FXX

Starting Monday, September 2, the FX is getting a new sibling: FXX (Ch. 619). Geared towards a younger demographic, FXX will be the new home for some of FX’s most acclaimed comedies, such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League, as well as all-time favorites like Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother, Freaks and Geeks, and more.

On Wednesday, September 4 you can catch a trifecta of season premieres, beginning with It’s Always Sunny at 10pm, The League at 10:30pm, and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell at 11pm. Good news for fans of Totally Biased: You can now see it five nights a week!

In 2014 FXX will premiere a new, original show called Legit. Starring comedian Jim Jeffries, Legit revolves around Jeffries’s adventures with his roommates, a well-endowed quadriplegic named Billy and Jeffries’ romantically clueless brother, Dan, as they search to find a more legitimate way of life. A new animated comedy, Chozen, will also launch on FXX in 2014.

Start tuning into FXX on Monday, September 2, on channel 619. And don’t miss the season premieres of It’s Always Sunny  (10 p.m.), The League (10:30 p.m.), and Totally Biased (11 p.m.) on Wednesday, September 4, only on FXX.

FXX is available with the XTRA package and above. All customers can enjoy a FREE preview September 2-13 to get a taste for what FXX has to offer. If you like what you see, you can easily upgrade to XTRA and start enjoying FXX.

ESPN Deportes and beIn Sport in Espanol now in HD

Two of the most popular sports channels on DIRECTV that are in spanish are now available in HD.

ESPN Deportes brings you unparalleled coverage of MLB, NBA, NFL, Caribbean Series winter baseball, La Liga, Bundesliga, Mexican First Division, MLS, Dutch League soccer, Friday Night Fights, Mexican Tennis Open, Wimbledon, French Open, U.S. Open, Australian Open, The Masters and NASCAR.

As the top international sports network, beIN SPORT en Español brings you all the live game action, news, and analysis of leagues around the world you can handle. Featuring the most recognizable talent and international sports stars, it delivers exclusive content and commentary with coverage of soccer leagues like La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, World Cup Qualifiers, and many other major events like tennis, SBK, and European cycling.

Current TV is now Al Jazeera America

We’re introducing a new news channel to the DIRECTV channel lineup. Al Jazeera America now takes the place of Current TV on Channel 358. Headquartered in New York City and with bureaus in 12 cities across the country, Al Jazeera America offers in-depth news that focuses on the significance of news stories to everyday Americans.

Earlier this year, Current TV was sold to Al Jazeera and has been rebranded as Al Jazeera America, an entirely new network focused on news here in the U.S. and run separately from Al Jazeera Arabic, or Al Jazeera English, which will eventually be phased out in the U.S.

Al Jazeera America brings you breaking reports, in-depth coverage of ongoing stories, sports, business, lifestyle and investigative journalism, and news documentaries. Familiar faces on the channel include world-class journalist Soledad O’Brien, former chief business correspondent at CNN Ali Velshi, former CBS News anchor Joie Chen, and former NBC Nightly News anchor John Seigenthaler. Al Jazeera America is available to all customers who subscribe to the XTRA package or above.

If a customer would rather not have this channel included in their programming line-up, it can be conveniently blacked out for the entire family by utilizing the Parental Controls function.

For HD DVRs and HD receivers, parental controls are set up as follows:
Press MENU button
Select “Settings & Help”, press SELECT
Select “Parental Controls”, press SELECT
Select “Channel Blocks”, press SELECT
Select channel(s) to block, press SELECT

The process for SD DVRs and SD receivers is:
Press MENU button
Choose “Parental, Fav’s & Setup”, press SELECT
Choose “Parental Controls”, press SELECT
Choose “Edit Settings”, press SELECT
Choose “Chan Blocks”, press SELECT
Select a Channel to Lock or Unlock

There Are Two Exciting New Sports Channels on DIRECTV: FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2

The 24/7 coverage on FOX Sports 1 includes six main sports pillars: college football and basketball, NASCAR,  world class soccer, UFC, and, in 2014, MLB. It’s also exploring other sports beyond these. Don’t worry, SPEED fans, you’ll still get much of the high-octane NASCAR coverage you got with SPEED.

Learn more about FOX Sports 1

FOX Sports 2 features the world of adrenaline and thrill-seeking sports, including UFC, motocross, and soccer. And it will expand its programming to cover other top sports properties and serve as an extension of FOX Sports 1.

Learn more about FOX Sports 2

Introducing pivot: the New Channel for Millennials

From the producers who brought you Lincoln, The Help, and An Inconvenient Truth comes pivot, the new channel where activism and pop culture meet. Featuring documentaries, films, and talk shows, pivot raises important questions regarding how we live in the world.

Discover the latest happenings in the art world on HITRECORD on TV!, a unique variety show hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in which artists all over the world showcase their work. Or if you like talk shows, don’t miss TakePart Live, a nightly talk show that brings celebrities and activists together to discuss current events and what people can do to effect change in their daily lives.

Join the conversation. Tune to pivot today on Channel 267.

Some DIRECTV Channel Numbers Have Changed

Changes to the DIRECTV Channel Lineup

Effective July 31, 2013, the following networks have a new channel location. The table below indicates the current and new channel locations:

Please note all programming will continue with no interruptions. Your DVR settings (Season passes, etc.) as well as Favorite Channels feature should not be impacted.