• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 10, 2013

Everyone in TV wants to be number one -- and when it comes to sports TV, that also goes for teams and players.

A Fox Sports 1 teaser commercial shows different athletes running around and signaling what level they and their teams are on by sticking a finger in the air. No, not that finger -- the index finger.

The first onscreen message reads “The ‘1’ is coming,” with an athlete’s finger framed as the numeral “1.” Then the screen says, “Fox Sports 1: America’s New Sports Network. August 17th.”

All this tells key sports viewers -- mostly men and, in particular, young men -- where they should want to be. 

Fox Sports 1 has a big battle on its hands in competing with Walt Disney’s ESPN, the current number one sports channel.  Fox executives say there is room for everyone. The sports TV business is large and one of the few areas that keeps growing steadily.

ESPN has a different way of thinking. Jay Rasulo, senior executive vice president/CFO of Walt Disney, recently said that competitors “are going to spend a lot of money for rights, but they are going to end up a distant No. 2.”

It won’t be easy For Fox Sports 1. While Fox has shown strong growth with such networks as Fox News and FX, other efforts have grown more slowly, such as Fox Business Network in its effort to compete with CNBC.

Fox Sports 1 may be different. Fox has built a decent brand name for Fox Sports with the NFL, Major League Baseball and NASCAR on its broadcast network, as well as wth its programming on regional sports networks. The betting is that all of this will help extend Fox’s brand name to a national cable sports network.

Of course, the TV messaging for Fox Sports 1 doesn’t stop with the finger spot. On July 16, during Fox’s airing of Major League Baseball’s All-Star game, Fox Sports 1 will get the benefit of a big sports audience for a wide-ranging 90-second commercial showing off a full complement of personalities and sports -- Miguel Cabrera of baseball’s Detroit Tigers, Patrick Willis of football’s San Francisco 49ers, U.S. women’s soccer player Alex Morgan, and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.

A Fox marketing executive believes viewers aren’t just looking for the best action, but want a bit of “fun.” That’s the attitude Fox has brought to NFL, MLB, NASCAR and other sports on its broadcast network for a couple of decades.

Can Fox extend the fun and attitude -- and find another sign of its top-dog intentions?