• The Hollywood Reporter, Friday, February 13, 2009 9:30 AM

Known for its production values, Fox Sports is trying to balance technical expertise with the need to make its telecasts more cost-effective.

Fox Sports chairman David Hill says the network has trimmed costs at NASCAR's Daytona 500 festivities this weekend. For instance, it has partnered with ESPN, with the networks hiring the same technicians who work Saturday at Daytona for ESPN and then Sunday for Fox Sports. In the past, there would have been two teams of technicians.

For the past year Fox Sports has been looking "minutely at all our productions," including the NFL and MLB on Fox, says Hill. "We'll be working in a far more cost-effective way than ever before. But hopefully, it will not," cut down on what is seen by viewers, he says. Fox has company. NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol said things looked grim immediately after the Super Bowl and ESPN recently laid off staff following edicts by Disney.

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