Fuel TV (international)
Fuel TV is a sports-orientated digital cable and satellite television action sports channel owned by FUEL TV Global, S.A. The channel is focused on the culture of extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motocross, surfing, BMX, FMX and is available in many countries including Portugal, China, North Africa and the Middle East.
| Country | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | EMEA Australia and New Zealand Portugal North America |
| Headquarters | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 16:9 576i (SDTV) 16:9 1080i (HDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | FUEL TV Global, S.A. |
| History | |
| Launched | March 2004 April 2008 (Portugal) |
| Former names | Fuel (2004–05) |
| Links | |
| Website | fuel |
Originally launched as a weekly regional music and extreme sports broadcast in September 2001. Fuel TV aired on America WB affiliate WFLI-TV (channel 53, now a CW affiliate) in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the Saturday evening programming slot.
In July 2003 News Corporation bought out the Fuel TV trademark and concept from founder Alistair Gosling and made it a part of the Fox-Sports Network. As a cable and satellite channel, Fuel TV featured extreme sports programs ranging from original series, exclusive events, licensed films and creative interstitials.
In 2007, News Corporation sold Fuel TV to Portuguese-based FLUID Youth Culture, S.A. after an agreement was reached an agreement in order to acquire Fuel TV in Portugal with rest of the international operations being later acquired in 2014. The following year, Fuel TV was launched in Portugal in partnership with the network service provider MEO.
In the period between 2010 and 2014, the Fuel TV expanded their business to the EMEA region with the channel being launched in over 40 countries in the EMEA region, reaching 8 million households.
After 10 years, the American Fuel TV channel was re-branded as Fox Sports 2 in August 2013 following the seamless transition of Speed to Fox Sports 1. The network continued overseas, most prominently as an online streaming service and FAST channel available on different platforms.