FOX just showed how serious they are about the Bundesliga in the USA

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund just got a massive boost in the US market. One of the Bundesliga's premier fixtures had been relegated to the depths of the Fox Soccer Plus channel due to other programming commitments (mostly college basketball).  Now Bundesliga fans will be able to watch this game on a basic cable package via Fox channel, FX.

And it's not like Fox is just putting the match on air. They're pulling out all the stops with pre-match programming starting at 12pm ET/9am PT. They're going big on this one in a hurry.

"We’re extremely happy that we’ve been able to work with our colleagues at FX to make this meaningful match widely available live on television. FX’s cooperation and understanding is greatly appreciated, and FOX Sports is pleased to make it much easier for Bundesliga fans to watch this big matchup live." --- Patrick Crakes, FOX Sports Senior Vice President, Programming, Research and Content Strategy, via press release

And it's not hard to see why this change occurred so suddenly. As of this time Wednesday, Bayern Munich were eight points up on Dortmund and the title race seemed all but foregone. Even a Bayern loss this weekend would have kept them five points up with 10 matches to go and we all know Bayern don't drop that many points.

Wednesday's loss to Mainz makes Saturday's 6-pointer Klassiker one of the most important Bundesliga games of the season and even the FOX knows it's not an opportunity you can pass up. Even if you've can't really bump the lucrative content on your main sports channels, this is network big enough to make something happen. And they did.