USL News Relese
Friday, April 8, 2011
TAMPA, Fla. – United Soccer Leagues is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a three-year relationship with FOX Soccer. The deal maintains FOX Soccer’s position as the exclusive national television broadcast partner of USL.
“This agreement is a major step for USL as we continue to raise the profile of our leagues and teams and maintain our longstanding relationship with FOX Soccer,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. “We are extremely pleased that fans of USL PRO, the PDL and the W-League will have the opportunity to watch the top teams and players in the league throughout the next three seasons.”
The new deal features regular season and postseason games from USL PRO and the championship games from the Premier Development League and W-League through 2013. FOX Soccer also continues to air the 30-minute magazine show USL Breakaway, which is now a year-round monthly program.
“We are very pleased to have secured this agreement and to remain the exclusive national television broadcast partner of USL,” FOX Soccer’s Senior Vice President for Production and Programming Dermot McQuarrie said. “USL has consistently offered a highly-competitive brand of soccer that we are excited to be able to bring to our viewers for the next three seasons.”
FOX Soccer’s 2011 coverage of the USL PRO Game of the Week begins on Saturday, June 11 as the Rochester Rhinos host their National Division rivals, the Harrisburg City Islanders. A total of 10 regular season USL PRO games are featured on Friday and Saturday nights through August 12, when the Charlotte Eagles visit the Charleston Battery in a key American Division matchup at Blackbaud Stadium to close out the regular season broadcast schedule.
2011 USL PRO on FOX Soccer Schedule (all times Eastern)
Rochester v Harrisburg Saturday, June 11 5:30 p.m.
Orlando v Wilmington Saturday, June 18 7:30 p.m.
Wilmington v Sevilla FC Puerto Rico Friday, June 24 8 p.m.
Charleston v Puerto Rico United Friday, July 1 8 p.m.
Richmond v Charlotte Friday, July 8 8 p.m.
Los Angeles v River Plate Puerto Rico Friday, July 15 11 p.m.
Orlando v Rochester Saturday, July 16 6:30 p.m.
Rochester v Pittsburgh Friday, July 22 8 p.m.
Wilmington v Dayton Friday, August 5 7 p.m.
Charleston v Charlotte Friday, August 12 8 p.m.
FOX Soccer also shows a live game from each round of the USL PRO Playoffs, including the 2011 USL PRO Championship presented by Umbro on September 3.
The USL W-League Championship presented by Umbro airs on FOX Soccer Sunday, July 31, as does the USL Premier Development League Championship presented by Umbro on August 13.
USL Breakaway, the feature show highlighting the teams and personalities throughout United Soccer Leagues, returns for its sixth consecutive season with the first episode of 2011 scheduled to air in May.
“We are going to raise the bar on the production level for our 30-minute magazine-style show, USL Breakaway, as well as our game broadcasts, providing fans with a greatly enhanced product to enjoy,” Papadakis continued. “USL Breakaway is the key avenue to showcase the players and teams that make our leagues successful and it will reach unprecedented levels during the course of the agreement.”
For the 19th consecutive season, Santa Barbara-based Cultural Global Media is handling production services for the USL, coordinating all of the 2011 USL game broadcasts on FOX Soccer. Additional details regarding this season’s package, including the match commentators and analysts, will be announced in the coming weeks.