NBC Sports

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MLS, NBC announce three-year broadcast deal

45 MLS and 4 USMNT matches to appear on NBC and new NBC Sports Network

NEW YORK — Major League Soccer and the NBC Sports Group today announced a three-year media rights agreement, which commences at the start of the 2012 MLS season. The partnership calls for 45 MLS games and four US men’s national team contests to be televised live across both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. This marks the first rights deal for the newly named cable channel that will be re-branded from VERSUS on January 2, 2012. The announcement was made today by MLS Commissioner and Soccer United Marketing CEO Don Garber and Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group.

“Everyone at the NBC Sports Group is thrilled to begin this partnership with Major League Soccer,” said Lazarus. “MLS is a perfect fit for our new group, and we are uniquely positioned to help grow soccer in the United States with extensive coverage on NBC Sports Network, significant programming on the broadcast network and our growing digital platforms. Additionally, this agreement complements the partnerships that five of our regional sports networks have with their local MLS teams.”

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...broadcast-deal

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Commish: NBC's wide reach makes new MLS deal an olympic feat

league is ready for prime time with 3-year agreement

PHILADELPHIA — If you can imagine a Major League Soccer promo running during a Notre Dame-Michigan clash, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals or even the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, then it’s easy to envision the future of soccer in the United States.

The incredibly wide reach of NBC and its affiliates is at the forefront of the watershed three-year broadcast deal between the network and MLS announced on Wednesday, and it gives the league a chance to finally resonate in households it’s been longing to reach since the league’s inception.

The deal is set to begin at the start of the 2012 season, and NBC and the rebranded NBC Sports Network will broadcast 45 matches per year. The NBC flagship station will broadcast two regular-season games and two postseason matches, marking the first time four MLS matches will be broadcast on English-language network television since 2002.

The NBC family of networks will also broadcast four US national team matches, including two on NBC.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...l-olympic-feat

[EPJr]

Comcast Rebrands Versus As NBC Sports Network


A sports cable network will now get an older name: NBC Sports Network will be the new name of Versus.

The announcement of the Comcast Corp.-owned sports channel, Versus, which features NHL, bull riding, mixed martial arts, and cycling, among other sports, will become official come January 2, 2012. Comcast Corp.'s other sports network, The Golf Channel, will keep its name.

http://www.mediapost.com/publication...art_aid=155062

[huevonkiller]

A better known brand.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=HZf6Crc78Zo

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NBC hires Seattle's Arlo White as voice of soccer
After two years in Seattle, Arlo White goes national with network


NBC Sports, the newest TV home for MLS, may be more than three months away from televising its first-ever MLS match, but the network has already made a major splash with the hiring of its new voice for soccer.

The Peacock network announced on Wednesday that former Seattle Sounders man Arlo White (photo courtesy of Seattle Sounders/Corky Trewin) will handle play-by-play duties for MLS and US national team games on NBC and NBC Sports Network, which launches on January 2, 2012, in a rebrand of the Versus channel.

“Arlo is one of the top voices calling soccer today in the US, and we are very excited to have him be the lead play-by-play announcer to launch our new agreement with Major League Soccer,” said Sam Flood, executive producer of NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network in a statement. “I also want to sincerely thank the Seattle Sounders FC ownership for making Arlo available, so he can be the MLS voice for the NBC Sports Group to a national audience.”


http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...e-voice-soccer

[EPJr]

NBC Sports Network releases new MLS ad spot
NYRB's Lindpere "dangles piece of meat in front of hungry wolves"


On Monday, it became official that Versus became the NBC Sports Network. So it's time to start contemplating the upcoming MLS season on NBC. At least that's what NBC is doing.

Practically from the day NBC and MLS announced their new three-year broadcasting partnership, the network has been in full promo mode.

First there was the MLS ad that ran during NBC's Sunday Night Football broadcast. And now there is this new promo in which New York Red Bulls midfielder Joel Lindpere lines up a corner kick against Philadelphia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilobB...layer_embedded

[EPJr]

ALL RISE AND STAND TOGETHER AS ONE

Grand Debut
http://www.mlssoccer.com/blog/mls-in...mls-nbc-sports