MLS Real Salt Lake

ABC4, CW30 Again Combine to Broadcast 31 RSL Matches in HD

Published on February 6, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, UTAH (Tuesday, February 5, 2013) - Real Salt Lake and KTVX, Utah's ABC affiliate, today announced details concerning its broadcast partnership that will see KTVX ABC4 air 10 live RSL contests during the 2013 Major League Soccer campaign, while the KTVX-operated KUCW - known as CW30 - will carry the remaining 21 non-national regional broadcasts. The RSL-KTVX partnership guarantees that all 34 of the Utah side's regular-season affairs will be aired on a local or national broadcast partner, on either free, over-the-air television or via the NBC Sports Network.

Real Salt Lake's CW30 slate kicks off with the team's 2013 MLS opener on Sunday, March 9, when the Claret-and-Cobalt will travel to Buck Shaw Stadium on the Santa Clara University campus near San Jose to face the Defending 2012 MLS Supporters Shield champion Earthquakes. Pre-game coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. MT, with RSL hoping for a repeat of season-opening victories at San Jose in 2010 and 2011.

"A year ago, KTVX and KUCW helped us deliver the second-highest local ratings in Major League Soccer," said RSL President Bill Manning, noting that the team's regional games remain on free, over-the-air television, as they have since its inception in 2005. "As we move into the second year of a multi-year partnership, we look forward to deepening the connection between our growing fan base and KTVX's commitment to live, local content."

For the second consecutive year, each of Real Salt Lake's 31 regional games will air in high-definition, while ABC4 and CW30 offer channel location consistency, regardless of the platform by which the fragmented Utah DMA consumes its television - over the air, cable or satellite. Virtually all of the elements contained in each two-and-a-half hour Real Salt Lake broadcast will be available locally - including features, game highlights, interviews with key personalities and full-game re-broadcasts - on either the RealSaltLake.com or ABC4.com websites or on Comcast Video-on-Demand, as will numerous RSL-related content produced by the ABC4 news and sports teams.

"ABC4 and CW30 will continue to focus an increasing amount of our local and News programming on the interests of Utah and it's residents", said Richard Doutre' Jones, named by Nexstar Broadcast Group as Vice President and General Manager of KTVX and KUCW on January 7, 2013. "Live sports represent the most compelling content available on television; watching drama unfold over the course of two hours is the ultimate reality show. Real Salt Lake's championship-winning brand of soccer provides tremendous interest and significant relevance to Utah audiences, and we are thrilled to be the long-term partner of RSL and ESPN 700 as we look forward to another terrific season"

Of the 10 regular-season games airing on ABC4, six will emanate from the road, kicking off with a Week Two trip to RFK Stadium to face D.C. United on March 9 and continuing on March 23 at FC Dallas and April 13 at Vancouver. Following a July 27 trip to New York to face former RSL men Jamison Olave and Fabian Espindola, ABC4 closes out its Summer with a pair of critical Western Conference road trips: August 3 at Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado and August 17 at two-time defending MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy.

KTVX ABC 4 will also air a quartet of games from Rio Tinto Stadium, including the March 16 home opener against Colorado, as RSL pursues its seventh consecutive Subaru Rocky Mountain Cup. ABC 4 will also showcase the Sandy venue when RSL hosts Western Conference powers San Jose, Los Angeles and Seattle throughout the month of June.

CW30 will carry a mix of 21 total games, including 12 home and nine away, throughout the length of the season, starting on March 3 at San Jose and closing with the 2013 regular-season finale on October 23 against Chivas USA at Rio Tinto Stadium. Highlighting the CW30 road schedule is RSL's first-ever visit to Stade Saputo in Montreal on Saturday, May 11, with an early kickoff at 12:00 noon MT. Saturday, June 29 will see an even earlier kickoff for RSL, at 11:00 a.m. MT from Toronto, the earliest game in the club's nine-year history.

The RSL on ABC4 / CW30 broadcast team will again see long-time RSL ambassadors continue in the booth, as ESPN700 host Bill Riley enters his ninth year as an RSL play-by-play personality on radio and TV, while 10-year MLS veteran and "RSL Original" Brian Dunseth assumes color analyst duties on RSL broadcasts for the eighth consecutive season. Riley and Dunseth can often be heard together on the ESPN700 airwaves Monday through Friday between 2:00-6:00 p.m. MT talking all things RSL, MLS and international soccer, while Dunseth and ESPN700 host James Rust host "OnFrame" weekly with top-tier guests from throughout the North American soccer world. Throughout the season, RSL players, coaches and personalities will be featured on the Saturday and Sunday night "SportsZone" on ABC4, airing each weekend night at 10:35 p.m. MT.

A trio of midweek RSL games on CW30 are currently slated to air on a tape-delayed basis due to first-run network programming (May 8 at NE; July 3 v PHI and October 23 v CHV). RSL and Nexstar are currently investigating alternative options for live viewership in Utah on these dates. Real Salt Lake's complete 2013 television broadcast schedule follows:

REAL SALT LAKE 2013 BROADCAST SCHEDULE

Day Date Matchup air (MT) TV

Sun. March 2 @ San Jose Earthquakes 8:00 CW30

Sat. March 9 @ D.C. United 5:00 ABC4

SAT. MARCH 16 COLORADO RAPIDS 4:00 ABC4

Sat. March 23 @ FC Dallas 6:30 ABC4

SAT. MARCH 30 SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 7:00 CW30

Sat. April 6 @ Colorado Rapids 5:30 NBCSN

Sat. April 13 @ Vancouver Whitecaps 2:00 ABC4

SAT. APRIL 20 CHIVAS USA 7:00 CW30

SAT. APRIL 27 LOS ANGELES GALAXY 7:00 CW30

SAT. MAY 4 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 7:00 CW30

Wed. May 8 @ New England Revolution 6:00 CW30 (TD 9:00)

Sat. May 11 @ Montreal Impact FC 11:59a CW30

Sun. May 19 @ Chivas USA 8:30 CW30

SAT. MAY 25 CHICAGO FIRE 7:00 CW30

SAT. JUNE 1 SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 7:30 ABC4

SAT. JUNE 8 LOS ANGELES GALAXY 7:30 ABC4

SAT. JUNE 22 SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 7:30 ABC4

Sat. June 29 @ Toronto FC 11:00a CW30

WED. JULY 3 PHILADELPHIA UNION 8:00 CW30 (TD 9:00)

Sat. July 13 @ FC Dallas 7:00 CW30

SAT. JULY 20 SPORTING KANSAS CITY 8:00 CW30

Sat. July 27 @ New York Red Bulls 5:00 ABC4

WED. JULY 31 2013 MLS ALL-STAR GAME 6:00 ESPN2

Sat. Aug. 3 @ Colorado Rapids 7:00 ABC4

SAT. AUG. 10 HOUSTON DYNAMO 7:30 CW30

Sat. Aug. 17 @ Los Angeles Galaxy 8:30 ABC4

Wed. Aug. 21 @ Portland Timbers FC 9:00 CW30

SAT. AUG. 24 COLUMBUS CREW 7:30 CW30

FRI. AUG. 30 PORTLAND TIMBERS FC 8:00 NBCSN

Fri. Sept. 13 @ Seattle Sounders FC 8:00 NBCSN

SAT. SEPT. 21 SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 7:00 CW30

Sat. Sept. 28 @ Vancouver Whitecaps 5:00 CW30

SAT. OCT. 5 FC DALLAS 7:00 CW30

Sat. Oct. 19 @ Portland Timbers 8:30 CW30

WED. OCT. 23 CHIVAS USA 7:00 CW30 (TD 9:00)

Home games in CAPS; all times p.m. MT;

schedule subject to change; TV info for Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup TBD;

please visit www.RealSaltLake.com or www.RioTintoStadium.com for latest news and info

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Major League Soccer Stories from February 6, 2013


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