Comcast to broadcast seven Crush games
February 4, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release
DENVER, February 4, 2004 - Comcast Cable, the country's leading cable and broadband communications provider, today announced it will broadcast seven Colorado Crush Arena Football League games this season on Comcast Channel 5 in the Denver/Boulder metro area. Comcast has broadcast rights to carry six Crush home games and one road game during the 16-game season, starting with the Feb. 6 season-opener at home against Las Vegas. Channel 5 is Comcast's new channel in the Denver metro area that will be devoted to local programming, including local sports, arts and entertainment, educational programming and customer information.
The two-year sponsorship agreement between Comcast and the Colorado Crush also includes broadcasting games during the 2005 Colorado Crush season. In addition to the live broadcasts of Colorado Crush games, Comcast will air a 30-minute program twice a week during this season, featuring programming developed by the Colorado Crush, including interviews with coaches and players, game highlights, press conferences and game analysis. Comcast also will have a major marketing presence with the team through arena signage, advertising and promotional activities.
Comcast's Channel 5 broadcasts kickoff with the Friday night season-opener at Pepsi Center against the Las Vegas Gladiators on Feb. 6, followed by another Friday night contest against the Austin Wranglers three weeks later on Feb. 27. Channel 5 also will air the March 4 home game against Detroit, the March 27 home contest against Arizona, the April 3 home game against Indiana, a road game at Los Angeles on April 10, and will conclude its broadcasts on April 23 with a home game against Grand Rapids.
Play-by-play duties for the Crush games on Comcast will be handled by veteran broadcaster Mitch Hyder. Hyder, who has more than 20 years of broadcast experience, has been a staple on the Denver sports scene since 1991. Providing analysis will be Damon Bowers, who played for the Crush during the 2003 season and recently appeared on the reality television show "The Bachelorette."
"We are thrilled to bring the action and excitement of Colorado Crush games to Comcast cable customers in the Denver metro area," said Mary White, senior vice president of Comcast's Colorado Market. "Comcast is always looking to provide valuable local programming to our customers, and adding these Colorado Crush games to Channel 5 will make their second season even more accessible to fans."
The Colorado Crush is coming off its inaugural season in the Arena Football League, setting league records in season tickets and merchandise sold, and is owned by a partnership group consisting of legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, and Stan Kroenke of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which owns the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and Pepsi Center.
"Our partnership with Comcast gives us the ability to bring the Colorado Crush and the Arena Football League to hundreds of thousands of homes in the Denver Metro area," said Michael Young, executive vice president of development for the Colorado Crush. "The fact that Colorado's number one provider of cable services has chosen us as a partner speaks volumes about the Colorado Crush and its meteoric rise in popularity."
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