Nine Wranglers games to be televised on FSN and NBC
Published on December 22, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Austin Wranglers News Release
AUSTIN, TEXAS â The Austin Wranglers announced today that seven of its regular-season games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network (FSN), starting with the team's February 11 home game against the Los Angeles Avengers. The FSN Southwest coverage can be seen on Austin cable channel 54, digital cable 430. With the NBC televised coverage, nine of the Wranglers 16 regular-season games will be televised.
FSN and the Arena Football League (AFL) have reached a multi-year agreement to carry regular-season games on 11 of FSN's owned and affiliated regional sports networks, said AFL Commissioner David Baker and FSN COO Randy Freer. Most FSN regional telecasts will take place on Fridays and Saturdays, and are in addition to the AFL's exclusive Sunday afternoon national broadcasts on NBC.
"Televised broadcasts of so many Austin Wrangler games is great news because it raises visibility and excitement about the league and the team," said Wranglers President Doug MacGregor. "FSN will broadcast the games on Friday and Saturday nights, which is a great schedule for Wrangler fans. Now more people can experience the in-arena excitement and action of the Austin Wranglers and watch the team's progress, particularly during the latter part of the season as the playoff scenario begins to develop."
In addition to broadcasting Austin Wrangler games, FSN will continue producing and televising AFL WEEKLY, a weekly magazine program that premiered on the network last season. The 2005 edition of AFL WEEKLY debuts Monday, January 31 at 3:30 p.m. local time, and continues every Monday through season's end.
"Our goal is to be the most fan-friendly league in the world, and we've taken a major step toward that with the FSN agreement," said Baker. "Nearly 90 percent of AFL games will be broadcast either nationally or locally, which significantly increases the AFL's exposure and reach to our fans. We have a great national television partner in NBC, and now have the perfect regional partner in FSN."
The agreement, combined with individual team broadcasting agreements, increases the number of AFL (non-NBC) games on television from 39 in 2004 to more than 120 in 2005.
"We're very excited about our new partnership with the AFL," added Freer. "Local sports events are the foundation upon which FSN is built, and the Arena Football League was a previously untapped source of exciting, high quality local sports programming. Adding the AFL definitely strengthens FSN's regional programming mix, and is a natural fit with our desire to increase our local programming."
The seven Wranglers games to be broadcast on FSN Southwest include four games at the Erwin Center and three on the road. The Wranglers regular season schedule information, including current broadcast networks are as follows:
AUSTIN WRANGLERS 2005 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Week Date Opponent Arena Kickoff Television Broadcast
1 SUNDAY, JAN. 30 PHILADELPHIA SOUL ERWIN CENTER 11:00 a.m. NBC
2 Sunday, Feb. 6 @ Tampa Bay Storm St. Pete Times Forum 11:00 a.m.
3 FRIDAY, FEB. 11 LOS ANGELES AVENGERS ERWIN CENTER 7:30 p.m. FSN Southwest (8:30 p.m.)
4 Saturday, Feb. 19 @ Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena 6:30 p.m.
5 FRIDAY, FEB. 25 GEORGIA FORCE ERWIN CENTER 7:30 p.m.
6 Friday, March 4 @ Las Vegas Gladiators Thomas&Mack Center 9:00 p.m.
7 SUNDAY, MAR. 13 DALLAS DESPERADOS ERWIN CENTER 3:00 p.m. FSN Southwest
8 SATURDAY, MAR. 19 NEW YORK DRAGONS ERWIN CENTER 7:30 p.m.
9 Friday, March 25 @ Orlando Predators TD Waterhouse Centre 6:30 p.m.
10 FRIDAY, APRIL 1 NEW ORLEANS VOODOO ERWIN CENTER 7:30 p.m. FSN Southwest
11 Friday, April 8 @ Georgia Force Gwinnett Center 6:30 p.m. FSN Southwest
12 SUNDAY, APRIL 17 TAMPA BAY STORM ERWIN CENTER 12:00 p.m. NBC
13 Friday, April 22 @ Arizona Rattlers America West Arena 9:00 p.m. FSN Southwest
14 Saturday, April 30 @ Columbus Destroyers Nationwide Arena 6:00 p.m. FSN Southwest
15 SATURDAY, MAY 7 ORLANDO PREDATORS ERWIN CENTER 7:30 p.m. FSN Southwest
16 Saturday, May 14 @ New Orleans Voodoo New Orleans Arena 7:00 p.m.
17 May 21-22 BYE
Game Times are subject to change and are all Central Standard Time
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from December 22, 2004
- Nine Wranglers games to be televised on FSN and NBC - Austin Wranglers
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