World Cup 2010: More Than a Game

By Ben Grosman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/7/2010 12:01:00 AM

Rights holders ESPN and Univision will have all the action from whistle to whistle during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, to be held from June 11 to July 11. But other networks will present programs documenting the world’s biggest sporting event. Here is a look at highlights of World Cup programming throughout the next month.

ESPN (rights holder)
GAME COVERAGE
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will air all 64 matches live and in high-defi nition. The ESPN3.com broadband network will feature live Englishlanguage simulcasts of matches on ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN Mobile TV will also show all matches. ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language all-sports network, will air more than 50 matches in Portuguese live in the U.S., and ESPN Radio will broadcast every game.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
Studio coverage will include SportsCenter segments, a nightly World Cup Live program, and pre-match, halftime and postmatch shows. Additional studio programming and World Cup-branded segments, totaling more than 65 hours of coverage, will originate from two sets in and around Johannesburg.

MATCH RE-AIRS
ESPN Classic will re-air all 64 matches. Each match day, between at 6 p.m. and midnight ET, the network will present all matches played earlier that day. ESPN and ESPN2 will air the day’s best contest on select nights throughout the tournament.

UNIVISION (rights holder)
GAME COVERAGE
Univision will broadcast all of the event’s 64 matches across platforms including Univision, TeleFutura, Galavisión, WorldCup: 2010 Special Univision.com, Univision Móvil and Univision On Demand. Univision.com will also have live streaming at futbol.univision.com. The network will air pregame shows before every match.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING
Univision and TeleFutura programs, including Despierta América, El Gordo y la Flaca, Primer Impacto, República Deportiva and Contacto Deportivo, will feature special World Cup editions.

NEWS PROGRAMMING
Univision’s newscasts, including Noticiero Univision, Aquí y Ahora and Noticiero Univision: Última Hora, will be on location. All of Univision Television Group’s local stations will also provide extensive coverage of the World Cup in their afternoon and late-night news programs.

FOX SOCCER CHANNEL
Ticket to South Africa: A one-hour studio show every day with recaps plus reports from Fox Soccer Channel’s correspondents in South Africa. Talent includes Andy Gray, Christopher Sullivan, Warren Barton and host Richard Keys.

Passport to South Africa: A nine-episode series focusing on the 32 nations competing this June and July. Talent includes Sullivan, Barton and Bobby McMahon.

Road to Glory vignettes: A series of 64 fast-paced, one-minute looks at the players, coaches and nations vying for soccer’s top prize; sponsored by Gillette.

FOX SPORTS EN ESPAÑOL
Fox Sports Central: Beginning June 7, a daily 12-hour live feed out of South Africa, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, will pay particular attention to the teams from Mexico, the U.S., Brazil and Argentina.

Cara a Cara en Directo: This daily program, hosted by Raul Orvañanos, will bring all the action of the World Cup from South Africa with a Mexican focus. Orvañanos and company will follow the Mexican team, dissecting the games, formations and squad.

Debate Final: Fernando Niembro from Argentina, Mexico native Orvañanos and Chile’s Luis Omar Tapia analyze the daily action.

GOLTV
The Sacred Game: This six-episode series features international soccer legend and GolTV CEO Enzo Francescoli interviewing the top soccer stars of today and the past about the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup. The all-star lineup includes Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane.

GolTV News: 2010 Report: This nightly telecast follows each day of World Cup action; it includes a full hour of news and analysis from GolTV’s team, plus highlights and daily recap reports from South Africa.