USL and Fox Soccer Channel Announce Exclusive Three-Year Deal

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Soccer Leagues and Fox Soccer Channel announced that Fox Soccer Channel has acquired the exclusive English-language television rights to select Friday night USL First Division matches and all USL League Championship games, a projected 27-game schedule annually, through the 2009 season. The deal also includes the broadband and mobile rights for USL on FSC matches.

“We are excited to announce the continuation of our presence on Fox Soccer Channel,” said USL Executive Vice President and COO Tim Holt. “Fox Soccer Channel has become the destination for soccer viewing in North America over the past few years and it is only natural that it is home to our weekly national telecasts.”

The new partnership continues a long-term relationship between USL and Fox Soccer Channel following the conclusion of their recent five-year deal. USL broadcasts will also be available on Fox Soccer Channel sister networks Fox Sports en Español, Fox Sports World Canada and Fox Sports Middle East/Africa.

“We are thrilled to be the exclusive national television partner of the USL,” said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Soccer Channel. “The perfect complement to our lineup of the most important international and domestic soccer leagues and tournaments, USL matches have proven to be entertaining action over the past five years and we look forward to giving their diverse community of fans and our loyal viewers three more years of live USL games on America’s soccer network.”

The 2007 USL on Fox Soccer Channel broadcast schedule kicks off on the second week of the USL season with the first of 24 weekly USL First Division matches, the largest schedule of nationally televised matches in USL First Division history. The USL-1 television schedule includes the second legs of a quarterfinal playoff series and a semifinal playoff series. It comes to a close with the USL First Division Championship Saturday, September 29.

Other live match broadcasts will include the W-League Championship on Sunday, August 5; the PDL Championship on Saturday, August 11; and the USL Second Division Championship on Saturday, August 25.

Additional shows include three episodes of USL Breakaway, a behind-the-scenes feature and highlights show that debuted in 2006. USL Breakaway will air three times during the months of June, July and September; exact telecast details will be announced at a later date.

Highlights of the USL First Division portion of the USL on Fox Soccer Channel broadcast schedule includes a rematch of the 2006 USL First Division championship when the Rochester Raging Rhinos play host to the Vancouver Whitecaps on May 4 and the first-ever meeting between the two 2007 expansion sides when the Carolina RailHawks visit the California Victory on August 3. Every USL-1 club will be featured at least three times during the regular season broadcast schedule on Fox Soccer Channel.

The 2007 season will also mark the first year in which all USL First Division matches will be available to viewers nationally on television or the internet with all 168 regular season games available either on Fox Soccer Channel or the new broadband internet broadcast channel USLlive.com.

2007 USL on Fox Soccer Channel Match Schedule
Day	Date	League		Match (Home v Visitor)	Time ET
Friday	April 20	USL-1		Charleston v Minnesota	8:00
Friday	April 27	USL-1		Atlanta v Minnesota	8:00
Friday	May 4	USL-1		Rochester v Vancouver	8:00
Friday	May 11	USL-1		Portland v Seattle	11:00
Friday	May 18	USL-1		Miami v Minnesota	8:00
Friday	May 25	USL-1		Montreal v Miami	8:00
Friday	June 1	USL-1		Montreal v Vancouver	8:00
Friday	June 8	USL-1		Montreal v Portland	8:00
Friday	June 15	USL-1		Carolina v Seattle	8:00
Friday	June 22	USL-1		Charleston v Atlanta	8:00
Friday	June 29	USL-1		Rochester v Atlanta	8:00
Friday	July 6	USL-1		Rochester v Carolina	8:00
Friday	July 13	USL-1		Portland v California	11:00
Friday	July 20	USL-1		Puerto Rico v California	8:00
Friday	July 27	USL-1		Vancouver v Seattle	11:00
Friday	August 3	USL-1		Carolina v California	8:00
Sunday	August 5	W-League		W-League Championship	TBD
Friday	August 10	USL-1		Atlanta v Puerto Rico	8:00
Saturday	August 11	PDL		Premier Development League Championship	TBD
Friday	August 17	USL-1		Puerto Rico v Miami	8:00
Friday	August 24	USL-1		Rochester v Montreal	8:00
Saturday	August 25	USL-2		USL Second Division Championship	TBD
Friday	August 31	USL-1		Montreal v Rochester	8:00
Friday	September 7	USL-1		Charleston v Puerto Rico	8:00
Sunday	September 16	USL-1		USL First Division Quarterfinal – Leg 2	TBD
Sunday	September 23	USL-1		USL First Division Semifinal – Leg 2	TBD
Saturday	September 29	USL-1		USL First Division Championship	TBD

About Fox Soccer Channel

Fox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of world-class soccer available in the United States, including Major League Soccer, the Barclays English Premier League, Argentine First Division and Italian Serie A; as well as global tournaments such as the UEFA Cup, UEFA Women’s Championship, English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, CONCACAF Champions’ Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup, and FA Community Shield. The Official Broadcast Partner of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer Channel also televises United Soccer Leagues and NCAA Division I college soccer matches. The channel reaches more than 29 million cable and satellite households in the U.S. and Caribbean.

Fox Soccer Channel is one of 28 national and regional programming networks within Fox Networks Group, an operating unit of the News Corporation (NYSE:NWS). These broadcast, cable, satellite and telephony delivered networks reach more than half a billion U.S. television homes, and represent one of the media industry's most diverse collections of programming operations. Fox Networks Group consists of FOX Sports, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Cable Networks and Fox Networks Engineering & Operations. For more information, visit America’s most visited online soccer destination at foxsoccer.com.

About USL

As United Soccer Leagues starts its third decade of operation, soccer at all levels continues to grow in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean. The largest organization of elite-level soccer leagues in North America, United Soccer Leagues is dedicated to growing the sport at the grassroots level in every community. The USL First Division and Second Division (North American men’s professional soccer), the USL Premier Development League (U23 North American men’s amateur), the USL W-League (North American women’s amateur), the USL Super-20 League (U20 North American men’s and women’s amateur) and the USL Super Y-League (North American boy’s and girl’s elite youth amateur) have provided a platform for thousands of players to reach their dreams since 1986. This vision and commitment to develop a soccer nation by fans, investors, administrators, coaches, and players has created the foundation for the growth of the sport, while presenting affordable, exciting family entertainment in over 100 cities and towns on the continent.