Fox Soccer Channel Acquires Exclusive Rights to 12 Brazilian National Team Friendly Matches Through 2008

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fox Soccer Channel, America’s premier television soccer destination, today announced it has entered into a three-year pact with the Brazilian Football Federation for the exclusive television rights to 12 Brazilian National Team friendly matches through 2008. As part of the agreement, which includes all-language television, high-definition and video-on-demand rights for the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, Fox Soccer Channel will telecast two matches in 2006, as well as approximately five matches each year in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

“We are delighted to partner with the Brazilian Football Federation to bring our viewers unrivaled live and exclusive coverage of the Brazilian National Team’s friendlies”

Live and exclusive coverage kicks off Tuesday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT, and features five-time FIFA World Cup Champion Brazil on the pitch against Ecuador. Coverage continues on Wednesday, November 15 with Brazil’s encounter against Switzerland. A complete telecast schedule will be announced at a later date.

“We are delighted to partner with the Brazilian Football Federation to bring our viewers unrivaled live and exclusive coverage of the Brazilian National Team’s friendlies,” said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Soccer Channel. “Brazil is unquestionably one the world’s most successful and prestigious teams. This important pact is the perfect complement to Fox Soccer Channel’s year-round coverage of the highest caliber domestic and international soccer programming available.”

For a complete schedule of Fox Soccer Channel’s coverage of the Brazil National Team friendly matches, please visit www.foxsoccer.com.

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, German Bundesliga, 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, and FA Community Shield. The Official Broadcast Partner of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer Channel also televises United Soccer League and NCAA Division I college soccer matches. The channel reaches more than 25 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 www.foxsoccer.com.