The TV schedule for the 2010 World Cup has been released for viewers in the United States, and the most highly anticipated match of the opening round featuring England against the United States of America will be televised live on ABC on Saturday, June 12
beginning at 2pm ET.
In England’s second game of the tournament, the match against Algeria will be shown live on ESPN2 on Friday, June 16 with coverage beginning at 2pm ET. England’s last game of the opening round, against Slovenia, will be televised on Wednesday, June 23. Coverage that day begins at 9:30am ET.
All games will be televised in HD and will feature pre-game, half-time and post-game analysis. Plus, ESPN has announced that they will show the complete national anthems for both teams before each game.
All 64 games will be televised live. The breakdown of the games will be as follows: ESPN will show 44 games. ABC will show 10, while ESPN2 will show 10. The World Cup final will be broadcast live on Sunday, July 11th at 1:30pm ET on ABC.
In addition to the television coverage, all of the games shown on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be shown live on ESPN360.com. That means that the England against United States game, and all others on ABC, will not be available via ESPN360. However, all 64 tournament games will be available on archive for the remainder of 2010.
Lastly, ESPN Classic will re-air all 64 World Cup matches. Each matchday, between 6pm and midnight ET, the network will present all matches played earlier that day. Plus, ESPN and ESPN2 will air the best match of the day on select nights throughout the tournament.
I think you’ll agree with me that ESPN is, so far, making all the right moves and is planning on making this the best possible World Cup experience ever. Plus, to me, showing the national anthems of both teams is a big deal and it’s something that wasn’t shown in many previous World Cup tournaments. Or, if it was shown, the United States national anthem was shown live and as soon as it was the turn of the opponent’s national anthem, the networks involved often broke for a commercial.
For the complete TV schedule of all World Cup games, visit our sister site World Cup Buzz.
I like the idea they are going to have extensive Pre Game, Halftime and Post Game shows. and the re airs later that night. loving it alot.
Cheers Gaffer….ESPN may be hated by many, but they are leaving FSC in the dust and all they have is the World Cup. Imagine what they could do with the EPL, La Liga, et al????????
there’s a gulf between “could do” and “would do”
Party at the Harris residence… I’m there!
You might want to consult with Mrs. Gaffer about that first.
Hey, who the hell’s the boss?! In MY house…..umm…never mind.
Im especially thrilled with the ESPN360 coverage.
The World cup on Over the air free tv is great. In addition, you can also see all the games in 1080i on Univision and Telefutura. Unfortunately, they will be broadcasted in Spanish, but you can always mute the channel and turn on the radio.
I’m almost certain I heard this months ago when the draw was announced.
Grant, you’re correct. When Kartik was at ESPN headquarters to cover the World Cup draw for EPL Talk, he reported that ABC would be showing England against United States. It wasn’t until now that it has been made official, as well as the entire TV schedule.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Also worth mentioning that ESPN Deportes will have all of the matches with Portuguese commentary. Not HD but another alternative….
American’s it appears have the most viewing options out there thanks in large part to ESPN/Disney, etc. Anyone know what coverage is like in other major countries?
In Canada, CBC is the rightsholder with matches also shown on TeleLatino (sub-license). Here is a list of pretty much every country in the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_broadcasting_rights
Now for the other problem — the talent. Why is no-one taking Paul Dempsey to the States — we’re about to lose him with Setanta’s US programming on the way out
Setanta Ireland is keeping him.
Kudo’s to the Disney Co. This is special.
Come on Three Lions.
i find it interesting that no one here cares much about the US nats . . . are you guys all ex-pat brits or just euro lovers that don’t support your home country?
Dhines, many of us care about the USMNT, but for the USMNT and MLS coverage, please visit our sister site MLS Talk at http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com
Cheers,
The Gaffer
i guess as a fan of a given league, i don’t tie that to the national team. for example, i enjoy watching the FMF . . . but can’t stand el tri. after all (regarding the EPL), isn’t it one of the most diverse leagues in the world? when considering the origin of the players . . .
oh well, it isn’t my intention to rock the boat.
regards,
Though the WC coverage has improved here in America over the past few competitions, it still is not even in the ballpark of the BBC and ITV. I will travel to the UK just to watch the games with proper announcers, and pundits. No more Dave ??, Marco Balboa, Alexis Lalas, etc, for me!!
Spurs Fan, in the past that was definitely true, but I could argue that the better commentators and co-commentators are going to be in the US this year with Martin Tyler, Efan Ekoku, Robbie Earle and others. Plus Andy Gray and Richard Keys will be working for Fox Soccer Channel as pundits. Who’s left in England other than the Beeb and ITV commentators?
Cheers,
The Gaffer
USA USA USA!!!
Is there a list of who will be calling the games for ABC and ESPN? Please, please, please let it be British announcers and not JP Delecamara [sp?] et.al….
Are the announcers going to be in South Africa or will they be announcing the game by watching a tv screen in Bristol?
Swiftaw, great question. I believe the commentators will be at the game. They will be broadcasting SportsCenter live from South Africa, but the next time I’ll speak with ESPN, I’ll ask them for your question and will report it back on EPL Talk in a future article.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
will they provide pre/post match coverage for those who use espn360?
Leafs, the schedule for which matches the commentators will be doing hasn’t been announced yet, but JP Dellacamera – I’m sure – will be commentating on the US games probably alongside John Harkes or Alexi Lalas.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Thanks for your reply Gaffer I shall stay tuned. I really really hope they will use the British announcers that they used to use for the Champions League games. JP is terrible…
here here
This has draw written all over it.