ESPN Goes To Moscow For The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final

On May 21, ESPN will air an historic UEFA Champions League final live from the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow as Manchester United and Chelsea go head - to - head in the first ever final between two English teams. ESPN will present the world’s premier club soccer competition on many ESPN platforms around the world - to a record number of fans in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, the Pacific Rim, Asia and Canada, totaling over 115 countries and territories and over 185 million households.

In addition to the final itself, ESPN will deliver fans both pre-game and post-game analysis from the ESPN Soccernet Presspass and SportsCenter teams, plus commentary featuring some of the world's best known soccer talent, from the stadium and ESPN studios. Soccer fans will also be able to get the latest news and analysis via ESPNsoccernet.com and ESPNdeportes.com. And fans in the U.S. and Mexico will be able to watch the Final live on ESPN360.com.

During the 2007-8 season, ESPN has brought fans nearly 2000 hours of UEFA Champions League coverage, across 14 networks, with hundreds more hours of ancillary programming.

Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International said: “We are proud to have been able to bring soccer fans unrivalled coverage of the 2007-8 UEFA Champions League season, which culminates in tomorrow’s final. Soccer fans will be able to enjoy top quality coverage from ESPN of the Manchester United and Chelsea final and great analysis and commentary from ESPN talent on TV, radio, broadband or on-line. ”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• UEFA Champions League-related content across 14 ESPN platforms: including ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPN International, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN360.com, ESPNdeportes.com and ESPNsoccernet.com.
• ESPN coverage reaching 185 million households in 115 countries and territories
• At least 10 on-air commentators (hosts, analysts, reporters, contributors) live from Moscow and from ESPN studio in Bristol, Conn. 

ESPN2: 

Will present exclusive English-language telecast of the Final in the United States. Pre-game coverage begins at 2 p.m. EST with a live, 30-minute pre-match show from Andrew Orsatti, Janusz Michallik, Shaka Hislop from ESPN Bristol studio.  They will be joined by former World Cup winner Frank Lebouef. Play-by-play commentator Derek Rae will be joined by analyst Tommy Smyth and Dave Roberts, reporting from the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.  ESPN2's telecast will also have AC Milan’s Clarence Seedorf as a special, in-booth guest analyst in Moscow (Seedorf is the first, and to date, the only player who has won the UEFA Champions League with three different clubs: Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan). The final will be re-aired at 7 p.m. EST.  In the US, ESPN Classic is scheduled to re-air the Final at 11pm EST on May 21.

ESPN DEPORTES: 

The company’s Spanish-language network in the U.S., will present an exclusive telecast featuring play-by-play commentator Fernando Palomo, Spanish language analyst is Mario Kempes and Juan Yankilevich is the pitch reporter.  Special guest Seedorf, fluent in both English and Spanish, will also contribute to ESPN deportes analysis.  Quique Wolff and Jose Ramon Fernandez will be SportsCenter co-hosts. Coverage begins with a live pre-match show starting at 1pm EST.

ESPN INTERNATIONAL:

ESPN International will provide a combined 1930 combined hours of UEFA Champions League coverage in such regions as Africa, Australia, Canada, and Latin America. ESPN STAR will broadcast in English, Cantonese and Mandarin across much of Asia.  On-site studio and match production teams will provide content to a variety of ESPN outlets around the world, including:  ESPN’s pan-regional network in Latin America; ESPN Brasil; ESPN in the Pac Rim, ESPN Atlantic, and TSN and RDS in Canada.  Immediately following the match, ESPN International will produce post-game programs simultaneously in three languages – English, Spanish and Portuguese.

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD:

UEFA Champions League Final Match Live for all ESPN Platforms with an immediate same-day re-air on all I-Nets/Deportes (ESPN Latin, Latin/Brasil, Caribbean; Pacific Rim, Atlantic, Deportes, ESPN2,TSN – ESPNDeportes.com; ESPN Soccernet.com; ESPN360.com, with final reairs on ESPN Dos, ESPN Brasil & ESPN+). Highlights include:

• Live match telecast in Latin America, ESPN360.com US & Mexico, Pacific Rim, Africa, ESPN2 (US), ESPN Deportes, TSN.  Primetime re-airs on the international networks and on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Classic in the U.S.
• Live radio broadcast on ESPN Deportes Radio in the U.S.
• Live Spanish-language 90-minute studio pre-game show with live hits from Moscow airing in Latin America and ESPN Deportes in the U.S.
• Live Portuguese-language 90-minute studio pre-game show Abre o Jogo produced in Sao Paulo airing in Brazil
• Live 60-minute English-language pre-game show with live hits from Moscow airing in the Pacific Rim, Africa and the Caribbean
• 30-minute English-language pre-game show airing on ESPN2 (U.S.) and TSN (Canada)
• ESPNEWS reports and First Take interview with Tommy Smyth on match day
• Post Game Coverage: Live SportsCenter in Latin America, Pacific Rim, Africa and ESPN Deportes immediately following the conclusion of the match.
• Special live Fora de Jogo post-game show in Brazil
• Encore presentation of the 1999 Final airing on the international networks and ESPN Deportes on game day. (Last time Manchester United  played at UEFA Champions League Final – beating Bayern Munich 2-1, scoring 2 goals in injury time)
• Fuera de Juego: Special shows on Monday and Tuesday from Moscow airing in Latin America and ESPN Deportes
• ESPNSoccernet Press Pass: Special shows on Monday and Tuesday from Moscow airing in the Pacific Rim, Africa and the Caribbean
• Cronometro: Special Monday/Tuesday shows from Moscow  airing in Mexico, Central America and Venezuela
• Additional studio coverage: PTI Australia, Hablemos de Futbol, ESPN Report, ESPN Radio Formula 
• ESPN Classic in the United Kingdom will air a number of previous Premier League and Division 1 encounters between Manchester United and Chelsea, as well as a selection of their best European matches from the last 30 years.

DIGITAL:

ESPN360.com in the US:  ESPN’s signature broadband service, available in 23 million homes nationwide, will feature live English and Spanish simulcasts from ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.  ESPN360.com in Mexico will be streaming the ESPN Deportes (TV) feed.

ESPNdeportes.com and ESPNsoccernet.com have covered all 125 UEFA Champions League games this year.  For the final, the sites will include, full build up to game - team news, analysis, predictions, finals of UCL Fantasy Game, live text commentary, live Gamecast coverage, comprehensive Gamecast, user-driven post-match analysis - users can analyze every players performance in depth, recreate every move and get every major stat with our new enhanced Gamecast post match tool, live scores, full post match reports and analysis and Motion will feature pre and post match highlights of ESPN studio coverage and match highlights.

ESPNdeportes Radio: The only around-the-clock national Spanish-language radio network in the United States, will offer LIVE coverage of the final with Jorge Ramos (play-by-play) and analyst Hernan Pereyra.  The radio network will offer a 30-minute pre-and-post game show.

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