ESPN ANNOUNCES KEVIN KEEGAN AS LEAD ANALYST

Guus Hiddink to join Ray Stubbs in the studio

ESPN announced today that former England captain and manager, Kevin Keegan, will be the lead analyst for ESPN’s Barclays Premier League coverage this season. One of the most popular football figures of recent times, the former Newcastle United, Manchester City and Fulham manager will take his seat in the studio alongside host Ray Stubbs for today’s live fixture as West Ham United play Tottenham in the Barclays Premier League, with coverage starting from 12:30pm. 

As a player, Keegan won almost everything there was to win, making 592 club appearances for the likes of Liverpool and Hamburg, scoring 204 goals and twice being named European Footballer of the Year in 1978 & 1979. He made 63 appearances for England, scoring 21 times, and brings a wealth of experience as he casts his critical eye over the Barclays Premier League teams. 

ESPN are also pleased to confirm that Russia and former Chelsea manager, Guus Hiddink, will also be joining Ray Stubbs in the studio for selected live matches throughout the season. Having steered Russia to the semi-finals of the European Championships last summer, as well as guiding Holland and South Korea to the semi-finals of the World Cup, and with an FA Cup victory, a Champions League semi-final and only one loss in all competitions with Chelsea last season, Hiddink is regarded as one of the best coaches in the game and will offer fans great insight into all the teams and players.

Announcing the latest additions to ESPN’s analyst line-up, Jeroen Oerlemans, ESPN’s Vice President, TV Channels, Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “We’re extremely happy to have Kevin and Guus on board. Between them they have won 23 major honours as both players and managers and will bring a wealth of experience, flair, opinion and enthusiasm to ESPN’s coverage this season. Alongside Ray Stubbs and the rest of our presenters and commentators, we have a formidable team that will provide fantastic analysis and reaction to football fans around the UK.”

Joe Royle will continue alongside Jon Champion in the commentary box to offer his insight as the games unfold in August, with Chris Waddle also joining the commentary team next to Jon Champion as co-commentator from September. Peter Reid and Ian Wright joined ray Stubbs in the ESPN studio for the channel’s first ever Barclays Premier League game. Other celebrated players added to ESPN’s Barclays Premier League analysis include Frank Lebeouf, Danny Murphy and Shaka Hislop,

Colin Hendry and Jim Duffy joined Ray Stubbs for ESPN’s first live Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches. Craig Burley takes on co-commentator duties alongside Derek Rae.

ESPN is available on Sky, Virgin, BT Vision, Top Up TV, Tiscali and UPC (in Ireland) on the following channel numbers:

Sky:                     ESPN (channel 417), ESPN HD (channel 442)

Virgin:                   ESPN (channel 529), ESPN HD (channel 530)

BT Vision:           ESPN (channel 34)

Top UP TV:         ESPN (channel 34)

Tiscali:                  ESPN (channel 555)

UPC (in Ireland)   ESPN (channel 407)

For subscription information, please visit: www.espn.co.uk or call 0844 257 7442

www.espn.co.uk

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About ESPN

Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

ESPN International has grown to include ownership — in whole or in part — of over 45 television networks outside of the United States, as well as a variety of brand extension businesses, which allow ESPN to reach fans in 200 countries and territories. In the UK, ESPN now includes a portfolio of television and digital brands including ESPN Classic, ESPN America, ESPNcricinfo.com, ESPNscrum.com, ESPNsoccernet.com, ESPN360.com and Racing-live.com.

On 22 June 2009, ESPN was awarded the exclusive rights to 46 Live Barclays Premier League matches in the 2009-10 Season and 23 matches a season from 2010-2013. ESPN will launch a new channel in the UK on 3rd August called ‘ESPN’. On 16 July ESPN was awarded exclusive live rights to Clydesdale Bank Premier League games for the next five seasons, showing 30 live games each season across the UK and Ireland, starting with the 2009-10 campaign this August.

ESPN Classic Sport now has five networks (UK, French, Italian, pan-European and Middle Eastern feeds) available in over 40 countries, and ESPN America has rights to show NFL, NHL, MLB and NCAA Football and Basketball across Europe, available in 43 countries. Online, Soccernet is the destination of choice for football fans worldwide. ESPN acquired cricinfo.com - the world’s leading cricket website - and scrum.com – a leading rugby news, features and information portal – in summer 2007. ESPN360.com - the company’s signature broadband service - launched in Europe in January 2008. In August 2008, ESPN acquired the world’s leading independent motor racing website, Racing-Live.com.