ESPN in the UK

Opening selection of matches include Celtic, Rangers, Motherwell, Dundee United and Hearts

LONDON 9 July 2010 - ESPN today announced its initial Clydesdale Bank Premier League fixtures live and exclusive on ESPN and ESPN HD.  All 12 clubs feature on the channel in the initial 4 months of the season, including nine matches featuring the Old Firm.  ESPN’s schedule will open with the clash between Europa League qualifiers Motherwell and Hibernian on Sunday August 15th at noon. 

Also in August, ESPN will broadcast the visit of last season’s runners up Celtic to Motherwell. New Celtic manager Neil Lennon will be looking for a crucial win as he looks to mount a challenge to Rangers’ recent dominance of the SPL, with the title calling Ibrox home for the past two seasons. Additional ESPN televised matches will be announced soon.

ESPN’s handpicked selection of exclusively live matches until November also include a trip for Rangers to Hamilton Academical plus an Edinburgh and Glasgow clash that pits Hearts against Rangers. ESPN will also bring viewers Celtic’s visit to Tynecastle as Hearts look to improve on last season’s sixth place finish.

Following on from last year’s opening season of live Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches, ESPN’s coverage will be presented by Ray Stubbs, chief commentator Derek Rae and reporter Darrell Currie.

In addition to live and exclusive TV coverage, fans can catch coverage of these matches and more at ESPNsoccernet.com. One of the world’s leading football websites, ESPNsoccernet’s content includes news, match coverage and features. The site also includes in-depth statistics and opinion from around the world, covering British, European and other global football leagues.

And just one week before the start of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League season, ESPN will broadcast the clash between Rangers and Newcastle at Glasgow’s Ibrox Stadium at 13.00 on Saturday 7 August.

ESPN’s coverage of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League adds to the channel’s established offering of top domestic and international football from around the world, including Barclays Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and the UEFA Europa League. Next season, ESPN will further expand its line-up of top-quality, exclusive British sports, broadcasting 43 live and exclusive games from Aviva Premiership Rugby and airing 25 FA Cup fixtures live and exclusively throughout the 2010/11 season.

Announcing the selection of live matches, Jeroen Oerlemans, Vice President TV Channels, ESPN, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:  “We are incredibly excited about the start of the new football season in Scotland. After our first season of broadcasting the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, we are looking forward to capturing the drama and excitement of Scottish football in the upcoming season.”

Early-season ESPN telecasts of Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches include:

August
Sunday 15th                   Motherwell v Hibernian                           12.00
Saturday 21st                 Hamilton Academical v Hearts                12.00
Sunday 29th                   Motherwell v Celtic                                12.00

 
September
Saturday 11th,                Hamilton Academical v Rangers             12.00
Saturday 18th                 Inverness CT v Hearts                            12.00

October
Saturday 2nd                  Hearts v Rangers                                   12.00
Saturday 23rd                 Aberdeen v Hibernian                            12.00
Saturday 30th                 St Johnstone v Celtic                            12.00

November
Sunday 7th                     St Mirren v Rangers                               12.00
Wednesday 10th             Hearts v Celtic                                       19.30
Sunday 14th                   St Mirren v Celtic                                   12.00
Saturday 20th                 Kilmarnock v Rangers                            12.00
Sunday 28th                   Dundee Utd v Rangers                          12.00