FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

NBC SPORTS NETWORK’S MLS COVERAGE CONTINUES SATURDAY WITH NEW ENGLAND AT NEW YORK

Eastern Conference Match begins at 3:30 p.m. ET “Under new coach Jay Heaps, the Revs are rebuilding nicely, and they are sure to respond to this derby atmosphere at Red Bull Arena.” – Arlo White on Revolution “They will have to get everyone on the same page to avoid falling to their hungry tri-state rivals the New England Revolution.” – Kyle Martino on Red Bulls

NEW YORK – April 25, 2012 – NBC Sports Network’s coverage of Major League Soccer continues this weekend with an Eastern Conference match when New York Red Bulls host the New England Revolution Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

COMMENTATORS: The NBC Sports Group MLS announce team of Arlo White (@arlowhite, play-by-play), and Kyle Martino (@kylemartino, “Between the Benches” analyst) will call the game. NBC SportsTalk host Russ Thaler (@RussThaler) will host the pre-game, halftime and post-game segments live from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

VIEWERSHIP: After 7 regular season games, the MLS on NBC Sports Network is up 50% in average viewership compared to the 2011 regular season average on Fox Soccer (102,000 vs. 68,000).

WHITE AND MARTINO BREAK DOWN THE MATCHUP:

 

WHITE ON RED BULLS: “They can thrill and frustrate in equal measure.  Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper have smashed in 15 goals between them in just seven games, but as we saw in the 4-1 defeat at DC United last week, their injury-hit defense is very brittle.  Whichever Red Bulls team decides to turn up, there should be goals.”

 

WHITE ON NEW ENGLAND: “New England provided the NBC Sports Network audience with a major shock in March when they won 3-1 at the home of the champion L.A. Galaxy.  Under new coach Jay Heaps, the Revs are rebuilding nicely, and they are sure to respond to this derby atmosphere at Red Bull Arena.”

 

MARTINO ON THE GAME: “The Red Bulls offense and defense have been pulling in different directions through the start of the season. They will have to get everyone on the same page to avoid falling to their hungry tri-state rivals the New England Revolution.”

 

UPCOMING MLS GAMES ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK: (All Times ET, Home Team Listed First)

Sat., May 5, Seattle vs. Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m.

Sat., May 12, Houston vs. D.C., 4:30 p.m.

Sat., May 26, Houston vs. L.A., 2:30 p.m.

Sun., May 27, Kansas City vs. San Jose, 4:30 p.m.

 

For the full NBC Sports Group 2012 MLS Schedule visit www.NBCSports.com.

 

ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com: Steve Davis (@SteveDavis90), a respected soccer journalist for more than two decades, is the featured writer for ProSoccerTalk on NBCSports.com. Davis, who has covered Major League Soccer, since its inception in 1996 contributes regular posts and will provide video reports to NBCSports.com, and is expected to be an occasional guest on NBC SportsTalk, the daily hour-long news and information show the new NBC Sports Network.

 

# # #

 

Last August, Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NBC Sports Group announced a three-year media rights agreement that calls for 46 MLS games and four U.S. National Team contests to be televised live across both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. This agreement was the first rights deal for the new NBC Sports Network. All telecasts on NBC and NBC Sports Network will consist of pre-game and post-game coverage.