ABC/ESPN to show all of Euro 2008!

[Vicious Lhasa Apso]

Per Soccernet, ABC will show two games (one assumes perhaps the opener and the final, but certainly at least the final), and ESPN, the deuce, and Classic the balance of the fixture list.

[benficafan3]

Per Soccernet, ABC will show two games (one assumes perhaps the opener and the final, but certainly at least the final), and ESPN, the deuce, and Classic the balance of the fixture list.

Just saw this also on yahoo, and it is definitely great news. Don't have to waste close to 200 dollars again.

[Visca...]

Don't have to waste close to 200 dollars again.
coverage is gonna suck :o I guess it's a give and take kind of thing.

[benficafan3]

coverage is gonna suck :o I guess it's a give and take kind of thing.

Ohhhhh sh*t. You're right. I forgot about how horrible American coverage is. Oh well, can't get everything in life, I suppose.

[Cassano]

Let's just hope they keep Marcelo Balboa away from the booth. Then I will be satisfied.

[Cannon]

coverage is gonna suck :o I guess it's a give and take kind of thing.
Exactly what I was thinking...hmm...would I rather be out the cash but get good coverage (decent announcers, pre game shows, etc) or get it for free and have to hear the ESPN fools, have a stupid ticker taking up screen space and giving away scores, and likely not having any coverage outside of the games? I think I'd rather spend the cash but at least more people will see the games.

[colinh9]

********. This is horrible news because I won't be able to convince my mom to shell out the money for this. I'll have to pay for it myself if I want to get decent coverage. Damnit.

[Lozano]

AND...you can have it on your PC anywhere in the world :D
Just check my sig ;)

[BED-STYPUNDIT]

I know Joe Rome is pissed, that's for sure.

Whhere's the link to this, this is absolutely great news, with the exception of the possible commentary, because it shows that soccer is DEFINITELY on the come up here. DEFINITELY.

[kwik1980]

I know Joe Rome is pissed, that's for sure.

Whhere's the link to this, this is absolutely great news, with the exception of the possible commentary, because it shows that soccer is DEFINITELY on the come up here. DEFINITELY.

The link: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=395111&cc=5901

The basic details:
2 matches on ABC (Like others have said, I'd assume the opening match on Saturday June 7, and the Final on June 29th)

Everything else on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic.

Spanish-Language US rights to ESPN Deportes.

I want to see how the breakdown of matches falls out (i.e. what's on ESPN, ESPN2 and Classic), but in June, all they're really going to be competing with is afternoon baseball, so it does work out pretty well.

[Briman14]

Somehow Nevada Smith's was able to show BBC coverage even though ESPN had the US rights for WC 06. So I think people will have the chance to go to soccer bars and get British coverage under this arrangement. Also, who got the spanish language rights? Maybe there will be some good Spanish coverage. Still better listening to Dave O'Brien than paying $200 for coverage

[BocaFan]

I know Joe Rome is pissed, that's for sure.

Whhere's the link to this, this is absolutely great news, with the exception of the possible commentary, because it shows that soccer is DEFINITELY on the come up here. DEFINITELY.

Not necessarily. 20 years ago the average person had between 13 and 30 channels on their TV at home. Today it's probably in the hundreds.

So there is more of everything being shown on TV.

[ForeverRed]

This is possibly the worst news.

Firstly, I'd rather scramble for shyte links on the internet with chinese commentary than listen to the american coverage.

Second, anyone who doesn't regularly watch football and listens to their coverage will get a terrible image of European football through their commentary.

I learned my lesson this summer...they destroyed something very beautiful and I'm not putting up with it again.

[halfnelson31]

I agree, for some reason i feel like...i dont know more of a rebel when having to scramble to download torrents and go through different foreign sites to watch on the comp.

also i doubt the average person knows what EURO2008 really is or means so i have no idea if this will be as sucessful as the the WC (which ESPN must be hoping for)

[JCUnited]

I shouldn't be shocked, but I am.

An American network has PAID for the rights and will show all 31 games of the Euro 2008 tournament for FREE and LIVE, and people still bitch.

Look, you don't like the commentary, hit that mute button.

If the commentary ruined the World Cup for you, you've got problems.

Me, I tune in for the action on the field, not the guys in the booth. Yes, it's great when you've got talent there, but it doesn't ruin an event when the announcers suck.

Any American non-fan who tunes in would probably immediately tune out if you had English announcers. Most Americans who tune in and are not fans will probably like the announcers, as ESPN instructs them to talk to the non-soccer crowd.

There is not one single negative about this deal. Not one.

And yet, the whining is already started.

[benficafan3]

I shouldn't be shocked, but I am.

An American network has PAID for the rights and will show all 31 games of the Euro 2008 tournament for FREE and LIVE, and people still bitch.

Look, you don't like the commentary, hit that mute button.

If the commentary ruined the World Cup for you, you've got problems.

Me, I tune in for the action on the field, not the guys in the booth. Yes, it's great when you've got talent there, but it doesn't ruin an event when the announcers suck.

Any American non-fan who tunes in would probably immediately tune out if you had English announcers. Most Americans who tune in and are not fans will probably like the announcers, as ESPN instructs them to talk to the non-soccer crowd.

There is not one single negative about this deal. Not one.

And yet, the whining is already started.

Excellent point.

[ForeverRed]

I shouldn't be shocked, but I am.

An American network has PAID for the rights and will show all 31 games of the Euro 2008 tournament for FREE and LIVE, and people still bitch.

Look, you don't like the commentary, hit that mute button.

If the commentary ruined the World Cup for you, you've got problems.

Me, I tune in for the action on the field, not the guys in the booth. Yes, it's great when you've got talent there, but it doesn't ruin an event when the announcers suck.

Any American non-fan who tunes in would probably immediately tune out if you had English announcers. Most Americans who tune in and are not fans will probably like the announcers, as ESPN instructs them to talk to the non-soccer crowd.

There is not one single negative about this deal. Not one.

And yet, the whining is already started.

Fair point but think about the menality of non american football fans living in the US. Those are the ones that are going to be watching the tournament more than your averege american sports fan. Plus, if you've heard football commentating in England, German leagues etc. you know what the standards are and compared to Balboa and CO. the difference is gigantic.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate them showing the games but keep in mind, they are doing it because of the large immigrant audience in this country that are fans of football. Otherwise they wouldn't do it.

Personally, its difficult to listen to americans who keep mispronouncing names, making idiotic irrelevanet statements throughout the game and get off track and discuss other sports. If US broadcasters even attempted to understand the psyche and mentality of Football fans and the sport as a whole outside this country the end product would be much better.

It's not an impossible task. I bet there are announcers out there who know the game and have done commentary outside this country and are willing to do it. I don't see how that will change anything for the worse, if anything, it will attract those disillusioned with the broadcast.

[BocaFan]

I shouldn't be shocked, but I am.

An American network has PAID for the rights and will show all 31 games of the Euro 2008 tournament for FREE and LIVE, and people still bitch.
Why not bitch? If ESPN hadn't gotten the rights, Setanta would have paid for them and probably would've shown all the games on Setanta USA. So either way the games would've been available in the USA for free. But with espn the coverage will stink.


Look, you don't like the commentary, hit that mute button.
The mute button doesn't just shut-off the commentary. IT shuts-off all the sounds. So that's not a solution.


If the commentary ruined the World Cup for you, you've got problems.

Me, I tune in for the action on the field, not the guys in the booth. Yes, it's great when you've got talent there, but it doesn't ruin an event when the announcers suck.


For most people, its not a question of the commentary ruining the tournament. But you can't deny the fact that better coverage of a tournament makes it all the more enjoyable for the viewer. And lets not forget the pregame and halftime shows that we were able to see through Setanta during Euro 2004. With ESPN, the broadcast will start 2 minutes before kickoff and include a crappy halftime program.

Just compare the coverage of a Champions League game on Setanta USA with the coverage of a CL game on espn2. I rest my case.

[Jabinho]

Just compare the coverage of a Champions League game on Setanta USA with the coverage of a CL game on espn2. I rest my case.
I can't compare them.. As with most cable systems in the USA, Setanta is not available on mine..;)

[PsychedelicCeltic]

How many people here have ESPN, how many people here have Setanta?

I bet everyone has ESPN, and maybe 15% of fans, if not less, have Setanta. And that's here, at BigSoccer. I'd be surprised if more than 25,000 households had Setanta. If you hate Celo so much (and I can't really blame you), mute it and play music.

What matters to me is that Euro 08 will be seen by more people than the combined number of people who have watched every previous European Championship in the United States.