They chose to show Arsenal-Villarreal (4/19 and 4/25) only I hope this info will soon to be wrong, but until now, that's what you see on every TV listings
They usually show one game from each leg. The second leg for Milan-Barcelona will probably be the one aired on April 25. Also, I remember from last year they show games on tape delay. Hopefully, that'll be the case this year.
Re: No listing of Milan vs. Barcelona on ESPN2 (4/18 and 4/26) No, they also list Villarreal CF vs. Arsenal FC on 4/25. So no Milan-Barcelona at all!
FSC will likely show the Milan game that week also on their "Milan in Europe" show.. They done them all so far this year, as far as I know..
Re: No listing of Milan vs. Barcelona on ESPN2 (4/18 and 4/26) Oh really??? My fault. They usually show one of each. I'm definately bummed out.
ESPN's sublicense contract with Setanta guarantees Setanta Sports USA 2 ouf of 4 semifinal games with English-language exclusivity. After consultation with Setanta on Friday, ESPN2 chose to keep Arsenal-Villarreal to allow Setanta to have AC Milan-Barcelona. This was a switch from what ESPN announced on Thursday. Note that if the first leg of Arsenal-Villarreal is a blowout (3-1 or worse), then ESPN reserves the rights to swap the 2nd leg game with Setanta. Bottom line: as the primary rightsholder, ESPN2 gets whatever game it wants before Setanta gets 2nd pick. UEFA only requires ESPN2 to air two out of the four semifinal games live. The ONLY game that is guaranteed ESPN2 coverage is the final. All other games are optional as long as ESPN2 airs 13 games live each season.
Now that I know ESPN2 can get whatever game they want. I CAN'T believe they did not pick Milan-Barcelona over Arsenal-Villarreal!
Them ESPN directors are out of their minds. They had it right when the listings showed Milan vs Barcelona, Barcelona vs Milan. Now they change to a match up between two underdogs who will probably play two tight defensive legs. Besides giving people a reason to tune into FSC the next day. How can they make a mistake like that? We saw Barcelona and Milan play it out late in 2004 and it was a cracker. Come on!
There are probably more Arsenal fans in the US than Milan fans and Barca fans combined. ESPN2 will now take the brand name English Premier League team over a brand name Italian or a Spanish team. Italian teams in particular no longer "sell" outside Europe, Argentina, and Brazil.
Right, they don't sell as well as they used to in the 80's and 90's when every Serie A match was shown live in the US You can make the arguement that Serie A(and EPL and La Liga) are more popular than they ever were in the 80's and 90's in the US. I'd also like to point out that Serie A is extremely popular in Asia(China in particular) as well.
Wasn't it mere weeks ago that you claimed ESPN could sell CL matches involving EPL teams to Setanta for more money?
ESPN is getting on my nerves. The last 2 years, they showed EACH semi-final, all 4 legs. I know because I have them recorded on tape. Now they want to pull a stunt like this with possibly the biggest semi-final match up within the last 5 years?? F-you, ESPN.
Why does the EPL make as much TV revenue as Serie A and La Liga combined then? Serie A may be more popular now, but so are most European leagues. The dominance in interest in the EPL is certain now. Yeah, it sucks. I, as so many others, were really looking forward to this tie. Maybe FSC will show it a day or two after? I'll try to hibernate to watch them.
If you people are going to complain about lack of soccer on TV in the USA, then why don't you all fly to Europe to watch the matches in the stadium? There are websites like expedia.com you know. ...
Mr. Thread Closer is a Chelsea fan? Why does he troll in the Chelsea forum then? ... Wait. That was a dumb question. Nevermind.
It may surprise some of you but ESPN is a business and they must do what is profitable. Arsenal is one of the most popular EPL teams around and the EPL is easily the most popular euro league in the states. There's a reason why they show Serie A and La Liga games for free on Gol TV while the big EPL games are pay per view and cost 300 dollars for the season. Americans have far more exposure to the EPL and thus have more of an allegiance to the EPL.
The last 3 CL seasons, ESPN has shown ALL 4 semi-final legs. So what happened this year? You ESPN Apologists can spin it has much as you want, but you'll continue to get punk'd by ESPN and the evidence.
Where's the "woohooo they're showing the teams I want to see in the CL section?" Because to me, this is great news.
You have a point. Unless coverage of the UEFA Cup improves here in the U.S., we're not likely to see Villareal and Arsenal in Europe for a while after the next month. So better catch them while we can.
Sad....but true Hey, so Liverpool won the CL and got a place in the following seasons tournament, will Villarreal get the same luxury after winnning this year and failing to place for a CL spot?