leviramsey Posted July 30, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted July 30, 2013 The schedule for the first three months is outNBCSN: 57 live games (the "NBC Sports Network" branding is fading away to just NBCSN)NBC: 10 live games (NBC is slated for 20 all season, but I guess getting people hooked early is more important)CNBC: 2 live gamesTelemundo/mun2: 27 live games (every Telemundo game will also be broadcast in English somewhere else)Premier League Extra Time: 61 live games (every PL game not on another channel)NBC Sports Live Extra: 130 live games (all the ones above)If you have one of the following TV providers and are subscribed to NBCSN, then you get Premier League Extra Time: AT&T Uverse, Cablevision/Optimum, Comcast/Xfinity, DirecTV, Dish, and Suddenlink. Cox, Verizon FiOS and a large number of smaller cable companies have signed up to NBC Sports Live Extra (as have the services which will offer Extra Time). The only major TV providers from whom you won't get either Live Extra or Extra Time are, at this writing, Time Warner and Charter.Allocation of the 10am games between NBCSN and the "Extras" has not been finalized; I'll italicize my guesses as to how NBC will go. NBC's strategy appears to be to emphasize the Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, and Chelsea.So here's where to find the Villa game in the US:@ Arsenal (17 August, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (I'd bet on NBCSN; the combination of Arsenal and Guzan should be enough to make it the NBCSN pick)@ Chelsea (21 August, 2:30pm ET): NBCSNv Liverpool (24 August, 12:30pm ET): NBCv Newcastle (14 September, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (with Arsenal, Spurs, and Citeh all playing in that slot, this is basically nailed on for Extra)@ Norwich (21 September, 7:45am ET): NBCSNv Man City (28 September, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (very hard to call, as Man Utd are also in that slot; if Citeh was on Extra two weeks before, then I think this will be on NBCSN, otherwise Man Utd/WBA on NBCSN looks likely)@ Hull (5 October, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (Spurs and Liverpool both in slot)v Spurs (20 October, 11am ET): NBCSN & mun2v Everton (26 October, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (Man Utd, Liverpool, and Spurs are all in that slot)@ West Ham (2 November, 11am ET): NBCSN or Extra (Man Utd and Citeh both in slot)v Cardiff (9 November, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (Liverpool and Chelsea both in slot)@ WBA (25 November, 3pm ET): NBCSNv Sunderland (30 November, 10am ET): NBCSN or Extra (Citeh and Arsenal both in slot)Summary: if you have Time Warner or Charter cable, time to get nervous, because you almost certainly will see a lot less Villa this season. But for those with the favored cable/satellite companies, being able to see every game on TV or online in HD without having to hunt for dodgy streams is going to be great.And we'll be, IINM, the first Villa fans in the world to be able to watch the claret & blue on totally free TV... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted July 30, 2013 Author VT Supporter Share Posted July 30, 2013 It's been confirmed by DirecTV that the Extra Time channels will be only available to Choice Xtra subscribers and will only be in HD. I would not be surprised to see DirecTV do what they do for the CL games and have a Mix channel for the 10am games: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Nice one, thanks Levi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Yeah, I NEVER would have thought I'd see a Villa match from Villa Park on regular old NBC. Totally mind boggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted August 8, 2013 Author VT Supporter Share Posted August 8, 2013 10am games allocated for the first three weeks, and as predicted (not really rocket science), away to Arsenal will be on NBCSN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted August 17, 2013 Author VT Supporter Share Posted August 17, 2013 Commentators for the first weekend of footnall:(NBCSN) Liverpool v. Stoke: Alan Parry and Efan Ekoku (Premier League international feed)(NBCSN) Arsenal v. Villa: Gary Weaver and Davie Provan (Premier League international feed)(Extra) Norwich v. Everton: Tony Jones and Tony Gale (Premier League international feed)(Extra) Sunderland v. Fulham: David Stowell and Barry Horne (Premier League international feed)(Extra) WBA v. Southampton: Gary Taphouse and Dean Sturridge (Premier League international feed)(Extra) West Ham v. Cardiff: Joe Speight and Trevor Francis (Premier League international feed)(NBC) Swansea v. Man Utd: Arlo White and Lee Dixon (NBC exclusive)(NBCSN) Palace v. Spurs: Peter Drury and Clive Allen (Premier League international feed)(NBCSN) Chelsea v. Hull: Arlo White and Graeme Le Saux (NBC exclusive)Will Trevor Francis see the claret and blue and start foaming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Fox Sports gets the FA Cup this weekend... I suppose it's gonna be Gus Johnson at the helm...got my earplugs ready... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 If FOX are gonna plug into the Sky feed and do us the favor of listening to Martin Tyler and Gary Neville, why don't they just plug into the entire Sky broadcast, including the studio analysis? They could fire the idiots they currently employ in studio, and save a bit of cash. Does anyone really think Brian McBride is going to say anything interesting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peever Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 The North American based commentators do my head in. I just turn them off..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted March 29, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 29, 2014 Gus Johnson from here on out for Champions League and FA CupDuring the week between the Elite 8 and the Final 4, the announcer perhaps still most associated with March Madness will be broadcasting a soccer game from Manchester, England. On April 1st, Gus Johnson begins his second season as a Fox soccer announcer when he returns to Europe to call the Champions League quarterfinal between Manchester United and Bayern Munich.It’s been three years since Johnson announced NCAA Tournament games, but his presence is still missed by college basketball fans. In moving on from the event that made him a cult favorite nationwide, Johnson and Fox Sports have taken one of the biggest gambles in sports broadcasting by transforming him into the network’s lead soccer announcer.Johnson’s move to soccer has been heavily scrutinized, perhaps more so than any single announcing assignment in sports. When he began the journey during the Champions League last season his experience had only consisted of calling a few MLS games on radio. To go from there directly to the Champions League is like making the jump from the NAIA to Division I.In placing Johnson on its soccer coverage, Fox went in a bold, yet different direction than ESPN (and later NBC) who hired several of the best British broadcasters like Ian Darke, Martin Tyler, Arlo White, and Rebecca Lowe to lead their global soccer coverage. ESPN and NBC’s coverage has been lauded for its quality and maturity, finally presenting soccer to soccer fans as a real sport and not some kind of foreign curiosity.Stepping away from that strategy, and doing so with someone with such little experience broadcasting soccer, is a huge gamble. Anointing Johnson as their lead voice as they take over World Cup coverage from ESPN beginning in 2015 is the ultimate risk-reward proposition. Having a mainstream American voice call the game is an important step forward for televised soccer in the states in the long term. However, since Johnson is not the quality of Martin Tyler and Ian Darke, Fox risks alienating and losing fans by offering a subpar product in the short term. Fox faces a ton of pressure to live up to the high standards set by ESPN for the 2015 Women’s World Cup from Canada.That’s why this second year of Gus Johnson calling the biggest games in Europe will be the make or break year for the arrangement. Critics pounced in Year 1 as Johnson learned on the job in front of a nationwide audience. Perhaps none was more vocal than Christopher Harris at World Soccer Talk, who called his commentary a “laughing stock.”While Gus definitely experienced growing pains, he did get better as the European season progressed. His first soccer moment came during the FA Cup Final where he exploded for Wigan’s upset victory in typical Gusgasm fashion.But perhaps the most important work Gus Johnson did last year was after the European season ended during the summer’s Gold Cup. Here Johnson gained valuable reps and also finally found a consistent partner in Eric Wynalda, who will join him at Old Trafford. Johnson seemed more at home calling the US National Team games as seen in this clip of an Eddie Johnson goal.Johnson showed improvement during the Gold Cup compared to his performance during the Champions League. He will always stand up for the big moments in a match, but will he be able to better tell the story of the game while the ball is being passed around the midfield? Will he improve in player identification? Will his play by play sound more fluid and natural or will it still be sudden bursts of emotion surrounding languid prose? These are the questions Johnson and Fox must answer in Year 2.This will be the European campaign that defines Gus Johnson in the eyes of soccer fans. Now that he has a year under his belt, viewers at home will expect much better. No more can Johnson and Fox lean on his rookie status – this is the year that fans on the fence will make their decision about Gus Johnson as a soccer announcer. If Johnson does not make significant improvement in 2014 and continue the strides made in the summer, Fox may be tempted to look elsewhere for a new lead announcer (perhaps even to Ian Darke) as their World Cup coverage begins in 2015. This is the year that Gus Johnson will either stay up and remain in the top flight of soccer announcers or face the threat of relegation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers13 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 He's so **** bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Hes getting shredded on the World Soccer Talk comments. What a colossal blunder by Fox. SIDELINE THROW IN IN THE 23RD MINUTE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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