http://media.espn.com/ESPNToday/2006...6/cup_sked.htm
For Immediate Release,
March 15, 2006
ESPN, ESPN2 AND ABC SPORTS 2006 FIFA WORLD CUP SCHEDULE
ALL matches live; Simulcast live in high definition by ESPN HD,
ESPN2 HD and ABC HD; Nightly World Cup Live studio shows
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports, in conjunction with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), will present live coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Friday, June 9 through Sunday, July 9 from Germany.
ESPN2 and ESPN will combine to present 52 matches - 31 on ESPN2 and 21 on ESPN. ABC Sports will broadcast 12 matches including the title match Sunday, July 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET from Berlin's Olympiastadion (preceded by a 30-minute pre-game show at 1 p.m.).
ALL MATCHES IN HD
For the first time, all 64 FIFA World Cup matches will be available in high definition on ESPN HD, ABC HD and ESPN2 HD. The high definition telecasts will be offered as a simulcast of ESPN, ABC Sports and ESPN2's World Cup coverage.
In addition, the high definition services will feature the studio programs including the pre-match, halftime and post-match shows.
WORLD CUP LIVE
During the World Cup, ESPN and ESPN2 will present World Cup Live - the daily news, highlights and analysis studio show for the quadrennial event. Stand-alone editions of World Cup Live (32 episodes) will be aired on ESPN and ESPN2 generally between 12 midnight and 2 a.m. ET (9 - 11 p.m. PT) as part of ESPN's "Trifecta" block of programming. The late night shows - 29 on ESPN and three on ESPN2 - will include news updates as well as reviews and previews of World Cup action from Germany.
Additionally, ESPN2 will air 12 live editions of World Cup Live between matches on select days, June 9 through June19.
UNINTERRUPTED COVERAGE
To ensure uninterrupted coverage of the matches, the networks will not air commercials during the two 45-minute halves, similar to the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cups. Commercials will be aired during the pre-match, halftime and post-match segments. Additionally, the telecasts will feature the continuous score and clock ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports first introduced on American television during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
HOST COUNTRY GERMANY TO OPEN COMPETITION
Coverage will begin on ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Friday, June 9 with the tournament's opening match at 11:55 a.m. from the historic Munich Stadium, featuring the host country Germany versus Costa Rica, one of the four teams representing the CONCACAF region in the tournament.
THE U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
The U.S. Men's National Team, currently ranked No. 6 on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and undefeated in 2006, will kick-off its World Cup campaign against the Czech Republic (ranked No. 2) live on ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Monday, June 12 at 11:55 a.m.
Other U.S. first round matches:
Sa 6/17 ABC/ABC HD at 2:30 p.m.
Italy vs. USA
Th 6/22 ESPN/ESPN HD at 9:55 a.m.
Ghana vs. USA
FIFA WORLD CUP TEAM GROUPINGS
Group A Group B Group C Group D
1 Germany 1 England 1 Argentina 1 Mexico
2 Costa Rica 2 Paraguay 2 Ivory Coast 2 Iran
3 Poland 3 Trinidad & Tobago 3 Serbia & Montenegro 3 Angola
4 Ecuador 4 Sweden 4 Netherlands 4 Portugal
Group E Group F Group G Group H
1 Italy 1 Brazil 1 France 1 Spain
2 Ghana 2 Croatia 2 Switzerland 2 Ukraine
3 United States 3 Australia 3 South Korea 3 Tunisia
4 Czech Republic 4 Japan 4 Togo 4 Saudi Arabia
2006 WORLD CUP TV SCHEDULE � ESPN, ESPN2, ABC SPORTS
All times EASTERN / Schedule is subject to change
All matches in high definition / ABC Sports broadcasts in italics
Date Time (ET) Network Match Group Site #-match
Round Robin Phase
Fri 6/09 11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Germany vs. Costa Rica A Munich 1
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Poland vs. Ecuador A Gelsenkirchen 2
Sa 6/10 9 a.m. ABC/ABC HD England vs. Paraguay B Frankfurt 3
11:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD Trinidad & Tobago vs. Sweden B Dortmund 4
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Argentina vs. Ivory Coast C Hamburg 5
Su 6/11 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Serbia-Monte. vs. Netherlands C Leipzig 6
11:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD Mexico vs. Iran D Nuremberg 7
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Angola vs. Portugal D Cologne 8
Mo 6/12 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Australia vs. Japan F Kaiserslautern 9
11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD USA vs. Czech Republic E Gelsenkirchen 10
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Italy vs. Ghana E Hanover 11
Tu 6/13 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD South Korea vs. Togo G Frankfurt 12
11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD France vs. Switzerland G Stuttgart 13
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Brazil vs. Croatia F Berlin 14
We 6/14 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Spain vs. Ukraine H Leipzig 15
11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia H Munich 16
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Germany vs. Poland A Dortmund 17
Th 6/15 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Ecuador vs. Costa Rica A Hamburg 18
11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD England vs. Trinidad & Tobago B Nuremberg 19
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Sweden vs. Paraguay B Berlin 20
Fr 6/16 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Argentina vs. Serbia-Monte. C Gelsenkirchen 21
11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Netherlands vs. Ivory Coast C Stuttgart 22
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Mexico vs. Angola D Hanover 23
Date Time (ET) Network Match Group Site #-match
Sa 6/17 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Portugal vs. Iran D Frankfurt 24
11:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD Czech Republic vs. Ghana E Cologne 25
2:30 p.m. ABC/ABC HD Italy vs. USA E Kaiserslautern 26
Su 6/18 9 a.m. ABC/ABC HD Japan vs. Croatia F Nuremberg 27
11:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD Brazil vs. Australia F Munich 28
2:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD France vs. South Korea G Leipzig 29
Mo 6/19 8:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Togo vs. Switzerland G Dortmund 30
11:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Saudi Arabia vs. Ukraine H Hamburg 31
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Spain vs. Tunisia H Stuttgart 32
Tu 6/20 9:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Ecuador vs. Germany A Berlin 33
9:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Costa Rica vs. Poland A Hanover 34
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Sweden vs. England B Cologne 35
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Paraguay vs. Trinidad & Tobago B Kaiserslautern 36
We 6/21 9:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Portugal vs. Mexico D Gelsenkirchen 37
9:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Iran vs. Angola D Leipzig 38
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Netherlands vs. Argentina C Frankfurt 39
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN HD Ivory Coast vs. Serbia-Monte. C Munich 40
Th 6/22 9:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Ghana vs. USA E Nuremberg 41
9:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Czech Republic vs. Italy E Hamburg 42
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Japan vs. Brazil F Dortmund 43
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Croatia vs. Australia F Stuttgart 44
Fr 6/23 9:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Saudi Arabia vs. Spain H Kaiserslautern 45
9:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Ukraine vs. Tunisia H Berlin 46
2:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Togo vs. France G Cologne 47
2:55 a.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD South Korea vs. South Korea G Hanover 48
Date Time (ET) Network Match #-match Site
2nd Stage � Round of 16
Sa 6/24 10:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD 1st A vs. 2nd B 49 Munich
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD 1st C vs. 2nd D 50 Leipzig
Su 6/25 10:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD 1st B vs. 2nd A 51 Stuttgart
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD 1st D vs. 2nd C 52 Nuremberg
Mo 6/26 10:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD 1st E vs. 2nd F 53 Kaiserslautern
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD 1st G vs. 2nd H 54 Cologne
Tu 6/27 10:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD 1st F vs. 2nd E 55 Dortmund
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD 1st H vs. 2nd G 56 Hanover
2nd Stage � Quarterfinals
Fr 6/30 10:55 a.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Winners - 49 vs. 50 57 Berlin
2:55 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN2 HD Winners - 53 vs. 54 58 Hamburg "
Sa 7/01 10:30 a.m. ABC/ABC HD Winners - 51 vs. 52 59 Gelsenkirchen
2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Winners - 55 vs. 56 60 Frankfurt
Date Time (ET) Network Match #-match Site
3rd Stage � Semifinals
Tu 7/04 2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Winners - 57 vs. 58 61 Dortmund
We 7/05 2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Winners - 59 vs. 60 62 Munich
Third Place Game
Sa 7/08 2:55 p.m. ESPN/ESPN HD Third Place Game 63 Stuttgart
Losers � 61 vs. 62
World Cup Final on ABC Sports
Su 7/09 1:30 p.m. ABC World Cup Title Game 64 Berlin
Winners - 61 vs. 62
Soccer on ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports
ESPN and ABC Sports are the U.S. English-language homes of the Men's and Women's FIFA World Cup events through 2014. The networks combine to present the most comprehensive soccer coverage in the United States, featuring Major League Soccer, the nation's premier soccer league, and the U.S. National Teams. In addition, ESPN provides extensive coverage of the UEFA Champions League and the NCAA Men's and Women's soccer championships.
In 2005, ESPN, ABC Sports and ESPN2 acquired the rights for exclusive English-language telecasts of the FIFA World Cup� and the FIFA Women's World Cup for another eight years in the United States. The three networks will televise the entire 2010 FIFA World Cup� (South Africa), the 2014 FIFA World Cup� and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 (China)
ESPN, Inc. also acquired the rights to the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011, the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009 and 2013 and other events.
About Soccer United Marketing
Founded in 2002, Soccer United Marketing (SUM) is the preeminent commercial soccer company in the United States. SUM holds the exclusive rights to the most important soccer properties in the nation, including: all commercial rights to Major League Soccer; the United States Soccer Federation and all men's and women's national teams; promotional and marketing rights to Mexican National Team games on U.S. soil; and marketing, promotional and broadcast rights to the prestigious eight-team Mexican club tournament - InterLiga�. In addition, SUM holds the English-language broadcast rights in the U.S. to the 2006 FIFA World Cup�. SUM managed the marketing and promotion of the CONCACAF Gold Cup�, the region's premier soccer tournament for national teams, and the highly successfully Real Madrid American Tour in July, 2005. This extensive list of holdings is represented by SUM's slogan: One Sport. One Company.
Media contact: ESPN Communications at ESPNPR@espn.com