TORONTO – In what could be kind of a dress rehearsal for the companies’ Olympic coverage, Rogers Sportsnet, with TSN and CTV, today announced the three channels will jointly televise all 64 matches from the 2006 FIFA World Cup of soccer in Germany
Sportsnet acquired the Canadian broadcast rights for the event last November.
(CTV acquired the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Winter and Summer Olympics earlier this year, and will air the Games on the main network and TSN – and also brought in Rogers Media for Sportsnet, OMNI and its radio properties – as a partner.)
Under an English-language sub-licensing arrangement, Sportsnet and TSN will televise live coverage of all the tournament matches leading up to the World Cup final, which will be broadcast on CTV on July 9, 2006.
This marks the first time all tournament matches will be televised live in Canada, satisfying all of the country’s passionate soccer fans. Sportsnet and TSN will air encores of the matches in prime time, and will also televise pre- and post-game shows for each match.
"We believe that for the FIFA World Cup – an elite international event with huge mass audience appeal – Canadians are best served by the unparalleled breadth of coverage provided by the combined resources of Sportsnet, TSN and CTV," said Doug Beeforth, president of Rogers Sportsnet.
"This unique undertaking is all about the fans. TSN, CTV and Rogers Sportsnet have come together to do what’s best for the viewer, offering live coverage of every game throughout the tournament," said Phil King, president of TSN. "The FIFA World Cup is the largest single sports event in the world, and working with Sportsnet allows the networks to achieve our common goal of giving Canadian sports fans the most complete coverage possible."
The World Cup, which begins June 9, will see 32 national teams competing in 12 German cities including Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin, the host venue for the final match on July 9.
