0 comments by Ken Fang on 7/14/2014
As we wrap up the World Cup, it’s time to hand out the awards for soccer’s ultimate event. As you know, this is the last year for ESPN and Univision before they hand off to Fox and Telemundo. Both ESPN and Univision are coming off record ratings and viewership giving their successors some numbers that […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 7/12/2014
ESPN and Univision are now down to their last two games in their long legacies with the World Cup. After Sunday, it’ll be up to Fox and Telemundo to provide the coverage of soccer’s ultimate event from 2015 until 2024. Hopefully the two networks will be able to match what ESPN and Univision have been […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 7/8/2014
Just four more match days in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It begins today with the first semifinal between the host country Brazil and a heavy favorite in Germany. And tomorrow will pit the 2010 runner-up Netherlands against another favorite, Argentina. Ian Darke and Steve McManaman call today’s game for ESPN while Jon Champion and […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 7/2/2014
We have the World Cup quarterfinal announcing assignments on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. On Friday, ESPN2 will air France vs. Germany followed by Brazil vs. Colombia on ESPN. Then on Saturday, ABC airs Argentina vs. Belgium followed by the Netherlands vs. Costa Rica on ESPN. The excellent teams of Jon Champion/Stewart Robson and Ian Darke/Steve […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 7/1/2014
To get you ready for today’s Belgium vs. USA game on ESPN/Univision, we have all of Ian Darke’s goal calls from the US Men’s National Team’s group games. Darke is so good. Let’s go. I believe that we can win!
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/28/2014
Here are the announcers for today’s games in the FIFA World Cup. Today begins the Knockout Round and it signifies that ABC will carry a doubleheader today. Univision/Univision Deportes carries the games in Spanish. Ian Darke and Steve McManaman will call Brazil vs. Chile on ABC. Here are the schedule of matches plus announcers. As […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/27/2014
The Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup begins on Saturday. The all-South American matchups of Brazil vs. Chile and Colombia vs. Uruguay kickoff the Knockout Round of the World Cup on ABC. Then ESPN takes over the matches for the rest of the Round of 16 through Tuesday including USA vs. Belgium […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/26/2014
Well, we conclude Group Play with the last four matches before we go to the Knockout Round on Saturday. The big game is of course USA vs. Germany which will air on ESPN, Univision and Univision Deportes. Game time will be noon ET, but ESPN will have one hour of pre-match coverage starting at 11 […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/24/2014
Once again, four games in two windows for the last matches in Group Play. Italy vs. Uruguay and Costa Rica vs. England make up the games in Group D. In Group C, it’s Japan vs. Colombia and Greece vs. Côte d’Ivoire. ESPN/ESPN2 will make up the English language combo covering simultaneous games in each window. […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/21/2014
The second round of Group Play ends on Sunday with a tripleheader on ABC/ESPN and Univision/Univision Deportes. On Monday, the third round begins with simultaneous games in one window. And it can lead to a lot of exciting play especially if you remember four years ago when the US beat Algeria 1-0 just after England […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/19/2014
We have the announcing assignments for the ESPN Family of Networks from Friday, June 20 through Thursday, June 26. This will mark the end of Group Play as on Monday, there will be simultaneous games from each group both at noon ET and 4 p.m. So there will be four games between Monday, June 23 […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/18/2014
We go to Day 2 of the second round of Group Play. Once again, it’s a tripleheader on ESPN and Univision. Games will be played in Brasilia, São Paulo and Natal and be in Group C and D. As they did in Rio on Wednesday, Ian Darke and Steve McManaman call the 3 p.m. ET […]
0 comments by Ken Fang
Another tripleheader of games for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Games in Group A and B today. games are spread from Porto Alegre to Rio de Janeiro to the steambox that is Manaus. Here are the games with the announcers for ESPN/ESPN Radio and Univision/Univision Deportes. All times are Eastern. 11:30 a.m. Australia […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/16/2014
With three games today including the USA vs. Ghana, ESPN/ESPN Radio and Univision/Univision Deportes will have a tripleheader beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET. Here are the announcers for each of the games. 11:30 a.m. Germany vs. Portugal — Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil ESPN: Jon Champion/Stewart Robson ESPN Radio: Ross Dyer/Shep Messing Univision/Univision Deportes: José […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/10/2014
As the World Cup prepares to kickoff in São Paulo on Thursday as host country Brazil takes on Croatia, ESPN will be ready to start its last Copa do Mundial until at least 2022. Ian Darke will call five matches in the first eight days, most of them will be with his old English Premier […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 3/20/2014
We know that Ian Darke will be ESPN’s lead announcer for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The network has now unveiled its play-by-play lineup for the month-long tournament that begins in June. Among the announcers, Derek Rae who is familiar to ESPN soccer viewers and has called MLS, World Cup, Euro 2008 and 2012, […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 1/8/2014
Simultaneous announcements from ESPN. The network says the popular Ian Darke who became a breakout star in the United States during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, will be the lead announcer for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. As a result, Martin Tyler who was ESPN’s lead announcer in 2010, has been let […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 5/19/2013
ESPN2 said its goodbyes today to the English Premier League. In its three years, ESPN2 has had a few good matches and most of them called by the great Ian Darke and Steve McNanaman. In the final moments of its run, ESPN2 gave us some outtakes of the pair. Great stuff. Coming up later, I’ll […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 8/5/2012
As we go into the second week of the 2012 London Olympics or the Games of the XXX Summer Olympiad, I thought I would take the opportunity on this middle Sunday to look ahead for the next set of Games on television. We know that NBCUniversal will carry the Olympics through 2020, that’s two Winter […]
0 comments by Ken Fang on 6/26/2012
Time for some sports media thoughts. These have been percolating in my head all day Monday. It’s fine time to pour them out and have you peruse through them. As always, they’re in bullet form. Monday’s announcement from NFL Network regarding its new morning show could be a game changer for sports television. If “NFL […]
