The NBC Sports Group which will air MLS starting next season will bring in another British ex-pat to call soccer games. Arlo White, the voice of the Seattle Sounders will be the main play-by-play man for NBC Sports Group’s MLS games as well as 7 US Men’s National Team games. For the last two seasons, White was the radio and TV play-by-play man for the Sounders, taking over for Kevin Calabro who called the team’s inaugural season.
White has worked for BBC Radio 5 Live and in addition to calling soccer, has called rugby and cricket plus the Olympics.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about him so I would expect him to call a good game for NBC next season.
Here’s the announcement.
ARLO WHITE TO BE THE VOICE OF NBC SPORTS GROUP’S MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER BROADCASTS
Former Seattle Sounders FC Play-By-Play Voice to Call MLS and Team USA Games on NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network Beginning in 2012
NBC & NBC Sports Network to Televise 50 Games per Season, Including Four by U.S. National Team, As Part of New Media Rights Agreement with Major League Soccer Beginning in March 11, 2012NEW YORK – November 30, 2011 – Arlo White will serve as the play-by-play voice for NBC Sports Group’s coverage of Major League Soccer (MLS), starting with the first broadcast on NBC Sports Network on March 11, 2012, it was announced today.
“Arlo is one of the top voices calling soccer today in the U.S., and we are very excited to have him be the lead play-by-play announcer to launch our new agreement with Major League Soccer,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “I also want to sincerely thank the Seattle Sounders FC ownership for making Arlo available, so he can be the MLS voice for the NBC Sports Group to a national audience.”
White, who spent the last two years as the play-by-play voice for the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS on television and radio, is a native of England. He previously spent nine years with BBC Radio Sport in England where he was part of the BBC Radio 5-Live announcing team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. White also served as a host on BBC Radio 5 Live and hosted the station’s flagship Premier League Football show, Saturday 5 Live Sport, as well as the Monday Night Club alongside BBC football commentator John Motson.
“It is a tremendous honor for me to join the NBC Sports Group, an organization that I have revered from afar for many years,” said White. “I am extremely passionate about the future of Major League Soccer, and this partnership with NBC will provide a huge boost for the sport in the United States. I am very proud to have been called up to play a major role in it.
“I am indebted to the Seattle Sounders FC and the club’s wonderful fans,” White added. “Joe Roth and Adrian Hanauer provided me with an opportunity for which I will always be grateful. It was a privilege to serve as the voice of the Sounders, and I thank the supporters for giving me such a warm welcome.”
From 2002 to 2005, White was part of the 5 Live Breakfast program on the BBC, where he covered, among other events, the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and various Champions League football matches.
The remainder of the NBC Sports Group’s MLS broadcasters will be announced at a later date.
That’s it.
