ESPN has announced that all 16 matches from this summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup will be shown live on US television and Internet. The tournament, which will be held June 15-30 in six cities in Brazil, will be televised across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, WatchESPN and ESPN3.com.
Live match coverage will begin on Saturday, June 15, on ESPN and WatchESPN with the tournament’s opening match – host country Brazil vs. Japan – at 2:30 p.m. ET from Estádio Nacional in Brasilia.
ESPN and ESPN Mobile TV will air 13 matches, including three group stage contests featuring the Mexican Men’s National Team – vs. Italy (June 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET), vs. Brazil (June 19 at 2:30 p.m.), and vs. Japan (June 22 at 2:30 p.m.). ESPN2 will televise two matches including the third-place match on June 30 at 11:45 a.m., and ESPNEWS will show one match on Sat., June 22 at 2:30 p.m. – the second of two simultaneous matches in Group B between legendary soccer teams Italy and Brazil.
MORE — TV and Internet schedule for every single game in the United States
Confederations Cup matches will be available in high definition on ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD and ESPNEWS HD. The high definition telecasts will be offered as a simulcast of ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNEWS’ coverage.
ESPN on Demand will make full-length versions of all matches from the Confederations Cup available for TV and Mobile on Demand, a day after the match is aired live.
All FIFA Confederations Cup match telecasts will feature prematch, halftime and postmatch studio segments. The prematch segments will include the teams walking onto the pitch, the national anthems and ceremonial handshakes – all symbolic tradition of FIFA-sanctioned international matches. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to present a two-hour pre-game studio program leading into the title match on Sunday, June 30.
The Confederation Cup matches will be played in six cities in Brazil – Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.
As of press time, the talent assignments (commentators, co-commentators, presenters and pundits) haven’t been announced yet, but two people who will definitely be involved are Ian Darke and Steve McManaman.
ESPN commentators, co-commentators and the studio team will be based in Bristol, CT for the tournament, not Brazil.
Impressively, every single game (unless there’s two Confederations Cup games on at the same time) will be on ESPN — the flagship network, which goes to show how much importance the sport has on US television and how much of a priority ESPN is giving the sport and tournament across its networks.
