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April 17, 2012
La Liga’s El Clásico on ESPN Deportes and ESPN3
FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid Saturday, April 21 at 2 p.m. ET Live from the Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain; Onsite coverage begins Thursday, April 19;
ESPN’s lead English-language soccer commentator Ian Darke to call first El Clásico match for ESPN3 with former Premier League player Robbie Mustoe as analyst
Continuing its extensive multiplatform coverage of the 2011-2012 season of Spain’s La Liga, ESPN Deportes travels to Spain to provide live television, radio and online coverage of El Clásico – Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, Saturday, April 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET from the Camp Nou in Barcelona. In addition to the live broadcast on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN3 will offer live commentary in English from ESPN studios in London by Ian Darke, who will call his first Clásico match for an ESPN network, alongside Robbie Mustoe.
One of the fiercest rivalries in European club football, Real Madrid (85 points) and Barcelona (81) meet in a close race for the 2011-2012 La Liga title with only five matches remaining in the season.
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS:
ESPN Deportes
- Los Capitanes (Thurs-Fri 3:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. ET) – The network’s commentary program will feature special El Clásico reports with José Ramón Fernandez from site;
- Jorge Ramos y su Banda (Thurs-Fri 4:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.) – ESPN Deportes’ signature soccer talk show will broadcast on-location for both radio and television with co-hosts Jorge Ramos and Hernán Pereyra;
- Cronómetro (Thurs-Fri 7:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.) – Co-host José Ramón Fernández will be reporting live from Camp Nou for the news and debate program;
- Fuera de Juego (Thurs-Fri 8:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.) – The network’s international soccer program will offer special coverage with host Fernando Palomo live from Barcelona;
- SportsCenter (Thurs 9:00 p.m. & 1:00 a.m.; Fri 11:00 p.m. & 1:00 a.m.) – Beginning Thursday at 9 p.m., each primetime edition of ESPN Deportes’ flagship sports news and information program will feature extensive coverage from Spain leading up to the match including special reporting and analysis previewing the matchup;
- Nación ESPN (Thurs-Fri 10:00 p.m.) The ESPN Deportes show fueled by fan interaction will feature reports by David Faitelson live from Barcelona with special guests and analysts;
- On match day for La Liga’s El Clásico, ESPN Deportes will start coverage with ESPN Futbol Center at 12:00 p.m. followed by a special LIVE Fuera de Juego pregame show at 1:00 p.m. hosted by Fernando Palomo and Jose Ramon Fernandez. The live telecast of the match will feature Jorge Ramos and Hernan Pereyra in the booth, and Martin Ainstein and Carolina Padron reporting from the sidelines. After the match, a postgame Fuera de Juego show will air from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. To conclude the coverage and provide overall analysis of the match, the postgame show will be followed SportsCenter at 5:00 p.m.
ESPN Deportes Radio
The only national Spanish-language sports radio network in the U.S., will broadcast El Clásico live. On match day, Kenneth Garay (Play-by-Play) and Ricardo Mayorga (analyst) will call the game from the stadium. Special programming from Barcelona will begin Thursday, April 19. In addition, Sebastian Martinez Christensen will support ESPN Deportes Radio coverage from onsite.
ESPN3
ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network will carry live coverage of El Clásico in both English and Spanish. Ian Darke, ESPN’s lead soccer play-by-play commentator, will call his first Clásico match with the network from the London studios, alongside former Premier League player Robbie Mustoe. Coverage of the match kicks off at 1:55pm ET. ESPN3 is available in 72 million households nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE.
ESPNDeportes.com
The leading Spanish-language sports website in the U.S. will provide in-depth coverage highlighted by extensive online video, real-time GameCast application featuring live scores and stats as the match unfolds. Additional features include live polls, blogs, a photo gallery as the match progresses and video clips highlighting the best goals. Soccer expert Sebastián M. Christensen will report from Camp Nou in Barcelona before, during and after the game.
In addition, @ESPNDeportes handle will host a Live Twitter Conversation with fans that will kick off on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET. @ESPNDeportes will use the hashtag #clasicoESPN to centralize the conversation. As a preview to the match, fans will be able to vote on the Clásico rivalry by liking ESPN Deportes brand page on Facebook.
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