Toronto FC announced Thursday that for the fourth straight season, all 30 of the team's regular season games will be broadcast on television across Canada. As an added bonus, all games will also be broadcast in High Definition for the first time ever.
GOLTV Canada will lead off this season's coverage by showing the first four games of the regular season - including the home opener Thursday, April 15 against the expansion Philadelphia Union. Six of the seven GOLTV games broadcast will be away matches including the team's final game of the regular season on October 23 against D.C. United. GOLTV is also working with its distributors to maximize the number of Toronto FC games in HD that their HD customers will receive, at no additional charge. Customers will be able to find information on this on the GOLTV and Toronto FC websites.
Returning for their fourth season with Toronto FC is Canada's national public broadcaster, CBC who leads the way with a 13 game schedule. Their first game will be Sunday, April 25 when Toronto FC hosts the Seattle Sounders FC. Broadcasting the majority of the team's home games their schedule is highlighted by their annual "Popsicle Soccer Day in Canada" which will happen Saturday, July 10 when the Colorado Rapids visit BMO Field. CBC will also air the team's first ever visit to Philadelphia on Saturday, July 17.
Rogers Sportsnet will air 10 games this season, seven of which will be on the road. The first match will be Saturday, May 1 when the team travels to Salt Lake City to take on the reigning MLS Cup Champions. The schedule also includes a trip to L.A. when Toronto FC visit the L.A. Galaxy on May 15, as well as the Saturday, September 18 matchup when Toronto FC visits Houston.
"We're excited to welcome back CBC, Rogers Sportsnet and GOLTV for Toronto FC's 2010 season," said Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "Our soccer broadcasts and broadcast partners play an important role in supporting the growth of Major League Soccer in Canada and fueling the insatiable appetite for our sport across the country."
Anselmi added that broadcasting Toronto FC games in High-Definition will take the soccer viewing experience to a whole new level for fans across the country.
"We're excited to present our fourth season of Major League Soccer on CBC," said Scott Moore, executive director, CBC Sports and general manager, CBC Media Sales & Marketing. "CBC is the home of the world's game, and MLS on CBC is an important part of our strong commitment to bring the best in soccer to Canadians. We're looking forward to a great season ahead."
"Our partnership with Toronto FC is fuelled by our commitment to promoting the sport of soccer in Canada," said Dave Akande, vice-president of content, Rogers Sportsnet. "We look forward to bringing our audience all of the team's best moments this season." The complete 2010 broadcast schedule is below; times listed are broadcast start times.
1 Saturday, March 27 4:00pm @ Columbus //GOLTV
2 Saturday, April 10 7:30PM @ New England //GOLTV
3 Thursday, April 15 7:00PM v. Philadelphia //GOLTV
4 Sunday, April 18 5:00PM @ Colorado //GOLTV
5 Sunday, April 25 2:00PM v. Seattle //CBC
6 Saturday, May 1 9:00PM @ Salt Lake //RSN
7 Saturday, May 8 4:00PM v. Chicago //CBC
8 Saturday, May 15 10:30PM @ LA Galaxy //RSN
9 Saturday, May 22 1:00PM v. New England //CBC
10 Saturday, May 29 10:30PM @ San Jose //RSN
11 Saturday, June 5 4:00PM v. Kansas City //CBC
12 Saturday, June 26 7:30PM v. LA Galaxy //RSN
13 Thursday, July 1 7:00PM v. Houston //RSN
14 Saturday, Jul 10 12:00PM v. Colorado //CBC
15 Saturday, July 17 3:30PM @ Philadelphia //CBC
16 Saturday, July 24 4:00PM v. Dallas //CBC
17 Saturday, July 31 8:30PM @ Kansas City //RSN
18 Saturday, August 7 4:00PM v. Chivas //CBC
19 Wednesday, August 11 7:30PM @ New York //GOLTV
20 Saturday, August 21 1:00PM v. New York //CBC
21 Saturday, August 28 7:00PM v. Salt Lake //RSN
22 Saturday, Sept 4 8:30PM @ Dallas //RSN
23 Wednesday, Sept8 8:30PM @ Chicago //RSN
24 Saturday, Sept 11 4:00PM v. DC United //CBC
25 Saturday, Sept 18 8:30PM @ Houston //RSN
26 Saturday, Sept 25 4:00PM v. San Jose //CBC
27 Saturday, Oct 2 3:30PM @ Seattle //CBC
28 Saturday, Oct 9 10:30PM @ Chivas //GOLTV
29 Saturday, Oct 16 4:00PM v. Columbus //CBC
30 Saturday, Oct 23 7:30PM @ DC United //GOLTV
