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SALT LAKE CITY / SANDY, Utah (Friday, January 23, 2015) – All 26 of Real Salt Lake’s non-National 2015 regular season matches will air locally in Utah on KMYU (2.2 over air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD). Additionally, these games will air in six other cities coordinated by Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI), as RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen and KUTV / KMYU General Manager Kent Crawford announced a multi-year broadcast carriage and production partnership today.
“I’m very excited for our club to align itself with Salt Lake’s KMYU/KUTV, and work cooperatively on a promotional partnership which meshes perfectly with our diverse demographics,” said RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen, excited about the airing of games in various states surrounding Utah.
“As the broadcast and technological landscapes change, this unique opportunity arose to allow the TV production experts at Sinclair and the American Sports Network to bring our games into the homes of not only the loyal fan base we have all over Utah, but into pockets of the InterMountain West, including Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and New Mexico – all without a paid subscription,” continued Hansen.
The 2015 MLS Regular Season kicks off on Saturday, March 7, 2015. Real Salt Lake visits Providence Park in Portland, to face Western Conference rival Timbers at 8:30p MT. In partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of KMYU/KUTV in Utah, all 26 non-National RSL games will feature a 30-minute pre-game show as well as a 30-minute post-game wrap-up. In addition to the three-hour game window, KMYU’s Thursday Night “Talkin’ Sports” will focus on all things RSL. This will dedicate 100 hours of RSL content to the entire Utah DMA throughout the 2015 season.
“We are very excited to partner with Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer to bring these games to all the passionate fans and viewers,” said Kent Crawford , General Manager of KMYU MY UTAH TV/ KUTV 2 NEWS. “RSL is a great community asset to the state of Utah. The Real brand is very strong and serves fans, viewers and the ever growing youth soccer movement. The games will air locally on KMYU, as well as several other Sinclair owned stations in the west. Games will be produced by the Sinclair-owned American Sports Network (“ASN”). We are proud to join together with such a terrific organization to help promote, broadcast and showcase this wonderful franchise.”
All 26 of Real Salt Lake’s non-National TV games produced by ASN will appear live on Sinclair-owned affiliates including; KYUU Boise, ID; KVMY Las Vegas, NV; and KAME Reno, NV; with pending opportunities for distribution in Albuquerque, Tucson and Phoenix, proximate to the club’s revered youth academy in Casa Grande, Ariz.
“This is an exciting partnership that fits the Sinclair local and regional sports strategy we are growing,” said Steve Pruett, COO of Sinclair’s Television Group. “Having our ASN team in place helped us facilitate a unique program that will highlight this terrific franchise in Utah and several surrounding states.”
Real Salt Lake will be featured on Major League Soccer’s trio of national broadcast partners – ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision – a club-record eight times in 2015, with the 34-game regular season augmented by this fall’s participation in CONCACAF Champions League. RSL’s third foray into the continental competition in 11 seasons will see its four group stage games air in the U.S. via Fox Sports properties, with ESPN carrying those games across the remainder of the Western Hemisphere. RSL will also enter the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2015, with the club’s draw for both the CCL and USOC tourneys expected in May.
RSL enters the 2015 season, the club’s 11th campaign, as owners of the longest active playoff streak in MLS at seven seasons. RSL is riding a league-record five consecutive years with 15 or more wins and 50+ points. Real Salt Lake has enjoyed a pronounced home-field advantage since building its permanent Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, boasting an 82-16-23 mark in the building since its opening in October 2008. The club’s 12-1-7 overall home mark a year ago was no doubt buoyed by the continued growth of season ticket holders, expected to surpass 15,000 in 2015.
Head Coach Jeff Cassar returns 19 players from last season’s roster, including Major League Soccer’s active leaders in games played/started and minutes, Captain Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando, also the league’s all-time leader in shutouts (115); perennial starters Tony Beltran, Chris Schuler and Javier Morales; young star Luis Gil; and forwards Alvaro Saborio, the club’s all-time leading scorer, and Joao Plata, the club’s 2014 Golden Boot winner. The 22-year-old is now a regular for the Ecuadoran National Team.
ABOUT KUTV / KMYU: KUTV is the #1 station in Salt Lake City with more viewers than any other station in Utah. Additionally, Talkin’ Sports is the most watched local sports show. KMYU is the sister station to KUTV. KMYU is the My Network TV affiliate for Utah and the new home of Real Salt Lake. KMYU is also home to Friday Night Rivals High School Football and the new American Sports Network, showcasing live collegiate sports from local and regional universities. KMYU is a full-market HD station found on 2.2 over-the-air, 12 on Dish and DirecTV, 22, 643 on COMCAST and 20 on Baja Cable (St. George).
2015 TICKETS: All 2015 packages, which start at just $240 for lower bowl seating, allow extraordinary access to RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium. All 20-game packages include every RSL regular-season game and additional events, which historically have included MLS Cup Playoffs matches, CONCACAF Champions League participation and/or Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contests. For more information about the venue’s numerous premium seating options – 100 Lions Club, suites, club seating, field-level or ledge boxes, and the new “200 Club” – please call (801) 727-2700 and ask for Patti, Phil or Tara. 2015 season tickets can also be ordered the RSL website: www.RealSaltLake.com/tickets.
The general public sale for 2015 season tickets begins with signing up for the 2015 RSL STH wait list at http://www.realsaltlake.com/content/2015-season-ticket-waiting-list; new customers will be processed in the order dictated by wait-list registration. The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
ALSO COMING IN 2015: A premium new Daktronics video board, which will be operational for the club’s 2015 season. The gigantic, fully high-definition board more than triples the video surface area of the current north end screen, and will provide nearly 4,200 square feet of 13mm HD pixel resolution, the largest board in Major League Soccer. For up-to-the-second information on all things Real Salt Lake, please visit the team’s official web site at RealSaltLake.com or join the conversation and interact with fans on any of the team’s social platforms.
