COLUMBUS, Ohio --
The MLS Cup-champion Columbus Crew and ONN-TV today announced a broadcast partnership that will ensure that every Crew regular-season game will still be available on television for the third consecutive year. Ohio's Channel for news, weather, sports and lifestyles programming, becomes the Crew's exclusive regional broadcast partner through the 2011 season.
ONN will broadcast 21 regular-season Crew games this season - home and away - starting with First Kick 2009 vs. Toronto FC on Saturday, March 28, at 4 p.m. (ET). The broadcast agreement is the lynchpin of a comprehensive and integrated relationship that positions the Dispatch Printing Company and its affiliated properties as valued partners of the Columbus Crew.
Another exciting element of the deal is the introduction of a new weekly show on ONN, "CrewXtra," which will air every Wednesday during the season at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. An interactive companion to the show, CrewXtra.com will be launched in conjunction with The Columbus Dispatch coverage. The show and site will provide Crew fans in-depth coverage and access to the team, including game recaps, breakdowns and previews of the upcoming matches, while interspersing other news, interviews, discussion and interactive features.
"This renewed partnership - through both the game broadcasts and the exciting addition of a weekly show - allows us to continue to build our brand throughout our region and deliver our game broadcasts to an expansive audience," said Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers. "ONN has evolved into a sports programming destination for many fans, including Crew fans, and it remains a great fit for us moving forward."
As part of the deal, ONN will provide home and away game production, marketing, cross-promotion and most importantly, an established television broadcast home with a statewide footprint and reciprocal promotional and advertising assets.
"ONN's commitment to Ohio sports has been a core value since the day we began," said Tom Griesdorn, president and general manager of ONN. "Anyone who's been to a Crew game knows the energy, excitement and enjoyment the fans experience. These games remain a great fit with our other local sports programs and allow fans across the state to continue to watch these games live."
Dwight Burgess, the original "Voice of the Crew," will continue to handle play-by-play duties for all ONN broadcasts, while Bill McDermott and former Crew forward Dante Washington will continue to split lead analyst duties. The complete ONN broadcast schedule can be found at the bottom of this release, while the complete TV broadcast schedule is available at TheCrew.com. To locate ONN on your cable system, please visit: http://www.onntv.com
