Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) announced Thursday that they have received CRTC approval for the purchase of GOLTV Canada, which completes the sale of the 24-hour soccer network.
MLSE purchased an 80.1 per cent stake in GOLTV Canada from Insight Sports in January 2009. GOLTV US will continue to retain an ownership stake of 19.9 per cent in GOLTV Canada.
"We're excited to add GOLTV to our family of broadcast networks and digital platforms," said Chris Hebb, senior vice-president of broadcast and content for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "GOLTV is Canada's only all-soccer network with terrific international programming and now we look forward to giving it a fresh new schedule with a Canadian perspective on the global game."
Hebb added that MLSE plans to significantly grow and diversify GOLTV's soccer programming over the next 12 months to include a mix of live North American and European matches along with a variety of soccer specialty shows that appeal to the insatiable appetite of fans.
GOLTV already has nine Toronto FC matches in its lineup for the 2009 Major League Soccer (MLS) season with Luke Wileman calling the play-by-play action and Jason DeVos providing colour commentary. GOLTV has also added an extensive pre-and-post game show prior to every Toronto FC match on the 24-hour soccer network with hosts Lee Godfrey and Andi Petrillo. MLS games will also be available in Canada for the first time on GOLTV, along with a significant increase in Toronto FC-related programming.
In July, GOLTV will air the Wembley Cup, a preseason friendly tournament from London's Wembley Stadium between four of the world's most popular soccer teams - Barcelona FC, Carling Cup finalists Tottenham Hot Spur, SPL champions Celtic and African Champions League winner Egypt's Al-Ahly.
GOLTV Canada will continue to carry exclusive coverage of qualifying Italian, Spanish and South American matches leading up to the 2010 World Cup.
Later this summer, MLSE will unveil its long-term programming and production strategy for their all-soccer network which includes relaunching the GOLTV brand and relocating the network's existing studios to a high-definition broadcast facility inside Air Canada Centre.
TORONTO FC GAMES ON GOLTV DURING THE 2009 MLS SEASON:
Toronto FC vs New York Red Bulls, June 24 at 7 p.m.
Toronto FC at New England Revolution, August 1 at 7 p.m.
Toronto FC vs New York Red Bulls, August 9 at 2:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at New York Red Bulls, October 24 at 7 p.m.
WEMBLEY CUP MATCHES:
Celtic vs Al-Ahly, July 24 at 4:30 p.m. GMT
Tottenham vs Barcelona, July 24 at 7 p.m. GMT
Barcelona vs Al-Ahly, July 26 at 12:30 p.m. GMT
Tottenham vs Celtic, July 26 at 3 p.m. GMT
