Fans, circle your calendars. Major League Soccer on Tuesday announced that ESPN has selected the matches it will air as part of a Week 33 doubleheader on October 16, the second-to-last weekend of the 2016 MLS regular season.
On a day featuring 10 intraconference matchups, two potentially decisive clashes will air on the national network. First the Montreal Impact and rivals Toronto FC will kick off the ESPN slate at 3 pm ET with seeding, and possibly even playoff places at stake. Next, the Portland Timbers, who currently sit outside the playoff places, will aim to avoid potential postseason elimination when they host the Supporters' Shield-chasing Colorado Rapids at 5 pm ET.
All MLS Week 33 matches will be taking place on Oct. 16 within a four-hour window, with all Eastern Conference games on Oct. 16 will kick off at 3 pm ET, and all Western Conference games will kick off at 5 pm ET. The non-ESPN games will be available simultaneously on MLS LIVE and through each club's regional broadcast partner.
For fans in Canada, the Montreal-Toronto clash will also be available nationally on TSN2 and RDS, while the 5 pm ET meeting between San Jose and Vancouver will also air nationally TSN2.
In addition to the simultaneous kick-offs and national TV programming, MLSsoccer.com will be streaming special MLS Matchday Live pregame and postgame shows that Sunday. The pregame show will feature in-depth previews of all Week 33 match-ups, as well as the Expansion Priority Draft involving 2017 MLS entries Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC. The postgame show will feature expert analysis and fan interactions through social channels.
Both live shows will be found on the MLS Facebook page and MLS YouTube channel, as well as ESPN3 (USA) and TSN GO (Canada).
For Decision Day on Week 34, the final day of the season, the schedule will again feature a full slate of intraconference matches, all being played simultaneously starting at 4 pm ET on Oct. 23. ESPN, FS1 and UniMás will each select one key match-up to air as the postseason picture is decided. Additional coverage details and the broadcast schedule for Decision Day will be announced on Monday, Oct. 17.
