COLUMBUS, Ohio - Columbus Crew General Manager Mark McCullers and WBNS 10TV and ONN (Ohio News Network) Vice President and General Manager Tom Griesdorn announced today the 2006 local television broadcast schedule for the Columbus Crew.
"ONN has continually increased it sports programming over the past few years and has evolved into a sports programming destination for many fans," said McCullers. "Crew fans will enjoy an established home for the next three years. The Dispatch Printing Company relationship is significant; this will link The Crew with the strongest promotional partner in central Ohio and substantially increase our ability to create awareness for our game broadcast and our brand."</p>
The broadcast agreement is the lynchpin of a larger integrated partnership that positions the Dispatch Printing Company and its affiliated properties as a cornerstone partner with The Crew. As such, The Dispatch Printing Company receives a significant presence within Crew Stadium, hospitality, promotional rights, media rights and a community outreach platform with The Crew. The Crew benefits by having an established television broadcast home with a statewide footprint and reciprocal promotional and advertising assets. The ONN will televise at least 11 Crew road games in 2006.</p>
"ONN's commitment to Ohio sports has been a core value since the day we began," said Griesdorn. "Anyone who's been to a Crew game knows the energy, excitement, and enjoyment the fans experience. This is a great fit with our other local sports franchises and we're very pleased to be Ohio's television home for The Crew."</p>
An additional three Crew games will be televised nationally on ESPN2, including two home games and one road game. Additionally, all four of the remaining road games for Columbus will be available on the MLS Direct Kick package, allowing Crew fans to see all 16 Crew road games this season. Games will also be shown nationally on HDNet. A total of at least 27 of The Crew's 32 games will be available on television. The current Crew and national television schedule listing is below.</p>
Dwight Burgess, "The Voice of The Crew," will again handle the play-by-play duties while Bill McDermott will return as the color analyst. </p>
The Crew kicks off its 11th season of Major League Soccer on April 1 at Kansas City when the Black & Gold battle the Wizards at 7:30 p.m. on ONN. After K.C., The Crew will then head to Denver to take on the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, April 8, at 9:30 p.m. (ET) at Invesco Field at Mile High. The game in Colorado will also be televised locally on ONN.</p>
Columbus opens it home schedule vs. Eastern Conference rival the Chicago Fire on Saturday, April 15, at 4 p.m. (ET) at Columbus Crew Stadium in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.</p>
ONN is Ohio's channel for news, weather and sports and is available in 83 of 88 counties. ONN is a member of the Dispatch Broadcast Group, which includes WBNS-TV, WBNS-AM/FM, ONN and Radio Sound Network in Columbus, Ohio; WTHR-TV and SkyTrak Weather Network in Indianapolis, Indiana. For a complete ONN channel listing, please visit the website at OhioNewsNow.com. In Columbus, ONN is available on all Wide Open West and Insight cable systems, while Time Warner customers should upgrade to digital to get ONN.</p>
Single-game tickets for the 2006 home season went on sale to the general public on March 15 at the Crew Stadium Box Office, all Central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com.</p>
Fans can become Crew Soccer Nation members by purchasing full-season ticket packages or partial plans, starting as low as $30 for the new Crew 3-Packs. Group tickets are also available for all 16 home games. All ticket packages or plans are available through TheCrew.com and 614-447-CREW. </p>
