– Sportsnet 360 is Canada’s new exclusive home of UFC –
– Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers Canada Day game to be first live event on Sportsnet 360 –
– New Blue Jays post-game show, Blue Jays Xpress, debuts July 1 –
– Sportsnet 360 to deliver scores, stats, breaking news, highlights, and live events including UFC, WWE, CIS, basketball, and soccer –
TORONTO (June 27, 2013) The newest addition to Sportsnet’s already robust five-platform brand, Sportsnet 360, hits Canadian TV airwaves on Monday, July 1 with an unprecedented programming mix of of breaking news, highlights, scores, stats, analysis, and opinion, as well as live events. Beginning Canada Day at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, The Score will officially be rebranded Sportsnet 360 during the station’s first live event broadcast – the Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers game live from Rogers Centre, starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
Immediately following the Blue Jays game on July 1, Sportsnet 360 will debut its newest show Blue Jays Xpress – a 30-minute, interactive post-game show hosted by Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s Eric Smith, with former Blue Jays Paul Spoljaric and Greg O’Halloran providing analysis and Sportsnet’s Michael Grange contributing to the discussion.
Sportsnet 360 will remain the prime destination for hardcore fans to receive news, information and analysis across the broadest range of sports – and as announced today by Sportsnet, Canada’s official broadcaster of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Sportsnet 360 will be the new exclusive home of UFC in Canada. In addition to UFC, Sportsnet 360’s programming pillars also include WWE, CIS, basketball, and soccer.
“We built Sportsnet 360’s programming strategy specifically with the hardcore sports fan top of mind,” said Navaid Mansuri, Vice-President, Programming, Sportsnet. “With a solid roster of live sports events headlined by UFC, CIS, basketball and soccer, combined with existing coverage of WWE and an unparalleled breadth of sports news, scores and highlights, Sportsnet 360 will deliver immense value to our passionate viewers and is the ideal complement to our other Sportsnet channels and platforms.”
Sportsnet 360’s new programming details include:
UFC
- Beginning July 1, UFC will be front and centre on Wednesday nights with 4 hours of UFC programming in prime time headlined by exclusive Canadian coverage of The Ultimate Fighter. The UFC Wednesday night line-up will also feature UFC Central, UFC Wired and Unleashed.
- Saturday’s all right for fighting: Sportsnet 360will provide coverage of more than 30 live UFC events on Saturday nights each year
- Debuting in 2014, Sportsnet 360 will also broadcastThe Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia, featuring some of the world’s top welterweight (170 lbs) mixed martial arts prospects. Team Canada will be coached by Rimouski, QC’s Patrick Côté, while Kyle Noke, a native of Dubbo, New South Wales, will coach the Australian team. (Broadcast details forThe Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia will be announced at a later date).
Blue Jays Xpress
- The 30-minute show featuring Smith, Spoljaric, O’Halloran and Grange will air following Blue Jays games (Monday to Friday), and will include live post-game reaction from Manager John Gibbons, interviews from the field and the clubhouse, in-depth highlights and reports on games from around the AL East and MLB. Plus, during Blue Jays home games, Blue Jays Xpress will also present fan reaction live from the streets outside of Rogers Centre
WWE
- As the exclusive home for WWE in Canada, Sportsnet 360 will continue to present marquee shows such as Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown. The line-up also includes Vintage Collection, NXT, The Experience and Aftermath, a first of its kind, post-game show for Monday Night Raw
CIS
- Sportsnet 360 will deliver expanded coverage of men’s and women’s CIS sports, headlined by the Vanier Cup and including the following marquee events: Football (Mitchell Bowl and Uteck Bowl), Men’s and Women’s Hockey Championships; Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and more to be announced at a later date
Basketball
- In addition to continuing coverage of NCAA basketball, Sportsnet 360 will broadcast the following premier men’s and women’s FIBA events: 2013 Americas Championship, 2013 U19 World Championship, 2014 Basketball World Cup and 2014 U17 Basketball World Cup
Soccer
- Continuing Sportsnet’s world-class soccer offering, Sportsnet 360 will now air Toronto FC matches and select international events including qualifying matches for 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™
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About Sportsnet
Sportsnet connects Canadian sports fans to their favourite teams and athletes, using five platforms: TV, Radio, Print, Online and Mobile. Sportsnet is Fuelled By Fans, and delivers storytelling on a local, regional, national and global level. The multiplatform brand consists of Sportsnet, sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet magazine, Sportsnet Mobile and the Hockey Central app on iPad and Playbook. Sportsnet consists of four regional channels (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific), and the nationally-distributed Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet World, and Sportsnet 360. Sportsnet is the Canadian leader in NHL and MLB television broadcasts and is home to 162 Toronto Blue Jays games, plus MLB Playoffs and the World Series. Sportsnet is an official licensed broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM and also offers an exciting sports lineup including the NFL, the Memorial Cup, CIS Vanier Cup, Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Grand Slam of Curling, IZOD IndyCar Series, the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, and extensive soccer programming including Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, MLS Vancouver Whitecaps FC, CONCACAF and Canadian national team matches for men and women. Connected is the network’s nightly news program, providing regional and national coverage of the day’s events in the world of sports.