Real Salt Lake and KTVX, Utah’s ABC affiliate, today announced a new, multi-year broadcast partnership that will see KTVX ABC4 air 10 live RSL contests during the 2012 Major League Soccer campaign, while the KTVX-operated KUCW – known as CW30 – will carry the remaining 20 non-national regional broadcasts. The RSL-KTVX partnership guarantees that all 34 of the Utah side’s regular-season affairs will be aired on a local or national broadcast partner, on either free, over-the-air television or via the new national NBC Sports Network (formerly known as Versus). 

Real Salt Lake’s KTVX slate kicks off with the team’s 2012 MLS opener on Saturday, March 10, when the Claret-and-Cobalt will travel to The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles for a rematch of both MLS Cup 2009 and the 2011 MLS Western Conference Final against the reigning MLS Cup champion Galaxy, featuring international soccer icons Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Robbie Keane. Pre-game coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. MT. 

“KTVX and KUCW provide the perfect fit for Real Salt Lake and Rio Tinto Stadium as we move into another new era in our organization’s growth,” said RSL President Bill Manning, noting that the team’s regional games remain on free, over-the-air television, as they have since its inception in 2005. ”KTVX’s commitment to live, local content and their recognition of our relevance as a team on the field and a business entity off of it has everyone – fans, ownership, players and others – excited for this long-term partnership.” 

For the first time ever, each of Real Salt Lake’s 30 regional games will air in high-definition, while ABC4 and CW30 offer channel location consistency, regardless of the platform by which the fragmented Utah DMA consumes its television – over the air, cable or satellite. Virtually all of the elements contained in each two-and-a-half hour Real Salt Lake broadcast will be available locally – including features, game highlights, interviews with key personalities and full-game re-broadcasts – on Comcast Video-on-Demand, as will numerous RSL-related content produced by the ABC4 news and sports teams. 

“ABC4 and CW30 are excited to partner with RSL and provide the community with 30 live games on broadcast television,” said Matt Jaquint, General Manager of KTVX and KUCW. “Sports is the ultimate reality show, and RSL’s championship-winning brand of soccer provides an unparalleled level of compelling local content.” 

Of the 10 regular-season games airing on ABC4, eight will emanate from the road, highlighted by the March 10 opener at LA and continuing with April 14 at Kansas City, May 12 at Seattle, June 16 at Chivas USA, July 14 at San Jose, August 4 at Colorado and August 11 at Vancouver. KTVX will air a pair of games from Rio Tinto Stadium, including the March 17 home opener featuring RSL against Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls, as well as the team’s August 18 home game against FC Dallas. 

CW30 will carry a mix of 20 total games, including 14 home and six away, throughout the length of the season, starting on March 24 with the Rio Tinto Stadium match against Chivas USA and closing with the 2012 regular-season finale on October 27 against Vancouver. The highlight of the CW30 road schedule is RSL’s first-ever visit to the new BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on Thursday, September 6 at 6:30 p.m. MT. 

The RSL on ABC4 / CW30 broadcast team will see long-time RSL ambassadors continue in the booth, as ESPN700 host Bill Riley enters his eighth year as an RSL play-by-play personality on radio and TV, while 10-year MLS veteran and “RSL Original” Brian Dunseth assumes color analyst duties on RSL broadcasts for a seventh consecutive season. Riley and Dunseth can often be heard together on the ESPN700 airwaves Monday through Friday between 2:00-6:00 p.m. MT talking all things RSL, MLS and international soccer, while ABC4 sports reporter Emerson Lotzia will appear on RSL broadcasts as the third member of the on-air team. Throughout the season, RSL players, coaches and personalities will be featured on the Saturday and Sunday night “SportsZone” on ABC4, airing each weekend night at 10:35 p.m. MT. 

KTVX and KUCW are Utah-based stations owned and operated by Newport Television Group. 

All regional Real Salt Lake production facilities are provided by Tupelo-Honey Productions. THP is a multi-disciplined, full-service production company packaging award-winning television and broadband content for clients such as CBS Sports, ESPN, Showtime, YES Network, AT&T’s “Blue Room”, Condé Nast and SNY. THP is also a founding partner of City On Demand, which includes TimeOut On Demand on Time Warner Cable and broadband.