Major League Soccer’s (MLS) championship match will return to the ABC Television Network for the first time in over 10 years.
The event, which will take place on Sunday, November 10 at 3 p.m. ET. will also be streamed live on both the ESPN and ABC apps.
Burke Magnus, Executive Vice President, Programming and Scheduling, ESPN emphasised: “ABC has a rich history of soccer coverage, including MLS Cup for more than a decade in the early years of Major League Soccer. We are excited to once again showcase the league’s marquee event on the network.”
ABC, the broadcast network of the Walt Disney Company, was the exclusive home of MLS Cup during Major League Soccer’s first 13 years from 1996 to 2008.
This year the tournament s aiming to increase audience engagement with a new format as it culminates Major League Soccer’s three-week Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs, which will feature 14 teams – seven per conference.
Winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals (Oct. 29-30) advance to the championship. The conference champion with the highest point total in the regular season will host MLS Cup.
Gary Stevenson, MLS Deputy Commissioner, President and Managing Director of MLS Business Ventures added: “With a new playoff format that rewards regular season performance with a greater homefield advantage, the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs will feature must-see games in the most intense atmospheres.
“We can’t think of a better way to showcase the culmination of our exciting single-elimination playoffs than to have our championship match on ABC.”
