Major League Soccer will get prime time exposure on ABC this season.
ABC will air a regular season MLS match at 8 PM ET on July 11, marking the network’s lone MLS telecast of the season. Surprisingly, ABC’s prime time game will not involve David Beckham‘s Los Angeles Galaxy, instead featuring the defending champion Columbus Crew against the Chicago Fire.
The prime time ABC telecast will be one of 33 MLS matches to air on the ESPN family of networks during the 2009 season. The season kicks off with New York/Seattle March 19 on ESPN2, the first match in Seattle franchise history.
Games will air sporadically throughout the season, with occasional long gaps between telecasts. For example, ESPN will not air a single MLS telecast between May 9 and May 28.
