Post by DiamondThief on Apr 20, 2016 19:27:17 GMT -8
The North American Spanish television network Univision and the Arena Football League have announced that Univision will broadcast nine games league-wise this season, which began with the April 18 game featuring the Cleveland Gladiators at the Jacksonville Sharks.
Three Portland Steel games will be among those broadcast by Univision. All broadcasts are slated for Monday nights.
First up on the Steel's Univision slate is the May 16 battle between the Steel and the Gladiators in Cleveland. That game broadcast is "on hold" due to a potential National Basketball Association playoff conflict with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Should the Cavs have a home game that night, then other arrangements, possibly a cancellation would be likely. The start time for that game has been shifted to 5 p.m.
The Steel will host the Philadelphia Soul on Univision on June 27, with that time moved up to 5 p.m. from its original start time of 7 p.m.
The final time the Steel will appear on Univision during the regular season is on August 1 as they host the Los Angeles KISS at 7 p.m. The game, the regular season finale for both teams, also will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
It is unclear at this time if the network, which features audio in Spanish, will add SAP English (English subtitles). Some reports indicate that previous games have been.
The following is the full Univision schedule (sans the April 18 game, which has already taken place). All times are Pacific.
May 2 -- Philadelphia Soul at Los Angeles KISS, 5 p.m.
May 9 -- Tampa Bay Storm at Philadelphia Soul, 5 p.m.
May 16 -- Portland Steel at Cleveland Gladiators, 5 p.m.
May 23 -- Cleveland Gladiators at Tampa Bay Storm, 5 p.m.
June 27 -- Philadelphia Soul at Portland Steel, 5 p.m.
July 11 -- Tampa Bay Storm at Los Angeles KISS, 5 p.m.
July 18 -- Orlando Predators at Arizona Rattlers, 5 p.m.
Aug. 1 -- Los Angeles KISS at Portland Steel, 7 p.m.
* Current NBA post-season hold
The agreement between the AFL and Univision has been touted as a prelude to a possible expansion of the league into Mexico. In January, Soul co-owner Craig Spencer announced, following owners meetings, that the league expected to have three teams operated in the Latin American country by Univision in the near future. Spencer, who was said to be speaking "on behalf of" AFL commissioner Scott C. Butera per a report on ArenaFan, indicated that the network also would be broadcasting several games as part of the arrangement. Shortly after, Soul co-owner Ron Jaworski announced that number of teams to be two.
The AFL has had no official announcement of the expansion, nor the current Univision lineup, though it has posted the broadcast schedule on its official website. It is speculated that should expansion occur, it would likely begin in either 2017 or 2018.
- ANM
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