[0] FOX Sports International Secures Exclusive Rights to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup; Four-Year Agreement Includes Broadcast Rights Throughout North And South America.

Business Editors & Sports Writers 

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2000

FOX Sports International has concluded an agreement that will bring the United States' oldest soccer competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, to FOX Sports owned-and-affiliated cable and satellite services around the world on an exclusive basis beginning with the 2000 tournament.

The four-year deal, recently concluded between FOX Sports International and the United States Soccer Federation, marks the first time the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup will be available to FOX Sports viewers throughout the Americas. The agreement, which includes LIVE coverage of the 2000 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final, was announced today by Andrew Thau, Senior Vice President of Operations and Network Development, FOX Sports International.

In the United States, FOX Sports World (English-language) and FOX Sports World Espanol (Spanish-language) will produce a total of four LIVE matches in both English and Spanish, respectively, and televise exclusively to their cable and satellite subscribers throughout the country. Coverage of one quarterfinal game, two semi-finals and the exciting conclusion of the tournament, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final on Sunday, October 22, will include expert commentary by FOX Sports World and FOX Sports World Espanol analysts. The matches will also air on the FOX Sports channels in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

"Like the F.A. Cup in England and the domestic cups in other European countries, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is unique in that it offers amateur soccer players an opportunity to go head to head with the best professionals in the U.S.," said Thau. "Our telecast of this historical championship cup gives viewers the opportunity to witness the abundance of soccer talent in the U.S."

Established in 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament open to all amateur and professional soccer teams in the United States that are affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The annual tournament is structured similarly to the popular domestic cup competitions held throughout Europe and is bracketed like a tennis tournament, with 32 teams drawn together in the second round following a preliminary qualifying stage. Participants in the 32-team field will include all 12 teams from Major League Soccer (MLS), nine A-League teams and seven D3 Pro League teams. These teams will play through their brackets over the summer, hoping to unseat last year's surprise champions, the Rochester Rhinos of the A-League.

FOX Sports International, a worldwide sports partnership between News Corporation and Liberty Media Corporation, is recognized around the globe as a leader in sports programming. FOX Sports International operates the program services FOX Sports World and FOX Sports World Espanol in the U.S.; FOX Sports in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East; and a worldwide program syndication sales business. Go online with FOX Sports World at www.FOXsportsworld.com and FOX Sports World Espanol at www.fswe.com.