National Women’s Soccer League Announces ESPN Broadcast Team

The National Women’s Soccer League issued the following press release on Friday

Chicago, IL – July 12, 2019 (nwslsoccer.com) The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the preeminent professional women’s soccer league in the United States, and ESPN today announced the broadcast talent lineup for the 14 league matches to be televised during the 2019 season.

ESPN NWSL Logos

A collaboration of top talent will team up to support the broadcasts, including Aly Wagner, Jenn Hildreth, Angela Hucles, Glenn Davis, Marisa Pilla and Dalen Cuff, with the full roster to be completed later this month.

Aly Wagner will serve as a game analyst beginning August 25th in Portland on ESPNEWS. Wagner was the lead analyst for the NWSL on Lifetime the past two seasons. Additionally, she covered the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019 and was the first woman to call a men’s FIFA World Cup match. Wagner played for the USWNT from 1999 to 2008, winning two Olympic golds and two third place finishes at the Women’s World Cup. At Santa Clara University, she was a star player, earning the Hermann Trophy and leading the Broncos to their first NCAA Championship.

Jenn Hildreth comes on board as the lead play-by-play announcer and will work most games including a semifinal and the NWSL final. After covering the FIFA 2019 Women’s World Cup, Hildreth will begin calling the second ESPN televised game in Chicago on July 21 – the first televised game to feature returning USWNT players. Hildreth has covered women’s soccer as a play-by-play announcer, host, analyst and reporter over the last four NWSL seasons and two Women’s World Cups. She has also worked for the SEC Network, ESPNU, and has called the last three NCAA Women’s College Cups for ESPN. At Emory University, she lettered in soccer, where she was a goalkeeper, as well as in basketball and track and field.

Angela Hucles will be a booth analyst. She was an analyst for both the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cups as well as the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. A former member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Hucles brought home two Olympic gold medals and helped her team place third in two Women’s World Cups. She spent nine years playing soccer professionally in Boston and served as President of Women’s Sports Foundation from 2015 to 2017. Hucles played soccer at the University of Virginia (1996-1999), where she was a four-year all-ACC player. She currently holds the record at UVA for career goals, game-winning goals and total points. In her last year, she was a finalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy.

Glenn Davis is joining the team as a play-by-play announcer. His extensive experience includes broadcasting seven World Cups, both men’s and women’s, and two Olympics. In addition to covering international soccer, he has worked with the MLS, NCAA College Cups, and has previously worked with the NWSL. He played soccer professionally in the 80s with the American Soccer League after an impressive collegiate career with Boston University and Davis & Elkins College.

Marisa Pilla will make her debut on ESPN as a sideline reporter. A fixture in the Philadelphia sports scene, Pilla has hosted coverage of the NWSL College Draft the last two years. She has also followed the MLS as reporter and studio host for the Philadelphia Union. Beyond soccer, she has covered the NBA, NFL, and NCAA football and basketball for regional sports networks.

Dalen Cuff rounds out the team and will support the broadcasts in a variety of roles, including play-by-play announcer for the first game on July 14, where Orlando Pride competes against the Portland Thorns FC at Portland’s Providence Park. He will also work as a sideline reporter later in the season. Most recently, Cuff has been working as a college basketball studio and in-game analyst on ESPN. He was recently named a soccer analyst for ESPN’s forthcoming ACC Network. In all, he has worked for a variety of networks covering sports in roles including studio host, analyst and reporter.

NWSL telecasts will begin Sunday, July 14, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS, with a matchup of the Portland Thorns vs. Orlando Pride. In all, eight matches will air on ESPNEWS, and the remaining six, including the two semifinals and the NWSL championship, will air on ESPN2. All matches will also be available on the ESPN App.

2019 NWSL Schedule on ESPN:

Table

* All matches will also be available on the ESPN App

About NWSL:
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is the highest level of professional women’s soccer in the United States. Featuring players from around the world, the nine-team Division-I women’s professional soccer league includes Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Utah Royals FC and the Washington Spirit. Based in Chicago, the NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association and the United States Soccer Federation. www.NWSLsoccer.com.

About ESPN:
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise features more than 50 assets – eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

ESPN Sees Overall Viewership Success in June Led by Continued Upward Studio Show Trends

Double Digit Annual Average Viewership Increase 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Weekday Morning Studio Show Lineup including SportsCenter, Get Up and First Take All Saw Year-Over-Year Growth for June & Quarter

Marquee News and Information Programming Up Across Multiple Editions of SportsCenter & Outside the Lines

July 9th, 2019 (espnpressroom.com) In June, ESPN grew its audience average 12 percent year over year during the daily 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET window contributing to a 24-hour year-over-year increase of 5 percent overall to 518,000 viewers and leading cable among young men.

ESPN Logo

ESPN led full-time cable networks among viewers and men 18-34 (for at least the 20th consecutive June), 18-49 and 25-54. In prime time, ESPN averaged just over a million viewers and was best among men 18-49 and men 25-54.

For the quarter, ESPN topped all full-time cable networks among viewers 18-34, men 18-34 (for at least the 20th straight quarter), men 18-49 and men 25-54.

“ESPN’s studio programming led by SportsCenter continues to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of sports fans,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president & executive editor, production. “The double-digit, annual growth in June during the 7 a.m.-7 p.m. period truly speaks to the relevance, versatility and success of our studio show lineup.”

ESPN Studio Shows
ESPN’s morning studio show lineup saw another month of year-over year growth in June with multiple wins across key cable demographics. Get Up continued its monthly viewership success with a 21 percent increase over the comparable 8-10 a.m. time slot in 2018. The 7 a.m. edition of SportsCenter was up nine percent in June from the comparable one-hour window last year, according to Nielsen.

June marked the fourth consecutive month of annual increases for both shows which combined to drive ESPN to cable wins across multiple demographics including viewers 18-49. For the second quarter of 2019, Get Up and the 7 a.m. SportsCenter saw 24 percent and 14 percent yearly viewership increases, respectively.

First Take experienced its third straight month of year-over-year viewership growth, up six percent over 2018. The noon SportsCenter also climbed 10 percent in June over the comparable 12-1 p.m. window in 2018.

The two shows combined led ESPN to cable wins across all key male demos from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. First Take saw a five percent yearly increase for the second quarter with the noon edition of SportsCenter climbing three percent for the timeframe. From 10 a.m.-noon, driven by First Take, ESPN remains the top network (cable or broadcast) among the men 18-34 demographic for the seventh consecutive month.

The success continued across ESPN’s news and information programming with Outside the Lines seeing multiple areas of annual viewership growth including nine percent for June and three percent for the quarter. The 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter continued the trend with a four percent and one percent increase for the month and quarter, respectively. SportsCenter’s weekend morning editions also combined for a nine percent annual increase in June and three percent growth for the quarter.

Pardon the Interruption enjoyed its third consecutive month of viewership growth, seeing a 10 percent increase in June. Leading off the 5-6 p.m. window, Around the Horn saw a year-over-year increase of seven percent. Pardon the Interruption was up eight percent for the quarter, with Around the Horn seeing a three percent rise.

ESPN’s sport-specific programming thrived as well with The Jump and NFL Live both seeing year-over-year viewership increases for the month. The Jump’s viewership average increased by four percent with NFL Live climbing two percent.

Contact:

Michael Skarka
(860) 766-1342
michael.skarka@espn.com