In less than a month, Vancouver Whitecaps FC kick off their second season in Major League Soccer (MLS). At the same time, TSN and RDS will kick off their second year as the official broadcasters of MLS in Canada with a national broadcast package that includes 11 Whitecaps FC matches.
Acclaimed play-by-play commentator Luke Wileman (@LukeWileman) and colour analyst Jason deVos (@JasondeVos) return to the MLS ON TSN ( #MLSonTSN) broadcast booth for a second season, which includes some of the ‘Caps biggest matches. Every match broadcast on TSN will also be available on their French-language affiliate, RDS.
Coverage begins with Vancouver’s highly-anticipated season opener, as they host 2012 MLS expansion team and Canadian rivals Montreal Impact at BC Place on Saturday, March 10, at 3 p.m. PT.
The first match versus Montreal will be one of two all-Canadian battles featuring Whitecaps FC on TSN and RDS. The other will be Vancouver’s Wednesday, July 11, visit to Ontario to face Canadian nemesis Toronto FC at BMO Field at 4 p.m. PT.
TSN and RDS will also be home to four Cascadia Cup matches, including three duels with Seattle Sounders FC. The first match of the series will be Seattle’s first-ever trip to BC Place on Saturday, May 19, at 2 p.m. PT, followed by Vancouver’s away match versus Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field the next Saturday, May 26, at 7 p.m. PT. The Cascadia derby goes back on the road for Vancouver in their only regular season match at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field on Saturday, August 18, at 1 p.m. PT, and finishes with the Sounders second trip to Vancouver on Saturday, September 29, at 6 p.m. PT.
Four of the ‘Caps marquee matchups are also on the docket, including all three matches with the star-studded LA Galaxy. The first of those encounters will be on Saturday, June 23, as Vancouver travel to the Home Depot Center to take on the Galaxy at 7:30 p.m. PT. The second match sees Robbie Keane and company pay a visit to BC Place on Wednesday, July 18, at 7 p.m. PT, before the ‘Caps return to California on Saturday, September 1, to wrap-up their regular season series with the Galaxy at 7 p.m. PT. Another match not to be missed occurs on Wednesday, June 20, as Vancouver host Thierry Henry and his New York Red Bulls at 8 p.m. PT at BC Place.
Full MLS coverage will be featured across all of TSN’s key programs and platforms, including SPORTSCENTRE and TSN.ca, where fans can browse scores, news and highlights from the league.
2012 MLS Broadcast Schedule on TSN, TSN2, RDS and RDS2 (all times ET)
March
- Saturday, March 10 Montreal @ Vancouver 6 p.m. TSN/RDS
May
- Saturday, May 19 Seattle @ Vancouver 5 p.m. TSN/RDS2
- Saturday, May 26 Vancouver @ Portland 10 p.m. TSN/RDS2
June
- Wednesday, June 20 New York @ Vancouver 11 p.m. TSN/RDS2
- Saturday, June 23 Vancouver @ Los Angeles 10:30 p.m. TSN/RDS
July
- Wednesday, July 11 Vancouver @ Toronto 7 p.m. TSN/RDS
- Wednesday, July 18 Los Angeles @ Vancouver 10 p.m. TSN2/RDS
August
- Wednesday, Aug. 15 Dallas @ Vancouver 10 p.m. TSN/RDS
- Saturday, Aug. 18 Vancouver @ Seattle 4 p.m. TSN2/RDS
September
- Saturday, Sept. 1 Vancouver @ Los Angeles 10 p.m. TSN2/RDS2
- Saturday, Sept. 29 Seattle @ Vancouver 9 p.m. TSN2/RDS2
