For the third time this week, the NASL and commissioner Bill Peterson hosted a league conference call from Manhattan to announce new television partners for the league’s upcoming 2016 season. With the latest announcement bringing the total broadcast partners to eight, fans of the upstart league will be certain to never miss any live action. Exact programming schedules still need to be determined but Peterson was able to share some details of the partnerships:
- The world’s largest anime network, Crunchyroll, plans to feature a bi-monthly NASL match overlayed with an “Anime Filter.” This groundbreaking digital process will animate all of the on-field action. Peterson shared his enthusiasm about the technology, “We are especially excited about animating our matches as it will allow us to make our more experienced players, such as Indy Eleven’s Jon Busch or New York’s Juan Arango, appear much younger than they actually are.” Before releasing specific match information, league officials shared that they must first determine if “bi-monthly” means twice a month or every other month.
- Debuting this Spring on Disney XD, the Phineas & Ferb Oddball Game! features a 3:00 pm kickoff every third Wednesday of odd-numbered months. “I am a huge fan of the XD and Star Wars Rebels, particularly,” Peterson said, “We are honored to partner with the Disney family and plan to immediately begin creating content that connects with kids between 6 and 12 years old, who we believe will be a key demographic in 2031, which is the season we plan to implement a promotion and relegation system for our teams.”
- A unique arrangement with Horror Hall, the streaming home for horror movies, will allow the NASL to select a match featuring the league’s lowest scoring teams. “Nothing frightens me more than the prospect of watching a national broadcast of Carolina versus Ottawa in front of 5,000 empty seats. I’m sure fans of the horror genre will be equally terrified by similar matches,” Peterson said, before adding, “I expect Ottawa and Puerto Rico to feature prominently on this channel.” Games on Horror Hall will air at midnight EST the evening of each full moon that occurs during the 2016 season. (Excluding games held on Sunday afternoons in Canada, of course.)
- Beginning in July, on Tuesday mornings at 8:30 am, fans of American soccer fans will be able to rise and shine with their coffee and the B-Movie TV Kick Flick. “Working with B-Movie TV was a natural partnership for us and one that my close friend Don Garber has suggested many times,” Peterson said. While there are rumors that the division three USL is also attempting to secure a deal with the B-Movie network, inside sources tell us that the NASL feels confident in their position and that the league is willing to use the judicial system to protect their time slot if needed.
The four new broadcasters reach more than 100 million total American households, however, one reporter on the call with a funny accent explained that none of the seven media outlets were readily available in Edmonton or Ottawa and asked why this was allowed to happen. Peterson’s response seemed to satisfy the majority, “Don’t blame me. Blame Canada.”
Brew Wallace 