LOS ANGELES and BOSTON; runningusa.org - (Feb. 1, 2010) - Universal Sports, the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related sports programming, and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) have announced a multi-year agreement that makes Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com the exclusive national television home, as well as worldwide multimedia destination, for the legendary Boston Marathon for the next three years beginning 2010 through 2012. The 114th Boston Marathon will take place Monday, April 19 at 9:30am ET."We are thrilled to reach this multi-year agreement with the BAA to be the exclusive national television home and worldwide multimedia destination for the world's oldest, as well as one of the most competitive and iconic marathons worldwide - the Boston Marathon," said Universal Sports Chairman and CEO Claude Ruibal. "Universal Sports has established itself as the top destination for competitive running and road racing events such as the World Marathon Majors. We continue to deliver on our mission to elevate and deliver Olympic and lifestyle sports that exemplifies the best of the human competition and spirit. And Boston certainly exemplifies this competition and spirit."
Anchored by veteran sports commentator Al Trautwig, Universal Sports' three-hour broadcast will kick-off at 9:30am ET. WBZ-TV will continue as the exclusive local broadcast partner for the Boston Marathon.
UniversalSports.com will start at 9:30am ET with LIVE coverage of the complete race, along with athlete trackers, course maps, field previews, full-length videos, highlights, photos and recaps at UniversalSports.com.
"Our partnership with Universal Sports and Universal Sports.com now allows us national and global reach of this storied and most exciting of the World Marathon Majors, the 114th Boston Marathon," said Guy Morse, executive director of the BAA. "With Universal Sports, along with our ongoing local partnership with WBZ-TV, we can provide marathon fans across Boston and the nation with in-depth and comprehensive coverage of this amazing athletic competition."
Universal Sports is home to the World Marathon Majors (WMM), offering complete and in-depth television and multimedia coverage of the five marathon majors: Boston Marathon, Virgin London Marathon, real,-Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and ING New York City Marathon.
Headlining the world-class men's field will be Americans Meb Keflezighi, the reigning New York Marathon champion, and Ryan Hall, current holder of the second-fastest U.S. marathon time. With their goal to be the first male American winner since Greg Meyer in 1983, both will be competing against a field of the world's best. Both the men's and women's professional field will be announced by John Hancock Financial, the principal sponsor of the race, during the last week of February.
For more race information, go to: www.BostonMarathon.org
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