Boston Marathon to Air Live

Locally and Nationally

WBZ-TV and VERSUS to Again Televise Race

Posted Tuesday, 25 March, 2008

BOSTON, Mass. – The Boston Athletic Association announced today that the 112th Boston Marathon will be televised live, wire-to-wire, both locally and nationally on Monday, April 21.

WBZ-TV (CBS owned-and-operated, Channel 4) will once again be providing live local coverage. Their broadcast will run from 8 a.m. (ET) until 3 p.m. (ET). WBZ-TV, now a partner of the Boston Athletic Association for 28 years, will be the only local television station providing live wire-to-wire coverage.

VERSUS will once again televise the Boston Marathon for the fourth consecutive year. The telecast will air from 9:30 a.m. (ET) to 12:30 p.m. (ET), making the Boston Marathon the only road race in the United States to have a complete, live, national telecast.

The 2008 Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 21, 2008, Patriots' Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The race will begin with the Elite Women's Start at 9:35 a.m.

"We're excited to once again partner with WBZ-TV and VERSUS to make the Boston Marathon the only U.S. road race to air live, wire-to-wire, locally and nationally," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association. "Boston is one of the most prestigious races in the world, so it's fitting to have such respected outlets as television partners so that our race can be enjoyed by fans around Boston and across the country on April 21."

Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial Services.

UPDATE:

http://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/media/view.bg?articleid=1082628

Site gets run for its money
WCSN.com buys rights to Boston Marathon

By Donna Goodison | Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |

Running enthusiasts across the globe will be able to watch this year’s Boston Marathon by traveling no further than their computers.

The 112th running of one of the world’s most storied races will be streamed live online to an international audience this year for the first time ever .

The Boston Athletic Association has sold the Internet rights to the April 21 marathon to the World Championship Sports Network, which will showcase the race online at WCSN.com.

Los Angeles-based WCSN is a paid-subscription network dedicated to year-round Web and cable TV coverage of the 35 sports featured in the Olympic Games and the athletes who compete in them. It also syndicates sports clips to a variety of online outlets, including YouTube and Yahoo! [YHOO] Sports.

“They’re definitely a prestigious partner for us in what’s a new industry and a new audience online,” BAA spokesman Marc Chalufour said. “They cover a huge level of sports at a very elite level.”

WCSN will stream the Versus cable TV network’s feed of the marathon, with experts Al Trautwig and Larry Rawson providing commentary.

Versus is the BAA’s national TV broadcast partner, while Boston-based WBZ-TV has the local rights to the marathon.

“For running, which is probably our most important category, we have really worked very hard to aggregate as many of the major marathons around the world for our customers - a season of marathons,” said Claude Ruibal, WCSN’s co-founder and CEO.

Last year, about 25,000 viewers watched a live Webcast of the London Marathon on WCSN.com despite the time difference.

Ruibal expects an even larger audience for the Boston Marathon.

However, neither the nonprofit BAA nor WCSN would disclose the value of their Internet-rights deal.

Alex will be there for every minute of coverage, as he always is,

and he'll be watching for the Island's finest - 21 Islanders will be there