Business of Sports · SOCCER
ABC to Show Barcelona–Real Madrid for the First Time
Sunday’s U.S. broadcast begins with pregame coverage at 1 p.m. MDT.
Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet on ABC for the first time Sunday, ESPN announced Wednesday. The U.S. telecast of the 265th El Clásico is scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT from Spotify Camp Nou, with ABC’s pregame coverage beginning an hour earlier.
The match will also be available through ESPN+ in English and Spanish, ESPN Deportes in Spanish, and the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited subscribers. The announcement concerns U.S. coverage; those outlets do not establish the Canadian broadcast arrangements.
Ian Darke and Steve McManaman will call the English-language match from Barcelona. Fernando Palomo and Eduardo Biscayart lead the Spanish-language commentary, with Martin Ainstein and Moises Llorens reporting. ESPN’s on-site programming begins Thursday and continues through the weekend.
Barcelona enters the league meeting in first place, with José Mourinho’s Real Madrid six points behind in third, according to ESPN’s announcement. The network also lists a postgame program on ESPN+ and a separate Spanish-language edition on ESPN Deportes. The first-ABC distinction applies to this rivalry’s appearance on that network, not to its first U.S. television broadcast.
