Network Lights Up HD Studio for VERSUS College Football Central – Pre and Post-Game Shows as well as “Sears Halftime Report”

NEW YORK, NY (August 6, 2008) — VERSUS, the network that celebrates real competition, will televise 23 college football games during the 2008 season, up from 19 games in 2007 and nine in 2006.  The schedule includes eight games in the Mountain West Conference and five games from each the Pac-10, Big 12 and Ivy League conferences.  For the first time since college football began airing in 2006, the network will launch VERSUS College Football Central, which includes a dedicated halftime show during each game called the Sears Halftime Report as well as pre and post-game shows on select telecasts. The studio shows, hosted by Ted Robinson and Roland Williams, will originate from the network’s HD studio in Stamford, Conn.

VERSUS will kick-off its 2008 college football schedule on Saturday, August 30, with a Mountain West Conference showdown between TCU and New Mexico at 6 p.m. ET.  The network’s entire college football schedule is available on VERSUS.com, however key games include several pre-season ranked teams such as UCLA at BYU (9/13), BYU at TCU (10/16), USC at Stanford (11/15) and Oregon at Oregon State (11/29) as well as the 125th anniversary of “The Game” between Yale at Harvard game on Nov. 22.

In 2006 the network began televising college football with nine Mountain West games, and continued to build the franchise in 2007 with the addition of the Big 12 and Pac-10 conferences.  Last year marked a hugely successful second year of college football on VERSUS in which the network televised two of the biggest upsets of the season in back-to-back weeks as Stanford upset #2 USC on October 6, followed by Oregon State defeating #2 Cal on October 13.  Compared to 2006, the 2007 college football season on VERSUS saw a 50-percent increase in national household ratings, a 104-percent increase in household impressions and a 92-percent increase in total viewership.  All the key male demos also saw significant growth.  In 2008, VERSUS has further expanded its college football coverage with the addition of five Ivy League conference games, as well as VERSUS College Football Central.

“By increasing our college football line-up to 23 games across four conferences and adding a college football studio show, the network is solidifying its position as a destination for college football fans,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for VERSUS.  “We saw tremendous growth last year from our college football package and with our increasing coverage this year we anticipate the positive growth trend will continue.”

VERSUS’ talent roster includes: play-by-play announcers Joe Beninati, Ron Thulin and Rich Ackerman; analysts Glenn Parker, Kelly Stouffer and Dale Hellestrae; and reporters Tim Neverett, Lewis Johnson, Bob Harwood, Anne Marie Anderson and Lindsay Soto.