Soccer Fans Score With MLS ‘Direct Kick’ Package, Now Available on Verizon FiOS TV

FiOS TV Ultimate Home-Entertainment Experience Now Includes Complete U.S. Soccer Action With Out-of-Market Games

NEW YORK, April 28 /PRNewswire/ — Soccer fans now have another reason to cheer for Verizon FiOS TV, with the addition of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Direct Kick subscription package to the all-digital TV service. The package is now available during this year’s U.S. soccer season to all FiOS TV subscribers.

Direct Kick features 130 MLS matches, including regional broadcasts of MLS regular-season and select MLS Cup Playoff games, as well as pre-game and post-game shows, so subscribers can enjoy games that would otherwise not be available in their local TV-viewing areas. Between the package offering and games shown on national broadcast channels, subscribers can watch all 225 games of the MLS regular season, the 2009 MLS All-Star Game, and select MLS Cup playoff games and MLS Cup 2009.

“Whether you’re a Chicago Fire fan in Texas or a Los Angeles Galaxy fan on the East Coast, MLS Direct Kick package and FiOS TV give fans complete access to soccer with a viewing experience that’s the next best thing to being there,” said Shawn Strickland, vice president of video solutions for Verizon. “Our 100 percent all-digital picture-and-sound quality makes soccer look and sound incredible on any TV.”

MLS Direct Kick, available for $64 for the entire 2009 season, features five standard-definition channels and will be shown on FiOS TV channels 1495-1499.

Verizon offers the best experience for dedicated soccer fans. In addition to MLS Direct Kick, Verizon features the best in both domestic and international soccer, with Fox Soccer Channel, Gol TV and ESPN Deportes all included in FiOS TV’s Extreme HD package. Serious international soccer fans can also add Setanta Sports to any FiOS TV package.

Verizon delivers all-digital TV service over America’s most advanced network, which is all-fiber all the way to customers’ homes. For customers, that means receiving 100 percent digital quality on every channel, superior picture-and-sound quality, more and more high-definition programming, and more innovative interactive features.

FiOS TV scored highest in J.D. Power’s “2008 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study for the East Region.” And a leading consumer magazine gave FiOS TV the top rating in its most recent survey of television service, with top marks in all six categories it measured: channel choice, image quality, sound quality, reliability, value and support.

FiOS TV offers a broad collection of programming, with more than 500 all-digital channels and 14,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles each month — 70 percent of which are free. Verizon’s VOD library also includes more than 1,300 HD titles per month. FiOS TV is currently available to more than 9.7 million homes in 14 states.

For more information on FiOS TV and additional details on the MLS Direct Kick package, consumers can visit www.verizon.com/fiostv or call their local Verizon sales office or 888-438-3467.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON’S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon’s News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

ABOUT MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. MLS kicked off its 14th season on March 19, and will feature 15 teams each playing 30 regular season matches. They include Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC and, in its inaugural season, Seattle Sounders FC. A Philadelphia expansion team will debut in 2010, while expansion teams in Vancouver and Portland will debut in 2011. For more information about MLS, log on to the League’s official website at www.MLSnet.com.

SOURCE Verizon