US cable television channel One World Sports has announced the acquisition of rights to New York Cosmos football games – a move that marks the network’s first entry into the domestic sports rights market.
One World Sports, which has previously specialised in broadcasting global sporting events, said it will televise seven homes games of the Cosmos during its relaunch season, along with an original series celebrating the legendary team’s early history.
The Cosmos will return to the field for the first time in nearly three decades on August 3 after it was announced in July 2012 that the team would join the North American Soccer League.
The Cosmos announcement came as One World Sports revealed a major relaunch initiative for the network, featuring a move to high definition signal delivery and a new on-air, corporate and digital branding and graphics makeover.
The network will go HD on August 1 – a date on which it will also debut its new on-air look, involving new branding, on-air graphics and what it states is a first-of-its-kind global sports ticker.
In addition to the significant investment in converting to HD, adding on-air sports talent and new domestic programming, One World Sports will also relaunch its website and introduce a new app for mobile streaming of its content.