J.P. Dellacamera moves to FSC, stays with Union
Veteran soccer broadcaster J.P. Dellacamera has moved from ESPN, where he was the network's top soccer announcer for many years, to Fox Soccer Channel, a source confirmed to me this evening.
J.P. Dellacamera moves to FSC, stays with Union
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Veteran soccer broadcaster J.P. Dellacamera has moved from ESPN, where he was the network's top soccer announcer for many years, to Fox Soccer Channel, a source confirmed to me this evening. He will be the play-by-play voice of FSC's Friday night Major League Soccer telecasts this season.
Dellacamera will only work FSC's Friday games, not its Saturday games, so that he can remain the play-by-play voice for the Philadelphia Union on its local broadcasts. I was told by a team spokesperson today that the club has not yet decided who the color analyst will be this season.
Dellacamera had been with ESPN for a very long time, going back to the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1980s. Among his most famous calls for the network was Paul Caligiuri's "shot heard 'round the world" goal for the U.S. national team against Trinidad and Tobago in 1989, that qualified the U.S. for the 1990 World Cup. He also was the lead announcer for the 1999 Women's World Cup on ESPN and ABC.
I've been told by multiple sources that Dellacamera had a three-year contract with the network and an option for a fourth year, and the fourth year was not picked up.
An announcement about ESPN's new voice for MLS telecasts will be made next week, a spokesperson for ESPN told me. Michael Lewis of BigAppleSoccer.com and the New York Daily News has reported that Adrian Healey will get the job.
I was not given any details about whether Dellacamera's departure affects who will call U.S. national team games, either on the men's or women's side. Even with Ian Darke's arrival he was still in the mix for some smaller matches.
Darke is ESPN's main soccer announcer, including the English Premier League and big MLS and U.S. national team games. That includes the upcoming Women's World Cup this summer.
But he lives in the U.K., so it would probably be impractical for him to fly back and forth across the Atlantic to call MLS games on a regular basis.
Having said that, ESPN made a clear move last year towards using announcers with British accents to call soccer for its American audience. That included relegating Dellacamera to radio broadcasts for last summer's World Cup, and using four British announcers for television.
That there was writing on the wall at that point was pretty clear to all of us. Now Dellacamera has moved on to start a new chapter in his career.
Okay, let's be honest here... "Dellacamera had been with ESPN for a very long time?" REALLY? That's your sentence? You couldn't say "since the mid-1980s" or actually find out WHEN he joined ESPN? And that's not even the worst reporting you did in this piece.
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"I was not given any details about who will call U.S. national team games, either on the men's or women's side."
Do you have the Googles where you live? When Ian Darke was hired by ESPN, they SAID he'd be the primary voice for the US Men and US Women.
http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2010/09/24/top-uk-commentator-ian-darke-joins-espn-as-lead-soccer-voice-in-the-u-s/
"Darke will be the primary play-by-play voice on ESPN’s U.S. networks for Barclays Premier League matches, the U.S. National Teams (Men’s and Women’s), marquee Major League Soccer events, 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil."
That news has only been out there for six months. Some reporting. I swear, between you and Smallwood, it's a wonder Philadelphia people have any decent information at all.
— flg8or- I appreciate the comment, but Darke was not flown over to call the U.S.-Chile game in January. Nor did he call the U.S.-Colombia game at PPL Park, which took place after the hire was announced. Ergo the point stands. Nor was Darke intended to be the voice for every single U.S. game when he was brought on board, from what I've been told.— Jonathan Tannenwald
- Espn is only allowed to broadcast so many Nats games per year as agreed upon in their SUM contract (I believe the # is 10) So i highly doubt that Darke will be announcing the games that consist of the b/c players. The Chile game wasn't even telecast on Espn..... I like JP and hopefully they will team him up with someone other then Sullivan, he is brutal.
Jon, can you find out what the U are doing with all of their money since they are WAY below the cap and are only using 22 out of a possible 30 roster spots?— dangeroo - "Primary" doesn't mean "exclusive." It was said at the time that Darke would be the primary play-by-play voice for both the US Men and US Women. So you WERE given details. In September. You could have written, "I have been given no details about who will call the US National Team games that Ian Darke does not call as part of his all-encompassing contract with ESPN to do soccer."— flg8or
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
