News
MIÉ 30.11.2016
“I think this El Clasico is going to be a hugely important game. A big turning point, one way or another,” Kay Murray, the host of beIN SPORTS USA shows The Locker Room and The Weekend Xtra told www.laliga.es. “FC Barcelona have been a bit inconsistent and Real Madrid are on an unbeaten run but it could be like last year when the positions were reversed. Then, it was Real Madrid who turned up and ended Barça’s unbeaten run. This time round, it is Luis Enrique’s men who have a point to prove.
“As for Real Madrid, people have stopped saying they have had it easy so far. They’ve just beaten Atletico Madrid away impressively, and if they win El Clasico, I can’t really see anybody catching them, although the Club World Cup could trip them up.” With so much riding on it, beIN Sports are expecting their audience to top the 1.9 million viewers they had for the last El Clasico. Murray, who is from Middlesbrough in England, admits she is a fan of the ‘Merengues’ but that does not cloud her judgement when it comes to giving a prediction on the outcome of Saturday’s showdown at the Camp Nou. “I think Barcelona have a point to make and so for that reason I think they’ll edge it this time,” she says.
Murray moved to Miami from Spain to work with beIN SPORTS USA four years ago and has been well placed to see LaLiga expand its reach in the Americas. “LaLiga has grown enormously since I’ve been here,” Murray said. “The fact that clubs such SD Eibar and Villarreal CF have fan clubs here says it all. Perhaps, it’s because in the USA they love the story of an underdog. There are more fans clubs of LaLiga sides, beyond Barcelona and Real Madrid, popping up all the time.
“At the channel, we’ve been enjoying UD Las Palmas this season and we always encourage our viewers to watch them, in particular,” she said. “Also newcomers CD Leganes, because of all the great stories around them…a female president, the basket of cucumbers they present to visiting teams and so on. Sevilla and Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, who was so successful with Chile, are hugely popular especially as we have so many Latin American viewers. If there is a well-known player or coach from a Latin American country in a team that drives interest, for example Real Madrid’s Keylor Navas with Costa Rica, Granada’s Guillermo Ochoa with Mexico, and Barcelona’s Neymar with Brazil and so on.”
For El Clasico, beIN SPORTS USA will be on air from the studio and the Camp Nou with build up an hour before kick off, which is 16:15 CET.
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