VERSUS Coverage of World Championships to Feature Zach Parise as Guest Analyst

VERSUS TO AIR THE 75TH ANNUAL MEN’S INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEGINNING APRIL 30

NEW YORK (April 27, 2011) — VERSUS will air at least eleven games during the 75th Annual Men’s International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships, beginning on Saturday, April 30, at 10 a.m. ET when team USA faces off against Austria in the preliminary round live from Bratislava, Slovakia. This will mark the first time VERSUS will televise the round-robin tournament.

The network will air a substantial amount of the games throughout the 16-day tournament, including four preliminary- round games, at least three qualification-round games and at least one quarterfinal game. The network will air every game the U.S. team plays if they advance past the first round, but regardless of how far they go, VERSUS will also televise both semifinal games on May 13 and the Gold Medal contest on May 15.

VERSUS will also produce pre, intermission and post-game updates from the network’s Stamford, Conn., studio, providing viewers with expert analysis of the games before, during and after the hockey action. Bill Pidto and Matt Loughlin will alternate as hosts for the studio show along with Zach Parise, current New Jersey Devils left winger and member of the U.S. Olympic Team that won the silver medal in Vancouver last February.

There are a total of 16 teams participating in the round-robin tournament which are placed in four groups to play in the preliminary round. The top three teams in each group will advance to the qualification round, while the last team in each group competes in the relegation round, where the top two teams will automatically qualify for the next year’s World Championships. Preliminary round groups:

Group A (Bratislava): Russia, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia

Group B (Košice): Canada, Switzerland, Belarus, France

Group C (Košice): Sweden, United States, Norway, Austria

Group D (Bratislava): Finland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Denmark

VERSUS’ preliminary round coverage of the 2011 World Championships is as follows (all times ET, subject to change):

Saturday, April 30 USA-Austria (Live) 10 a.m.

Monday, May 2 USA-Norway (Live) 10 a.m.

Tuesday, May 3 Canada-Switzerland TBD

Wednesday, May 4 USA-Sweden TBD

Press Release [VERSUS]