by Robert Hay

Looking to beef up their MLS coverage and stand out from ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel today unveiled their new theme for their weekly MLS game.  Calling it "Soccer Night in America", the new program includes enhanced graphics, a new set, and a jazzed up marketing campaign to draw attention to the game of the week.

The intent of the redesign, according to the release from corporate, was to bring the soccer productions more in line with other Fox sports offerings.  Some of the new features include better, more streamlined branding of the MLS games shown under the Soccer Night brand, the use of super-slow motion filming to allow more precise looks at the action, and the introduction of Vizrt technology.  Vizrt is a graphic design company that incorporates 3-D imaging into their products to create a crisper, clearer picture; many broadcasts worldwide use the technology and it is most famous as the graphic company for the CNN holographs during the 2008 presidential election.  What will not change are the personalities: Christopher Sullivan and Eric Wynalda will still provide the pre-game and post-game coverage, while the play-by-play team will be JP Dellacamera and Kyle Martino.  The first match under the new brand is this Saturday's Portland/Philadelphia matchup.

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