Six games of this summer’s II World Cup of Softball will be carried on the ESPN Networks, ASA announced recently. The event will be pit the world’s top teams July 13-17 in Oklahoma City. 

In 2005, over 18,000 fans attended the inaugural five-day event where Japan upset the United States 3-1. Fans from over 30 different states visited Oklahoma City, with over $1 million generated in economic impact. The event was televised in over 20 different countries and watched by over six million U.S. households. 

ESPN and ESPN2 will offer six live telecasts, highlighted by the ESPN2 telecast of the July 17 championship game from Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. ESPN will televise Team USA’s round robin games against China, Japan, Great Britain, Australia and Canada. A detailed broadcast schedule is below: 

Thursday, July 13 — USA vs. Australia, 7 p.m. EST 

Friday, July 14 — USA vs. China, 7 p.m. EST 

Saturday, July 15 — USA vs. Canada, Noon EST 

Saturday, July 15 — USA vs. Japan, 8 p.m. EST 

Sunday, July 16 — USA vs. Great Britain, 1 p.m. EST 

Monday, July 17 — Championship Game, 9 p.m. EST 

The final details for global distribution are still being finalized, but will at minimum include deals in Asia, parts of Europe, Latin America, Central America, Canada and Australia. ESPN will also have rights for all its new media platforms, including Mobile ESPN (the company's new mobile phone), ESPN.com and ESPN360 (broadband). 

Tickets for the II World Cup of Softball can be purchased by visiting www.softballoutlet.com or by calling 1-800-654-8337. All-session reserved seats are $50 and all-session general admission tickets are available for $30.