TSN Anchors Rod Smith and Kate Beirness Join the 2013 Kraft Celebration Tour

- Canada's #1 sportscast, SPORTSCENTRE, to broadcast live from 10 communities this summer -

- Canadians can nominate their communities at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca until June 7 -

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/17DPepq

TORONTO, May 31, 2013 /CNW/ - TSN today confirmed that Rod Smith and Kate Beirness are hitting the road for the Kraft Celebration Tour, as the anchors will team up to host live broadcasts of Canada's most-watched sports news program, SPORTSCENTRE, on this summer's cross-country tour from August 16-25.

This marks Smith's first time on the Kraft Celebration Tour, while Beirness returns after being on the tour for the past two years.  Smith and Beirness join fellow TSN anchors Darren Dutchyshen and Jennifer Hedger to lead the special SPORTSCENTRE broadcasts from winning communities across Canada.

Also joining the Kraft Celebration Tour again this summer is RDS, as the network's daily sports talk show, SPORTS 30 LE MAGAZINE, with anchors Marc Labrecque, Luc Bellemare, and Valérie Sardin, broadcasts live from winning communities in Quebec.

"Having watched the Kraft Celebration Tour change communities these past four summers, it is truly gratifying to join the magic," said Smith. "As a proud Canadian, I love to travel across this country and see great places I've never seen and meet great people I've never met. I can't wait to sit at the SPORTSCENTRE desk with Kate on what I'm sure will be a trip of a lifetime."

Rod Smith Biography
Smith currently hosts the 6 p.m. ET edition of SPORTSCENTRE, where his recognizable voice and trusted smooth delivery have been a staple of the program since 1995.  In addition to hosting SPORTSCENTRE, Smith provided the play-by-play commentary for Long Track Speed Skating at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and delivered the play-by-play for Aquatics at the London 2012 Olympic Games.  For his work on London 2012, Smith was honoured with the first-ever Canadian Screen Award for Best Play-by-Play Announcer in 2013. Smith hails from Nepean, ON and is a former offensive guard for the Queen's University Golden Gaels.

Kate Beirness Biography
Beirness anchors the weekend edition of SPORTSCENTRE alongside Bryan Mudryk. During the London 2012 Olympic Games, Beirness hosted Olympic Morning on TSN. Prior to joining TSN, Beirness was the sports anchor and videographer for the network's sister station, /A\ Barrie. Born and raised in Port Perry, ON, Beirness is a graduate of the University of Ontario.

Nominate a Community for the 2013 Kraft Celebration Tour
There is still time for Canadians to nominate their city or town for the chance to win $25,000 towards a community project that improves an existing space or helps create a brand new one.  Each winning community will also host one of 10 live broadcasts of SPORTSCENTRE.  Canadians can nominate their community online at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and tourneedecelebrationkraft.ca until June 7.

The Kraft Celebration Tour recognizes the passion and community spirit that brings people together and promotes healthy active lifestyles.  Since 2009, the Kraft Celebration Tour has helped hundreds of thousands of Canadians in 40 deserving communities with a total of $1 million towards community projects.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Twitter
Kraft Celebration Tour: @KCTAndy, www.Twitter.com/KCTAndy
Rod Smith: @RodSmithTSN, www.Twitter.com/RodSmithTSN
Kate Beirness: @KateBeirness, www.Twitter.com/KateBeirness
Darren Dutchyshen: @dutchysc, www.Twitter.com/dutchysc
Jennifer Hedger: @jenniferhedger, www.Twitter.com/jenniferhedger
Marc Labrecque:@mlabrecqueRDS, www.Twitter.com/mlabrecqueRDS
Luc Bellemare: @lucbellemareRDS, www.Twitter.com/lucbellemareRDS
Valérie Sardin: @valsardinRDS, www.Twitter.com/valsardinRDS
Hashtags: #KCT and #tourneedecelebrationkraft

Facebook
Kraft Celebration Tour: www.Facebook.com/KraftCelebrationTour
TSN: www.Facebook.com/TSN

About Kraft Foods Group
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) is North America's fourth largest consumer packaged food and beverage company, with revenues of $18 billion in 2012.  Launched as a public and independent company on Oct. 1, 2012, the new Kraft has the spirit of a startup and the soul of a powerhouse.  The company has an unrivaled portfolio of products in the beverages, cheese, refrigerated meals and grocery categories. Its iconic brands include Kraft, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Planters and JELL-O. Kraft's 23,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada have a passion for making the foods and beverages people love. Kraft Foods Group is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 and the NASDAQ-100. For more information, visit www.kraft.com and www.facebook.com/kraft.

About TSN
TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and #1 specialty network. With a broad portfolio of multimedia sports assets, TSN delivers world-class content across industry-leading platforms including TSN2, TSN.ca, TSN Radio and TSN Mobile TV. Official broadcaster of the Grey Cup, IIHF World Junior Championship and FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, TSN's slate of live sports coverage includes NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, Season of Champions Curling, UEFA Euro 2016, MLB Sunday Night Baseball, Barclays Premier League, Golf's Majors, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Canadian Tire Series, F1, Grand Slam Tennis, NCAA March Madness, and Skate Canada events. TSN is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.

Image with caption: "TSN Anchors Rod Smith and Kate Beirness Join the 2013 Kraft Celebration Tour (CNW Group/TSN)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130531_C4014_PHOTO_EN_27353.jpg

SOURCE: TSN

For TSN:
Greg McIsaac, (w) 416.384.5180, (c) 416.458.3591, [email protected]
Renee Rouse, (w) 416.384.7599, (c) 416.428.4807, [email protected]
Twitter: @TSN_PR

For Kraft Canada:
Dane Gergovich, (w) 416.342.1816, (c) 416.303.0699, [email protected]