General MLS Discussion
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MLS media rights deal not likely to be a game-changer, sources say
With tepid interest from major networks and the league's preferred deadline nearing, these are the options that sources say are on the table
theathletic.com
The title is an accurate summary. No networks are desperate to throw money at MLS. Fox might be out. Telemundo not very interested. Also nobody is clearly stepping up to be the universal streaming partner, and unless they revert to RSNs, non-national games will likely have one feed and announcing team per game. The end of Joe and Ian, in other words.
MLS media rights deal not likely to be a game-changer, sources say
With tepid interest from major networks and the league's preferred deadline nearing, these are the options that sources say are on the table
The title is an accurate summary. No networks are desperate to throw money at MLS. Fox might be out. Telemundo not very interested. Also nobody is clearly stepping up to be the universal streaming partner, and unless they revert to RSNs, non-national games will likely have one feed and announcing team per game. The end of Joe and Ian, in other words.
They really shouldn't junk the RSN model. I know it's not the best model for us, but the games should be on the RSNs, and also available on a streaming service you can pay for.
If they end blackouts and put games on YES and ESPN+, that basically solves all the issues people are complaining about in regards to YES.
I think the problem is this:
- The RSN model yields the highest fees because of exclusivity and double leveraging (ie forcing people who just want to watch a few sports teams to buy a complete cable package and forcing people who don't care about sports but want cable to pay for sports channels with absurdly high carrying fees). But it annoys people who hate cable for that very reason and refuse to subscribe.
- Streaming model lets customers bypass cable but pays much lower fees precisely because of the inability to double leverage in the same way.
- Without exclusivity and leverage, RSN's probably won't pay to produce games and will definitely pay lower rights fees, if they carry the games at all. So a dual cable and no-blackout streaming model solves the problem of making all fans happy at a very substantial cost to the league.
I don't think MLS is a money-maker for most RSN's. YES, for example, is probably just happy to have some extra programming. The Yankees run the show there. And at other RSN's, the baseball or basketball teams are the big dogs. Having 30 extra games isn't really a big deal. They won't pay as much if it's not exclusive, but I'm not sure they're paying a lot to begin with these days. And hopefully the full package on an ESPN+ would cover some (or most) of the RSN losses if they go that model.
MLS media rights deal not likely to be a game-changer, sources say
With tepid interest from major networks and the league's preferred deadline nearing, these are the options that sources say are on the table
The title is an accurate summary. No networks are desperate to throw money at MLS. Fox might be out. Telemundo not very interested. Also nobody is clearly stepping up to be the universal streaming partner, and unless they revert to RSNs, non-national games will likely have one feed and announcing team per game. The end of Joe and Ian, in other words.
Univision(TUDN) may want more games. they are launching their streaming platform and will want more content.
I was never quite convinced that they would ditch the RSN deals, I think they were more focused on avoiding conflicts when doing the national deal. It's expensive for a streaming platform to have to produce ~300 broadcasts just for their platform, probably expensive enough to negate any value in the rights.
I think they just wanted all local deals to follow the streaming and other policies spelled out in the national deal.
La Liga got $175m a year somehow despite much lower ratings than MLS and fewer overall broadcasts, but i suspect the production cost is quite low simply by using the world feed.
I think they just wanted all local deals to follow the streaming and other policies spelled out in the national deal.
La Liga got $175m a year somehow despite much lower ratings than MLS and fewer overall broadcasts, but i suspect the production cost is quite low simply by using the world feed.
Highly recommend reading this article if you have a subscription. In addition to @mgarbowski’s summary above, I thought the viewership stats year over year (steady but small increases each year) compared to other sports (drop in the bucket) was really helpful context. Also looks at the 2022 stats to date, including the 3 nationally televised games on big Fox and this anecdote kind of spells it out: “None of those three games have drawn more than 475,000 viewers, with the most recent Fox broadcast between the Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy last weekend only averaging 359,000 viewers. That’s fewer than Burnley vs Brentford drew on USA Network on the same weekend. All represent very low numbers for over-the-air television.”MLS media rights deal not likely to be a game-changer, sources say
With tepid interest from major networks and the league's preferred deadline nearing, these are the options that sources say are on the table
The title is an accurate summary. No networks are desperate to throw money at MLS. Fox might be out. Telemundo not very interested. Also nobody is clearly stepping up to be the universal streaming partner, and unless they revert to RSNs, non-national games will likely have one feed and announcing team per game. The end of Joe and Ian, in other words.
For me personally, what changed me from a PL follower to an MLS fan was being able to attend matches rather than just TV. I hope with the WC in 2026 as more people experience gameday atmosphere, there will be an uptick in interest going to an MLS game and with that increased viewership. But that’s years off.
I don’t know anything about how he is on defense but an added bonus to have your CB take free kicks this well
One thing I noticed going to the game against Philly at YS, there appeared to be 2 visible camps of fans in attendance: 1. Diehard Season Ticket holders and 2. Families with kids. There did not appear to be a lot of casual fans there. Either you were chanting songs and covered head to toe in NYCFC gear and you were a family with kids under 10 years old.
Might be painting with a broad brush but I can tell you right away what demographic is not going to turn up when theres inclement weather or a mid-week/school night game.
hated playing against him, but that's because he was a quality striker. sad if he has to retire from his injury...
www.mlssoccer.com
Atlanta United star Josef Martinez out 6-8 weeks after knee surgery | MLSSoccer.com
UPDATE (April 8) – Atlanta United will be without star striker Josef Martinez for 6-8 weeks after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday to clean out debris in his right knee, the club announced Friday. Martinez previously had ACL surgery on the same knee in 2020, though recovered for the
www.mlssoccer.com
Damn. He was such a force.hated playing against him, but that's because he was a quality striker. sad if he has to retire from his injury...
Atlanta United star Josef Martinez out 6-8 weeks after knee surgery | MLSSoccer.com
UPDATE (April 8) – Atlanta United will be without star striker Josef Martinez for 6-8 weeks after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday to clean out debris in his right knee, the club announced Friday. Martinez previously had ACL surgery on the same knee in 2020, though recovered for the
I really hope that's not going to be the end for him. He's only 28, he could have been part of the next world cup qualifying cycle and still only be ~32, would be a huge help for them. Also just an amazing guy altogether. An ass on the pitch (which is what you want), but a great guy off of it. I hope the league doesn't lose him. (And for his own sake, I hope he doesn't have to retire)
I love seeing them with the slim margins in the opposite direction heh
I dont like this at all. its what i feared, having to get different subscriptions to get the nycfc games.
All it says is a portion of MLS media rights.
More than likely NYCFC games will stay on YES
It seems kind of inevitable, for most sports. Hopefully it's a digital only deal that still allows local broadcast deals, but I doubt it.
i thought the whole RSN was done. that was the whole point of them venturing out and trying to get a "better deal" as a league. i dont know well see i guess but i dont like where this is heading.
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