Yeah… In a perfect world that would be great! But someone (my guess is Sinclair) would lose money and we can’t have that.
General MLS Discussion
- Thread starter Shwafta
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Yeah… In a perfect world that would be great! But someone (my guess is Sinclair) would lose money and we can’t have that.
Yeah I mean obviously the local networks would want a huge discount, but MLS would deal with that by getting the ESPN+ (or whatever streaming service gets the package) money.
When thinking about media rights, MLS has to balance maximizing revenue vs. maximizing exposure. For a young, growing league, maximizing exposure seems more valuable as it helps the league to grow and improve revenue down the line. But, that's easy for me to say, as it's not my money that's being lost when they sign a broader agreement for less revenue.
if MLS wants an audience under 30 they need to be on streaming platforms. An ideal situation would be to find a way to have both, but that usually means that some party is annoyed.
Just get rid of YES and we’d probably all be satisfied. (Cue Yankees hysterical laughing).
i mean those that have local OTA partners have free streaming options i think ( orlando / DC united). i dont think that alone really pushes popularity. it really comes down to the main channel coverage ( ESPN/ FOX). dont just have a soccer specific show, include it in your silly shows like PTI or first take or whatever it is, those videos create hype on social media and then the younger audience sees more of it.
its kinda of like following a WWE style model. create villans and heros and storylines and then people will watch. people love drama at least i noticed that with the other sports here.
What other network would you like?
If it's MSG, they already have the Red Bulls and a ton of other stuff going on through April or May, and SNY has the Mets so the same scenario as YES. Those are the only local options. CBS or NBC or PIX-11 isn't bringing soccer aboard -- their primetime lineups are more valuable than MLS would be in this market.
This raises a couple of other issues.
MLS needs to establish regular times for weekend broadcasts so that fans know when and where to tune in. Right now, the national games are all over the place - based on whenever Fox or ESPN has an opening. MLS needs to be more like NFL (1:00 and 4:15 on Sundays) and college football (noon, 3:30) for example. I think MLS has been pushing for this, and maybe it happens in the next contract. At minimum, there should be a Monday Night Football type game, where an attractive matchup is set for a prime time spot each week.
The other is that there needs to be both more coverage of MLS on regular sports shows so that it becomes a regular part of the sports landscape, and not just this odd duck that only a fringe enjoy.
Five or six years ag they semi, sort of, had this with Friday Night Football on Univision. The problems were it was on a Spanish language network that had limited penetration to people with English language cable subs (I think this has improved), the English language announcers were truly terrible (this too has improved though they are still not great), I don't think Univision got prime matchups, and finally, it was on a different time every week based on the local time zone. After a couple of years, Univision switched to mostly Saturday games because I think the ratings are better for them.
MLS can revive it and avoid most of these issues, but the start time issue remains in a country with 4 time zones. Prime time baseball and football start at the same time every week no matter where the game is, because TV rules and in-person fans are secondary. You live in Brooklyn or Queens and bought tickets to a Giants game in December with a 1pm start? Too bad, we're flexing it to Sunday night, in sub-freezing weather and have fun getting home and then going to work Monday morning.
MLS is still, for now, a league supported largely by fans in seats, and I'm not sure there is enough interest nationally in a San Jose-Vancouver match, or DC-Orlando, to justify moving start times around and pissing off the STHs. Maybe they need to bite the bullet and just do it anyway. I don't know, but MLS has trade-offs bigger than those other leagues.
I agree it would be hard to do a flex package given the reliance on fans in seats. I do think they could pick some attractive matchups before the season starts or even rearrange a few weeks in advance.
The Univision thing was terrible for all the reasons you mention. I still think it's an idea that can work. A weekly prime match up on Friday, Sunday or even Monday would establish a beachhead. And it wouldn't necessarily have to continue into the fall when those networks want to show football.
I often find myself surprised when I flip open my phone and find out there is a national broadcast of some kind on at that very moment, and I am someone who follows the league fairly closely.
The Univision thing was terrible for all the reasons you mention. I still think it's an idea that can work. A weekly prime match up on Friday, Sunday or even Monday would establish a beachhead. And it wouldn't necessarily have to continue into the fall when those networks want to show football.
I often find myself surprised when I flip open my phone and find out there is a national broadcast of some kind on at that very moment, and I am someone who follows the league fairly closely.
A regular weekly timeslot would be great. I rarely watch non-NYCFC matches just from not knowing when they'll be, and everyone posting on this forum is probably a 95th percentile MLS follower by default. Give me the MLS version of Sunday Night Baseball, plz.
Not sure how to show the preview of the articles...but it's:
"MLS ratings seeing significant growth over past 2 seasons"
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The trick is there is no trick. Don't use the link feature. Just paste the link into the text. But it doesn't seem to work for this link. So you probably were doing it right.
It amuses me to no end that RSL and Vancouver let go of their coaches the same Friday afternoon and then go on to play each other Sunday. I guess Vancouver was worried that RSL would have a new coach bump so the went ahead and got one too.
www.mlssoccer.com
www.mlssoccer.com
Vancouver Whitecaps FC part ways with head coach Marc Dos Santos | MLSSoccer.com
Vancouver Whitecaps FC have parted ways with head coach Marc Dos Santos, the club announced Friday. Assistant coach Phillip Dos Santos has also left the club.
www.mlssoccer.com
Real Salt Lake, head coach Freddy Juarez part ways midseason | MLSSoccer.com
Real Salt Lake and head coach Freddy Juarez have parted ways with immediate effect, it was announced Friday. RSL assistant coach Pablo Mastroeni has been named interim head coach for the Utah-based MLS side ahead of their Sunday match at Vancouver Whitecaps FC (10 pm ET | MLS LIVE on
www.mlssoccer.com
Get ready to spit-take
...That's pretty darn good, and I didn't even notice our defense was THAT stingey. I don't think we need a revamped defense, we just need less Johnson brainfarts.
...That's pretty darn good, and I didn't even notice our defense was THAT stingey. I don't think we need a revamped defense, we just need less Johnson brainfarts.
DC took out Philly.
sucks we couldn't get 3 points against them last week.
sucks we couldn't get 3 points against them last week.
While I agree with you, it’s still apples to oranges. We played Philly at Philly, and DC played Philly in DC. That generally makes a huge difference in this league. I think it sucks we didn’t leave Philly with a point.
If you get a chance, watch the Brian Rodrigues goal in el tráfico. His first one he left like 2 or 3 bodies on the floor before putting it in the net from an impossible angle. That’s just not something you see every day.
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