MLS and Apple Broadcasting Deal

[Shwafta]

As a data nerd, one of my preferred news sources is a daily data based newsletter - chartr - highly recommend it. Today's lead story is about that guy in Miami.

View attachment 12986
Here's the text with that. But I also really do encourage any data lovers to sign up. Great service.

What I find interesting is the trend before and after those massive signup bumps. June was very sporadic and then towards mid-july and after we start seeing more consistent daily signups. Curious what that looks like if you include until now. Could let us know what sort of numbers are subscribing vs just a bump around the first few messi games.

 

[mgarbowski]

My favorite thing about MLS on Apple TV is halftime of the full game replays.

Do they show the halftime discussion and commercials? No.
Do they then just snip the recording and jump from the end of one half to beginning of the other? No.
They run the placeholder loop for 15 minutes.

 

[LionNYC]

I haven't watched MLS 360 or the rest of the shows in a while, but I remember that BWP was on it. How can he be a coach for RBII and be on the show? That's bias.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1709269127808815388

 

[moogoo]

I haven't watched MLS 360 or the rest of the shows in a while, but I remember that BWP was on it. How can he be a coach for RBII and be on the show? That's bias.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1709269127808815388

do you really think he needed to be a coach for RBII to have bias and preference for all things RB? i don't watch 360 either cause i think they are just poor pundits/analysts and not the least bit entertaining otherwise, but it is what it is. if apple knows what's good for them, they will get new analysts for next season cause despite the RB bias now and then, they are simply boring to watch/listen to.

 

[DeGrozz]

I haven't watched MLS 360 or the rest of the shows in a while, but I remember that BWP was on it. How can he be a coach for RBII and be on the show? That's bias.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1709269127808815388

I think it is just the angle that the show was going for. Brad and Sacha played up the Red Bulls schtick so much early on that I stopped watching. The problem MLS 360 has though is that soccer isn’t as conducive to a kick around show like the NFL is, so they needed to try to make the show work by having some banter/personality. Unfortunately, having a few dudes who only shout “ohhhhhhh!” after every goal and ran out of red wedding jokes after week 2 was a recipe for disaster.

Maybe it’s gotten better though, I don’t know.

 

[Kenny]

Maybe it’s gotten better though, I don’t know.

It hasn't.

All they need to do is copy the Golazo Show for UCL and UEL gameweeks--which I literally have on in the background right now while I work. No commercials except at halftime. Skip around the games, on 30 second delay or whatever so they can go and catch all the goals, with the buildup, often dipping into the in-game commentary, and minimal "banter" or even shots of the studio. Plenty of banter before the games and during halftimes, mind you, but that's fine.

I can't stand MLS 360 because of the commercials, the dumb tangents rather than focusing on the matches, and the lingering RB bias. I'd watch more if they got rid of even one if those.

 

[Gotham Gator]

I also like the Golazo Show. I think something along those lines that adds minimal in studio commentary will the best for MLS.

With MLS 360, you can watch that the whole evening and not come out of it feeling that you got a good sense of how the matches progressed or gained any real knowledge about the league and its teams. That's a big fail.

Oh, and you weren't entertained either.

 

[mgarbowski]

Results of Athletic survey about MLS on Apple.

MLS Season Pass survey results: Your thoughts on the first season

We asked, and over 4,000 of you answered. Here's how fans feel about the broadcasts, commentators and more

theathletic.com

Of most interest and likely to infuriate this forum:
"29% of respondents stated that they watched MLS 360 at the start of the season but no longer do, while 46.5% still watch the whip-around show “regularly or on occasion.” Of the respondents who answered questions specifically about the new program, 4.8% deemed it to be their preferred way to watch the league, while 38.3% said they watched it if their favorite team wasn’t playing. The other 57% only tune in infrequently."

Who is your favorite member of the main MLS 360 ensemble?​

Kljestan 40.6%
BWP 29%
Kaylyn Kyle 16.9%
Liam McHugh 13.5%

"In news sure to please fans of the 2010s-era New York Red Bulls, viewers have taken well to Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips."

 

[Shwafta]

Results of Athletic survey about MLS on Apple.

MLS Season Pass survey results: Your thoughts on the first season

We asked, and over 4,000 of you answered. Here's how fans feel about the broadcasts, commentators and more

theathletic.com

Of most interest and likely to infuriate this forum:
"29% of respondents stated that they watched MLS 360 at the start of the season but no longer do, while 46.5% still watch the whip-around show “regularly or on occasion.” Of the respondents who answered questions specifically about the new program, 4.8% deemed it to be their preferred way to watch the league, while 38.3% said they watched it if their favorite team wasn’t playing. The other 57% only tune in infrequently."

Who is your favorite member of the main MLS 360 ensemble?​

Kljestan 40.6%
BWP 29%
Kaylyn Kyle 16.9%
Liam McHugh 13.5%

"In news sure to please fans of the 2010s-era New York Red Bulls, viewers have taken well to Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips."

I mean, if you ask a question as "Who is your favorite member of the main ensemble?" vs "Which members of the main ensemble do you like?" then of course you're going to see some people higher than others. I'd be curious to see what the results were if you could select all, some, or none.

...That being said, both RB guys are on the top of the list anyway, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but... I still think it's a leading question lol.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I mean, if you ask a question as "Who is your favorite member of the main ensemble?" vs "Which members of the main ensemble do you like?" then of course you're going to see some people higher than others. I'd be curious to see what the results were if you could select all, some, or none.

...That being said, both RB guys are on the top of the list anyway, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but... I still think it's a leading question lol.

Most MLS fans don't care that those guys played for the Red Bulls and thus do not have preconceived negative connotations around them. We are different because of the Red Bull connection.

 

[Shwafta]

Most MLS fans don't care that those guys played for the Red Bulls and thus do not have preconceived negative connotations around them. We are different because of the Red Bull connection.

All I'm saying is i'm curious what an approval/disapproval rating would be, rather than a ranking. The question above has a closed set of 100%, so _someone_ is going to have a higher or lower number. I want to see "each person out of 10" statistic. Maybe they're all at like 20% approval? Maybe bwp and kljestan are at like 80%? Doesn't matter, I just think that would be a better metric.

 

[SoupInNYC]

All I'm saying is i'm curious what an approval/disapproval rating would be, rather than a ranking. The question above has a closed set of 100%, so _someone_ is going to have a higher or lower number. I want to see "each person out of 10" statistic. Maybe they're all at like 20% approval? Maybe bwp and kljestan are at like 80%? Doesn't matter, I just think that would be a better metric.

Right, for example, Liam McHugh is the host of MLS 360, so the least likely to showcase any personality, analysis, etc. but moreso responsible for keeping the show moving along, going from topic to topic, etc.

In that role, it's not surprising that he is the least favorite. But it is also possible (and more likely IMO) that he is the least disliked.

 

[mgarbowski]

It could just be that more people know BWP and SK by name. But generally, the 360 show seems reasonably well viewed. Not quite a majority but I don't know what the expectations are for a show like that. Also a separate item indicated that just 22% want different studio talent.

On another topic, 65% would like staggered kickoffs to watch at least parts of more games.

 

[Shwafta]

It could just be that more people know BWP and SK by name. But generally, the 360 show seems reasonably well viewed. Not quite a majority but I don't know what the expectations are for a show like that. Also a separate item indicated that just 22% want different studio talent.

On another topic, 65% would like staggered kickoffs to watch at least parts of more games.

22% want different studio talent, see that's the important stats i'm looking for! hah. That would help clarify my question

 

[moogoo]

Results of Athletic survey about MLS on Apple.

MLS Season Pass survey results: Your thoughts on the first season

We asked, and over 4,000 of you answered. Here's how fans feel about the broadcasts, commentators and more

theathletic.com

Of most interest and likely to infuriate this forum:
"29% of respondents stated that they watched MLS 360 at the start of the season but no longer do, while 46.5% still watch the whip-around show “regularly or on occasion.” Of the respondents who answered questions specifically about the new program, 4.8% deemed it to be their preferred way to watch the league, while 38.3% said they watched it if their favorite team wasn’t playing. The other 57% only tune in infrequently."

Who is your favorite member of the main MLS 360 ensemble?​

Kljestan 40.6%
BWP 29%
Kaylyn Kyle 16.9%
Liam McHugh 13.5%

"In news sure to please fans of the 2010s-era New York Red Bulls, viewers have taken well to Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips."

surely, 4000 athletic readers isn't a very good sample size of the over 1 million subscribers. that being said, i agree with what the others have said.

 

[joe]

surely, 4000 athletic readers isn't a very good sample size of the over 1 million subscribers. that being said, i agree with what the others have said.

But it’s a full census of MLS360 viewers

 

[Gene]

Results of Athletic survey about MLS on Apple.

Of most interest and likely to infuriate this forum:
"29% of respondents stated that they watched MLS 360 at the start of the season but no longer do, while 46.5% still watch the whip-around show “regularly or on occasion."

That has to be alarming to Apple.

 

[Seth]

That has to be alarming to Apple.

I don't think Apple really gets alarmed. I think they examine results and iterate until what they make is best-in-class. It's the Apple Way. For example, the iPhone is the same as it was 10 years ago, except that it's also at the same time 1000x better than it was.

 

[Shwafta]

I don't think Apple really gets alarmed. I think they examine results and iterate until what they make is best-in-class. It's the Apple Way. For example, the iPhone is the same as it was 10 years ago, except that it's also at the same time 1000x better than it was.

Yep. You also have to remember that software development, R&D, any other type of developments wouldn't happen mid-season. You can bet your butt they're monitoring what people are saying online about the UI, cast members, flow, memberships, watch numbers on each game, etc. Once the off-season comes they're going to make updates. You wouldn't want to risk making updates mid-season.

 

[LionNYC]

Depending on how the early part of 2024 goes, I could see MLS/Apple doing an MLS Awards show like the other leagues have done. Gives MLS/Apple another product for ads.