Not that I watch any Spanish television, but I've never seen it. Since games are usually on Saturday, would the rebroadcast be on Sunday (the next day) or Sunday (8 days later)?
I think your post adds a lot to the discussion. I saw that attitude from a lot of Portuguese and Italian fans who came in the early days. I got the impression they came so they could go home and talk about how inferior the the Revs/MLS were. And, they were, no doubt, but many years and many changes have passed. The difference between 1996-88 and 2013 is huge.
...but other things have changed since then as well. The fundamental sports consumption model has been drastically changed -- by cable TV and then even more so by the internet. Example that has the most bearing here is the proliferation of televised or streamed soccer, across the global spectrum of leagues and competitions. These choices in 1996 were, in many cases, available only at your local bar via satellite, and even then only on the rare occasion. In other words, they weren't truly an "equal footing" choice. Now, any given MLS game being played at Gillette is up against a dizzying menu of on-demand or even live broadcast soccer -- available in the comfort of the living room. It would take much much (much) more than the gradual improvement of skill level over the past years in order to vault MLS, and Revs, to the front of the line when these hardcore Portuguese and Italian fans are choosing where to allocate their soccer consumption hours. Choosing a trip to Foxboro with all of the associated logistical challenges will, for the forseeable future, continue to fall far far short when compared with choosing to watch Serie A at home, with pause/replay button, with refrig a short walk down the hall. MLS "became" just about the same time that "foreign" fans' array of choices were quickly and broadly expanding - choice that had been missing up to that point. MLS "became" about 5-10 years too late -- prior to that, the foreign fans could have been considered a nearly-captive audience. With MLS as the predominant and prevalent choice available, they would possibly have naturally weaned themselves from full-on Eurocentricity to a begrudging MLS orientation. Possibly similar to how there aren't too many NY (football) Giants fans in this area anymore. Patriots "became" at a point in time prior to other broad choice becoming available. Despite the series of missteps by team management and despite the initial perception of it being "minor league", over time the Pats took over the predominant position.
Rather than Portuguese and Spanish rebroadcasts, they should do condensed games. Buy less TV time, more excitement per minute.
Is soccer a suitable sport for condensed games? Just in terms of the flow in the action, how would the several clips be introduced? Another online MLS feature I enjoy is Anatomy of a Goal. In a similar sense, watching Ron Jaworski breaking down NFL film is a pleasure to watch, and to educate about the sport. Rather than cheering the touchdown, fans can learn why the play was successful. Seems like MLS could use a weekly recap show with goals, highlights, and more analysis.
Yeah, anatomy of a goal, with Greg Lalas is a great feature. They should do that with every goal of the week...
So if MLS already edits the game to its condensed version, that's less work the Revs would have to do (i.e. not edit games themselves). Great idea.
Telemundo, Univision...I'm not sure. But there's a Spanish-language condensed-game rebroadcast almost constantly happening at the laundromat next to my office.
True, things have changed drastically since "back in the day," even if you include the start of MLS in that era. Of course, the NASL never had to deal with the "EuroSnob" factor, as a lot of the fans at live games were those speaking in tounges. Of course, the only way for them to even get news about how their favorite team back in the old country was doing was if they had a phone conversation with a relative (very expensive in those days) or from a 3 week old newspaper. The only soccer on TV was the local NASL team, the occasional "Wide World of Sports" that always had those obscure sports that they only show in the olympics, or the Sunday morning Bundesliga highlights show, "Soccer Made in Germany." It's a totally different landscape and the access to information of any kind is just staggering in comparison to what it was even 10-15 years ago.
I think the first advancement after that era was when the Italian channel RAI started reaching the US (cable or satellite?) and they started showing Calcio/Serie A in cafes and such.