That was a two-year exclusive contract that TW had way back when. One of the few good things Andy Loughnane did was get Sinclair involved and end that blackout.
Ok, so am I reading all this right that if you don't live in Canada or have MLS, you can't watch the opening match since it's one of the 'not on CW' dates?!
It's being broadcast on channel 6, as is the March 10 home opener. Are we on national broadcasts March 31 and May 9?
Thanks. I just saw that update in the pregame thread I had not yet visited when I asked that. I have no idea why these dates are not on the CW. According to the info here https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/01/04/mls-unveils-2018-us-and-canada-national-broadcast-schedule the 3/31 game is on CTV. The 5/9 game is not listed. I'm guessing it's rights conflicts with other broadcasters like CTV.
Is CTV shown in the US? I'd think their broadcast in Canada wouldn't exclude either CW or MyTV coverage locally.
I was confused by that to. I does not appear to be broadcast anywhere based on a quick search. But they have free streaming, though looks like you have to VPN to a .ca IP address to get past filters.
But, of course, the flip side of that is that there's no statewide network for games, so the out of town fans are SOL. TV's always been an issue no matter who the owner has been--and given the ratings, that's no surprise. It was always going to be some level of compromise/balancing act no matter what anyone did--barring buying your own channel (which they also kind tried and which failed quickly).
Other than the terrible picture quality, wasn't there a time when ONN had games along with no blackouts on Direct Kick/MLS Live? I believe it was during the earlier part of the last decade. Statewide, multiple providers, the same channel number. At the time, all things considered... Anyway, 2018 is official. Spectrum is back. The 102.5 simulcast (yawn) is back. The Spanish radio call is now worldwide at the team's site.
I'm sure @eboe will correct me, but I believe the original TW deal "blackout edition" was announced 24-48 hours before.