CBS Sports Network Thread

Hey man, it's all another possibilty.

However, seeing as how VS seemed a bit more "alternative" and youth skewed , I think it had a better chance of you know taking a chance on soccer.

From an American TV standpoint there is a lot of potential soccer to be had from domestic to Euro. The key is highlighting what would be best to push more for the mainstream market.

Obviously MLS makes sense, yet as some will tell you it's not quite mature. It's not fully expanded yet and reportedly has kinks to work out with the playoff system, not to mention the lest than desirable state of the CONCACAF champions league.

Still, US Soccer has is it's strong suits I believe. We actually have some personalites like Landon and Dempsey and such. MLS and US Soccer needs to do a better job of retaining it's better people (not best, cause that's impossible) and leveraging them for marketing purposes.

The World Cup shows that you can get a certain amount of Yanks into soccer, now it's time to put the puzzle together (or at least start it).

Sorry if I sound repetitive.

On another front, this could potentially provide CBS a better platform to hold on to it's NCAA sports package and maybe make a play for even MORE college football. Other than that, what else do they need with the NFL, NCAA and most choice Golf tournies?

 

CBS is an old folks network, they'll only stay with the traditional sports.

 

Yeah they don't even have soccer on their website...that's how much they're into it.

 

True but you could say that about all three networks really. FOX skews youngest but it's been mainstream since at least the mid ninties. (Fox used to be cool, man).

Anyways, it's long term. Soccer can only grow provided it's cultivated well enough and those boomers aren't going to be around forever.

Strickly speaking, before MLS becomes more attractive and gets a more ambitious commish, all of this is just shooting the breeze. It's not likely people will take a chance on the round ball game any more than they have before in the short term.

 

true, but the CBS brand name has been on that channel for years. The only thing they're dropping is the "College" part.

The World Cup shows that you can get a certain amount of Yanks to tune in to the World Cup every 4 years and root for their team and maybe adopt another team along the way. The same way I watch Tennis grand slams. Non-World Cup soccer growth is much slower, albeit promising.

 

CBS needs to stick to SEC football and golf. Other than that they are worthless.

 

Beyond that, there is a limit to how much soccer you could conceivably push even on lower tier cable.

EPL and UEFA Club and Country matches are your best bet, then MLS. After that aside from a few Money League teams, it's not gonna work.

 

Interesting. At this point Cable sports is loaded with soccer assets. Loosing FSC and Probably FSC+ can mean two things. Soccer is not a good investment when the prices get out of hand, like the EPL or that the competition is too intense, beIN and NBCSports.

I am not sure that Fox is getting out of the business of soccer, but they are going to be causios about how much to invest. ESPN already draw the line and NBCUniversal will find out in three years if the EPL is a good investment. CBS Sports can get a big bank for their bucks by focusing on other sports which are still cheap and relevant to an American Audience. The prices for soccer assets in the United States are getting out of control and the ratings are not there yet, and I am not sure if this is going to change any time soon.

Economically, please pay close attention to beIN networks, they are changing the landscape of soccer assets in America, but I am not sure if this is a positive change. As a consumer, I am really happy because, I now have access to the South American elimination tournament, but I am not sure at what cost. Nonetheless, the 2013/2014 season looks great for EPL fans.

Enjoy it.