You do know there are various sites on the interwebs that show the games free of charge, right? There are also other technologies that facilitate watching DCU matches such as kodi and stremio, among others. surprisingly, those sites and technologies will also let one view 2nd and 3rd division league matches from all around the world, not just in soccer but just about any organized sport you can imagine. don't waste energy getting mad - just get your fix!
I would argue against stealing content almost all the time. Theft is theft. But faced with not being able to watch a game at all - perhaps just for DC United. To do it when there are alternatives is theft. james
FloSports' #DCU broadcasts have remained error-prone. That's not the only issue - Flo has failed to deliver in other promised areas - behind-the-scenes content, Spanish-language programming and more. I asked DCU if they're considering "cutting the cord." https://t.co/rTdaDwAjop— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) May 29, 2019 Thx, Jay!
I don't know but on ESPN+ (which I could not watch last night ) there was an option for a Spanish broadcast.
Ignore for just a moment all the trouble Flo has had meeting even the most basic of requirements. And ignore all the other stuff they were going to do but haven't done. Ignore all of that for just one moment. Now, imagine this. You're the investor/operator of an MLS team. You've got a new stadium. You've got a new famous player. What you need is a larger fanbase. You need more and more people to care about the team. To accomplish this, you want to make it easy for new fans to see games. There can be no question that a streaming service that costs extra money for the viewer requires more of a commitment from the viewer than seeing games on some TV channel that the viewer had access to already. Who is going to make that commitment that isn't already a fan? What person that isn't already a fan is going to go "Hmmm, DC United, I wonder what they're about? Maybe they're entertaining to watch? I should plunk down a ton of money for an extra streaming service I don't have now and find out!" In a time when they needed to make it easy for new fans to get excited about the team, they made it harder for new fans to get excited about the team. Worse, it was always going to be the case that some of the existing fans weren't going to pick up Flo, because it's too expensive or too annoying or whatever. So they made it harder for some of the existing fans to watch the team, as well -- which eats away at their devotion to the team, the mindshare it has with them. Numerous fans that have been shoveling a thousand dollars or more every year towards DCU for more th a decade have told me that their seeing the matches less frequently on TV has weakened their attachment to the team. Which doesn't bode well for their spending thousands on the team in the future. Even without Flo's suckage, the decision to go with Flo is the stupidest decision in the last 10-12 years of stupid decisions by whoever happened to be steering the DCU ship at the time. And with all of that in mind, now add on how much Flo has sucked. Add on how much they've overpromised and grossly underperformed. Try telling yourself that the issues Flo has had coming through on their promises couldn't have been forecast. It's not like Flo had no history at all prior to the DCU contract; and it's the DCU front office's job to do their due diligence and investigate their reliability in extreme detail prior to signing the contract. Didn't they do that? If DCU were a real business, the folks responsible here would get canned for all of this. But DCU isn't, so they won't be.
Real businesses are designed to make money. Flo is paying DC $13m for something they used to give away for free. I can’t blame them for taking the deal but I do blame them for not testing things before the season started and not owning up to mistakes after it happens.
And in the process, gravely damaging the team's chances of growing their fan base. They put immediate-term money ahead of the year-after-year money they'd get if more people cared about the team than just a fraction of those who cared last year. Which is what they have now.
Gee I have noticed on ESPN+, which I cannot get in my area D) they never show the Flo broadcast, always the opposing team broadcast. Hmmmmmm
DirectKick has showed the Flo version once or twice, but it's usually the version from a real Sports TV channel instead. I figured I'd never see a DCU home broadcast again until the contract was up, so it is has been nice to see Dave and Devon once or twice.
I've never really thought that current owners & immediate past majority owner were ever out for anything but themselves. They've never thought of United as a team whose fan base ought to be expanded or MLS as a league that has potential to expand it's fan base. Instead, I think that they've thought of MLS as a niche league that will never be one of the major North American sports league. Since they've never thought that the fan base will grow much, they look as loyal supporters as anything much other than suckers who are willing to be fleeced.
I used to spend upwards of $700-800 a season between tickets and other things. Gear, food, parking et al. This season I spent $110. This FO has driven me away. I assume many others have similarly been driven away. I still root for the team but I don't give them my disposable income.
There is always a churn of fans. Where the ownership has failed (meaning their own financial self-interest) is that not only have they done not enough to replace a fan like you, they also didn't replace you as a fan that was likely to be a season ticket holder year after year. For ownership that is supposedly into it for the finances, it seem like they know nothing about present value. PS: I can vouch that you were a relative low-maintenance STH in that I'm sure the FO did not have to spend much to keep you.