MLS 2016 TV Thread (Ratings, Historical Data, Contracts etc)

But are they truly losing them "to the foreign leagues" or the other domestic sports? If the EPL and Bundesliga were not on early morning TV then there's still a high likelihood that casual US sports guy will stick with college football or the NBA during the afternoon and evening broadcasts. I don't know many people who turn away from MLS because their fix is satiated by the earlier beIn broadcast.

 

But again, you're implying that fans have a budget of hours for the one sport and I don't know many/any people who operate that way. All the footie fans I know watch multiple leagues and if they turn to another US sport it's because of a stronger passion for that sport/team, not because they've had their fill of soccer for the day. If you're watching the Prem or La Liga it's because nothing else is on or because you're a fan, in which case that doesn't preclude you from watching MLS later. What does draw people away is the array of options that come alive when MLS is in action.

The only way I know people are drawn to another league at the expense of MLS is the quality of play, where fans used to high end skill so easily recognize the weaknesses of MLS players that it becomes difficult to watch. But that's not saying they're maxing out their fixed amount of hours being a fan on any weekend chasing another league, they simply view the product in a different light. For if that's the reason then it also holds that they'll become more of a fan and viewer as the quality in MLS improves.

Put simply, while I agree the abundance of options is a problem I don't think other leagues being on TV is the core issue with regards to TV viewership, except for Liga MX since that's often the same time frame and a significant part of our domestic base.

 

I'm not arguing that there is no impact from foreign leagues, merely the scope of the impact. The real question is what are you doing when MLS games are on, because in those moments there is traditionally no foreign competition save LMX. At those times you're doing 1 of 3 things: Watching MLS, watching other sports, or doing something else entirely. Often that last one is down to weekend chores or leisure activities, in which case MLS is competing with every other form of entertainment, just as the other pro leagues. If you're choosing another sport then odds are you're a traditional US sports fan where you've grown up watching college football, MLB, hockey, or whatever. You have established allegiances and enjoy our local sporting rituals. MLS is still weaving its way into that fabric.

If you're watching the EPL in the morning and then passing on MLS in the afternoon it's likely that at least part of the reason is the convenience allowed by the schedule. "I can watch Liverpool over breakfast and then take junior to the park in the afternoon before mowing the lawn." If you come back in to watch sports that afternoon then you face the choice - MLS or another sport. Odds are if you choose MSU vs Wisconsin it's because you want to see that more than MLS, not because you're burnt out from soccer but because now there are other options. The only way we can definitively say foreign leagues are taking viewers away from MLS is finding an opportunity to have them broadcast at about the same time. (See: LMX) Otherwise I'm watching Arsenal and the EPL, and then enjoying MLS later.

Which is why IMO the core reason someone might call themselves a footie fan and watch other leagues but not watch MLS is down to other causes and influences than simply saying they have a budgeted amount of time they'll dedicate to the sport. They have to have a core reason to say why they're not choosing MLS and often it's because they like another sport/team more, they are not keen on the calibre of play, they're doing some other activity at those times, or they're waiting for a team to connect with them. It might also mean they're watching these foreign leagues but only passively because it beats the Saturday morning news programs!

Bottom line: Does MLS need to lure fans from foreign leagues into supporting MLS? Yes, but it's not an MLS vs EPL issue. It's an MLS and EPL issue, and making them committed enough to the domestic league that they can turn that on instead of baseball, or hoops, etc. because that's what MLS is competing with for viewers.

But that's just me.

 

What the hell did I do wrong?

 

Seriously, though... I think a break-off-and-start-fresh approach usually works best. There are always new posters/readers coming by who can be intimidated by seing 54 pages of stuff to read, and the old thread can always be linked to.

We'll go that route.