https://theathletic.com/3736063/2022/10/27/mls-apple-tv-broadcasts/?source=user_shared_article Apple isn’t paying for the production, MLS is. If MLS can’t get the games on TV without problems (like the recent MTL playoff game) using 5th choice on-site production trucks there’s nothing Apple can do. The article also states they’re probably 8-12 months behind where they need to be for Feb 25, 2023. Even if Flo was only that far behind, with greater experience in streaming sports than MLS has, their attempt was dogshit and never got better. Thx, Jay! I’d be surprised if we get any sort of preseason streaming audio/video. You know, when MLS should be working out the kinks…
My rubric for success is people being willing to pay Apple to watch MLS. I also suspect despite your assertion that would be their rubric as well. Not nearly enough people will be willing to pay. Now where you are wrong is this is not based upon my negative outlook. This is based upon facts right in front of me. Not one person I work with even know what MLS is. I suspect that is the case where most of us work. So therefore they are banking upon the current MLS fan base. Which means a very limited base of money for Apple to draw from and thus Apple will be disappointed and ditch this fiasco early before the end of this however many years they signed up for.
Everyone at my place of business knows what MLS is so I guess my anecdotal evidence balances out yours. Apple isn't naive - neither are any other steaming provider. They have all of the data about viewership, subscriber base for previous MLS package data and they chose to bid for it anyway. Maybe they increase it based on the offerings but If you think the fact that MLS isn't on the radar amongst boomers is some sort of omen about how this service will perform you would be incorrect. You complain incessantly about how DC (and MLS) is going after a different market than you with their promotions and in stadia experience and somehow thing they aren't doing the same thing with the Apple service?
I will concede you may work in a different environment. No where that I have worked has anyone know what MLS is. Vaccine manufacture, retirement home, Baltimore City schools, banking, process controls, real estate. Your second point confuses me. Most boomers change their interest based upon the wind and the latest social media app. They are different market than me. That is who Apple thinks will buy MLS because everyone of them has an iPhone, which is not true. I know lots of Android users, I have an iPhone. Most of their iPhone users are not buying MLS. I am not saying this will fail ala, Flo Sports in 1 year but what did they sign? A 10 year deal. No way this thing last 10 years. 5 years or less, take the under on this bet.
So we are back again to non-STH MLS fans, not a lot of money available there. Especially since this group are not willing to buy season tickets.
MLS is getting money from Apple to put this on their service. If apple ends up with NFL Ticket as well that will only improve the streaming infrastructure. There is a different paradigm at work here and only apple knows what their goals are for this service. Whatever those goals are I believe that they would like some subscriber growth YOY but that is not likely what drove the deal.
I think apple doesn't care as much as about subscription dollars as it does just getting folks to log in to their servers so they can hoover up all viewers info and, once on the platform, the viewers will find other content. More eyeballs on their platform mean more advertising dollars for them. Interest in top level US soccer will get a mighty spike in the runup/wake of WC26 (as happened after US94) supported by more international star players coming over - look what getting Mr. Posh Spice did back in the day, and Zlatan and a couple of others more recently. The influx of Apple's cash is going to dramatically affect roster spend - beginning next year with a $550k increase and ending with '26 spend just shy of a $4M increase over 2022 spend. That should make for a lot of quality players. So yeah, folks other than pale, stale and male will be accessing the apple platform in significant numbers and it will be worth it for your apple stockholders. Over time the percentage of games behind the paywall will increase, all as planned.
Apple might want the NFL but I doubt they get it. At the end of the day I am saying that I doubt this lasts the full 10 years.
No as an IT professional who worked at the NSA I saw the internet before you guys. I knew what it would become.
As someone who connected to BBSs and a pre-mosaic internet in 5th grade I can tell you that none of us knew what it would become.
I agree there is plenty to be skeptical about. I'll pay the $100 to watch all of the games. But I am unusual. The ratings have always been minuscule. There's no reason to believe very many people are going to pay. Since there's supposed to be a stand-alone subscription (as best I can tell) I don't know how they're going to suck people into their ecosystem. How many season ticket holders are there league-wide anyway? I guess they're trying to work out some deal to get the old partners to show some games. I don't know how that will breakdown.
Wouldn't we love to see the pitch numbers from MLS?!?! There is a reddit from around February this year with sourced numbers of season ticket FTEs for ~15 teams with the average being 17.3k and median 15k and totaling around 260k. I think an average of 10k each for the rest of the league is reasonable (early last year I heard DC had about 7,800) so ~400k overall would seem to be reasonable. Add in fans who dont pony up for stadium seats, out of market fans, and a bump from MLS players in WC22 and WC26, plus messi coming to MLS, and might they have a draw getting up to around 600k....? But that's just seats, not individual fans. Corporate accounts cut down that number significantly. and for example, I have had 3 seats and neither I nor either of my two boys would spend any time, let alone money, to watch MLS games except for United. I suspect most season ticket holders are similar...so cut the actual viewers from season tickets holders at least in half. And thanks to the interwebs anything on AppleTV or any other "network" is available free of charge on demand. That doesnt help, either.
So how does one know which DC United matches will be in the "Free Section" or in the "Pay Section"? It makes sense that nobody wants to pay for a subscription when most of their team's match will be in the "Free Section" and vice versa.
I have no idea. Presumably the "broadcast" schedule will come out at some point in the future, maybe all in advance, maybe on a week-to-week basis. I suppose they could go in two directions. Put some "high profile" matches in the free section to try and draw attention to the league and maybe get some subscriptions, at which point we'll likely never be in the free section... Or put the crappy matches in the free section and make people pay for the good stuff, at which point you'll probably be able to watch every DC United game for free...
Here is some good information about Apple TV and MLS. Apple and Major League Soccer announce MLS Season Pass launches February 1, 2023 | Atlanta United FC (atlutd.com)