MLS shouldn't and I'm sure doesn't have any interest on being FS2, which has barely more subscribers than Apple+ does. ESPN not wanting any part of this is a bummer but not that shocking with no streaming rights on offer. A bit of FS1 would be fine. Ideally MLS Cup Final could be on Fox. But like, it's Apple now. MLS is an Apple league. People who are fans of the league are going to get used to watching everything there very quickly, that is the home of Major League Soccer full stop. This linear deal is just a duct-taped legacy afterthought, with the intention being for it to not even exist next time around.
The BBC just announced over the next decade they will close all their FTA TV & Radio stations and replace with a digital broadcast... Meaning I guess England in ten years will stream everything.... just maybe the MLS are ahead of the trend lines... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/07/bbc-will-go-online-only-by-2030s-says-director-general
The hidden variable is price. Here in Uruguay: An iPhone 11 with 64 GB costs US$ 700. An iPhone 13 with 128 GB costs US$ 1200. An iPhone 14 Pro with 128 GB costs US$ 1900. The minimum wage is US$ 500 per month.
And yet the iPhones still sell well. I don't understand exactly how people outside the richest countries can afford these things.
They don't. Samsung Galaxy As are the most popular phones in South America. They are around $100-$200 USD.
If the world cup final goes to overtime will Fox cut away to go to the NFL pregame? If it goes all the way through penalties, will they show the trophy raise and some of the celebration and miss the start of an NFL game?
It doesn't look to me like December 18 is a doubleheader Sunday for FOX. So some FOX markets might switch away from World Cup coverage at 1 pm EST if it is still going on but not all of them. I don't know about the pre-game show.
Interesting start time for the World Cup in that it would bump right up against the national pregame show for Fox and given how much injury time is being added this tournament, almost certainly will run over even without Extra Time/PKs. A lot of local Fox affiliates also have a pre-Fox pre-game show specific to their team (here in Chicago it’s usually at 10:30a central) which I guess they’ll skip for the final but only because the World Cup will outdraw it. At 1EST on December 18 Fox only has three games slated, Philly @ Chicago, Dallas @ Jacksonville, and Atlanta @ New Orleans. With ET and PKs, it is somewhat possible to encroach on kickoff, but I think it would be a stretch for that to happen. I believe the NFL has rules about local broadcasts not being able to preempted for pretty much anything (I’ve seen plenty of great early games get cut off during OT so they could switch to the Bears late games kicking off), so it will be interesting if the final goes long to see what happens in those markets.
They did book 2 hours for postgame on FS1, so the trophy celebration might end up there. Bush league for the world's biggest porting event if it happens.
I have a feeling Fox is paying quite a bit more for the rights to broadcast NFL games then they did for the rights to the World Cup....
And lets not forget that when FOX bought those rights it was for a summer tournament, not one that would overlap their biggest sports properties in the NFL and CFB. Seeing that the quarterfinals and semifinals are 2pm ET kickoffs but the 3/4 game and final are 10am kickoffs makes me wonder if that was a concession from FIFA to FOX for moving the tournament, which allows FOX to get the final in without impacting their NFL coverage (barring going all the way to PKs).
. I think that's doubtful, but it does make one wonder though. Kind of surprised it isn't at 1 or 2, as that would be prime time in Europe and Africa. Could also be something the Qatari government wanted too.
A couple more reports are saying there is a linear deal with FOX and espn is out. That's unfortunate.
News: @AndrewMarchand reports Fox Sports will in fact air some Major League Soccer matches on linear TV in 2023, while ESPN won't.In 2023, Apple and MLS' 10-year media pact also begins.— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) December 12, 2022 will be interesting the details.
Unlike what they're doing with MLS, Apple wants NFL games FREE for Tv+ subscribers. A real doozy in here: the major stumbling block for NFL & Apple on Sunday Ticket is Apple wants it to be in the $6.99/mo TV+ subscription and NFL needs it premium-priced to protect CBS & Fox https://t.co/ip6unBH3pv— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) December 13, 2022
Substantial details here: https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/mls-apple-fox-univision-espn-20221212.html Important points: - Univision will have a package of Leagues Cup games only, no MLS. - Fox is the only linear TV deal--no word on how many games, split between network/FS1. - ESPN talks broke down because Apple intended to put some ESPN games outside its paywall. - Canadian TV deal with TSN (English) and RDS (French).
I'll wait to they actually announce the deal because before they announced Apple didn't they say Apple wasn't going to happen and the most they'll get was 150-175 million?