Last evening I was watching the PHL 17 broadcast of the Union/Red Bulls match on MLS+. I did not appreciate that during the first half during a stoppage of the match they cut away to an in game commercial. One reason we have sponsors is so we can watch a half of soccer without interruption. I’m highly annoyed that PHL 17 did this!
That's nice.....the game was still on the screen in picture in picture. MLS teams have to pay their bills after all, and the league's national partners aren't paying all that much.
Yesterday the Union emailed their annual "Broadcast Survey." Unlike past years that focused on, "Do you enjoy Tommy and JP?," this year's questions focused on, "Do you stream? How do you like to stream?" Sounds like next season's games may not be shown on TV but rather through a streaming service. I imagine this is part of the league's upcoming broadcast rights deal. I hope they go with a service that I'm already paying for!
Was watching Miami-RBNY on ESPN+ this weekend. It was the Miami feed, during the game there were picture in picture ads. It's not just a Union thing. Teams need all the revenue streams that they can get.
Considering I live in MD and do not get PHL 17, I have to stream unless it is a national broadcast. Usually stream on ESPN+.
Well, we all have to stream next season if we wish to watch any games we do not attend and are not on national TV. MLS will be getting paid and sharing that revenue with its clubs, so hopefully those kinds of ads will disappear.
I’m not a fan of the deal MLS made with Apple, but they’re the only ones who were actually willing to shell out large sums of money for MLS TV rights. Goodbye to the days of local TV coverage of teams.