MLS TV Rights

Great deal for the team to get the $$$
Great deal for the die hard fans who are willing to fork over their money
But IMO this does nothing to increase the fan base who will watch the games
Case in point, I am a die hard Cleveland fan but I am not paying extra for league sports subscriptions whether it be MLB, NFL, NBA
Heck I love the CBJ but I am not paying extra for ESPN plus or Hulu
You aren’t going to be able to channel surf to find something to watch, but maybe I am just showing my age
If you are willing to pay for this, great, more power to you but I think that Garber and the league is overestimating the impact on the average fan
And I can tell you that with inflation at 8% my going to live matches is taking a hit as well

 

See, I want something in the completely opposite direction. Don't give me the tried and true professional packaged product, give me the chaos at the other end of the spectrum. Like that one show where the commentators were fans from each team or Groucho Marx on "What's My Line?".

 

So if I'm not mistaken:
Download AppleTV to my non-Apple device.
Go into it.
Look for MLS games and they'll probably be in a tab/section.
Stream away.

I've used it very minimally, but it sounds similar to the ESPN app where some stuff is included and there's a separate "plus" section with more stuff for an optional fee.

 

You want the octobox with eight different audio feeds at the same time.

 

I can make that happen next year for the right price...

 

Booooooooooooooooo.

I want 4k dammit.

 

How many people are really stumbling across a random MLS game on cable, leading them to eventually become an active fan? Hard to quantify a number, sure, but I’d place a solid bet there aren’t too many 0’s behind it.

There will still be games on cable channels. And streaming is more suited for the demographic they are trying to reach anyways.

 

Remember when 3D was a thing? I seem to remember some discussion of a projected hologram setup not unlike that chess thing from the Millennium Falcon.

 

Just you wait. The indomitable force that is pornography will surely lead us there.

 

In the UK you have to give your firstborn child for a SKY TV subscription.

 

I speculated about that in the past. My feeling is that they'll move to more of an NFL model, where MLS/Apple will employ broadcast teams, which they will assign based on what the "A" game is vs. the "B" and "C" games, etc. With MLS and Apple taking over all broadcasts, it doesn't make sense to employ "Home" and "Road" broadcast teams.

I think it's highly likely locally-based broadcast teams will be gone. I think the question will be whether those MLS/Apple designated broadcast teams will travel and call games from the stadium or stay in NYC or wherever the main studio and call games remotely.

 

You may be right but that would take a lot of the flavor out of it for me.

 

Yeah I'm a little disappointed in that too. Isn't baseball in 4k on apple?

TBF the only things I've watched in 4k on my TV are No Time To Die, The Northman, and The Grand Tour.

 

Paying for porno lead us to buying VHS tapes of all ratings.

 

Let’s be real MLS games get outdrawn by I Love Lucy reruns. If local broadcast teams or randomly finding a game with couch surfing were key drivers of getting viewers then those things would be prioritized. For live sports it’s certainly underachieving as a tv property.

 

Is it over or under the average number of fans at a Crew 2 game and was that number higher in the 90s or now?

 

Everything was higher in the 90s. Or at least I was.

Wocka Wocka

 

I would much rather have a stable 1080p than it bouncing back and forth between near-4k and the equivalent of a QuickTime video. Most dependent on your internet, sure, but even at a decent mbps most streaming services struggle to hit 4k.

I think so, anyways. I’m old.

 

With all the matchups being between a team in all white vs a team is navy or black. This sounds perfect!

 

The internet in my place is really good, and it's the lowest level spectrum offers in my area (they apparently offer lower tiers based on your location). Only ESPN+ gives me issues, and I blame the app.

 

So what you're saying is I have wasted money.

 

Even YouTube TV 4K is just upscaled 1080p. Still looks good imo. You can definitely tell a difference on the big tv from channels that stream in 720 and those in 1080.

 

Its a small downside for me but EPSN+ is bundled into my Verizon package so now I actually have to go pay for MLS games. However, I watch a ton of MLS so if I cant fork over $60 a year then that is really saying something.