Apple TV buys all MLS broadcast rights for 10 years

Discussion in 'San Jose Earthquakes' started by jeff_adams, Jun 14, 2022.

  1. Scott Rohde

    Scott Rohde Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 28, 2018
    Yes, MLS was ahead of the curve on this one. The timing maybe wasn't perfect but I think if they had made another traditional RSN/cable deal they would have been way behind the curve in the move to a la carte streaming.

    I think Apple has done a pretty good job with the platform as well. A few obvious minor flaws that are slowly getting corrected but they are making progress.
     
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  2. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The timing seems to be absolutely perfect down to the year as the RSNs started collapsing like a few months later?

    I guess some people just can't admit that MLS is actually pretty competent... doesn't fit the narrative. Teams going from $10 million to $800 million in fifteen years, also completely coincidental. Garber sux I am soo edgy :cool:

    "is dropping its price to account for the fact that about half of the season is now over."

    Half the price for half the games with half the season over, the math just doesn't add up there must be some other explanation!! They're just trying to throw people off by keeping the monthly price the same!

    You're on to something big here, have you considered contacting Mike Wallace at 60 Minutes?
     
  3. Goodsport

    Goodsport Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 18, 1999
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #2153 Goodsport, Jun 1, 2023
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2023
    Not to mention that ABC/ESPN and FOX (Univision had already decided not to renew) had planned to jointly come to MLS at the end of last season with a reduced new TV deal offer (about $70 million overall compared to the previous deal’s $90 million overall) in basically a “take-it-or-leave-it” manner.

    Needless to say, they were left blindsided when the league headed them off at the pass when it decided to go with Apple’s $100+ million offer instead.

    GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! :cool:


    -G
     
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  4. Scott Rohde

    Scott Rohde Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 28, 2018
    At the start of the season I wasn't sure if I would watch 360 or not.

    Now that we are close to the half way mark I can say that I mostly watch 360 when the Quakes aren't playing. I've tried to just watch other game streams but I always find myself curious what's going on in the other games and I gravitate back to 360.

    Now that I have multicast support I wondered if I would just do my own multicast or still watch 360. It turns out I do both. I have 360 in the big window and a game or two in the small windows. When 360 goes to commercial I just switch over to one of the other games and then back to 360.

    When the Quakes are on I watch them exclusively. However I'm starting to wonder if I should switch to 360 when the Quakes enter 'park the bus' mode. I find I can't focus on the game when all we're doing is defending. It's nerve racking and the anticipation is that eventually the other team will score.

    I watch the Post Game show every time. Either that night or the Sunday morning. Even if I already know everything that happened I always watch Post Game. One of the guys in post game (Nigel) loves the Quakes by the way. He makes fun of Wiebe for being down on the Quakes (he's actually not all that down on the Quakes anyway).
     
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  5. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Even when the Quakes are playing I have MLS 360 on in the small window (you pretty much miss nothing having it in the top right corner)... and if the Quakes game gets boring I will swap them (there's pretty much nothing in the bottom right corner for 360)... at least until MLS 360 has a commercial break. My system would be perfect if I could swap with one button press, and if it knew to put 360 in the top right corner during a game and a game in the bottom right corner during 360. Where is all this supposedly advanced AI stuff we keep hearing about?
     
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  6. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What's next in the regional sports networks battle

    MLS:
    [​IMG]
     
  7. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    The price is lower than it was at the three-quarter mark and lower than the monthly price. Yes, they’re repackaging because sales (as opposed to giveaways to season ticketholders) are likely not brisk.

    The Quakes haven't packaged half season tickets at half the season ticket price and a discount over the per-game price. Are they stupid? Or do they recognize they would be leaving money on the table?
     
  8. naopon

    naopon Member+

    Jan 2, 2007
    California
    Club:
    Kawasaki Frontale
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    NBA League Pass does the same thing. Of course you get a better deal by signing up for the rest of the season compared to monthly….
     
  9. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Why give a bulk discount if your sales are brisk?
     
  10. naopon

    naopon Member+

    Jan 2, 2007
    California
    Club:
    Kawasaki Frontale
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Have you ever seen a subscription service (consumer, enterprise, streaming video, SaaS, whatever) that didn’t offer a discount for an annual commitment? 20% is the usual minimum.
     
  11. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    We're not talking about an annual commitment, we're talking about a half-annual commitment.

    Apple gave a discount for an annual commitment at the beginning of the MLS season (to those who were not already getting it free as season ticketholders or T-Mobile customers, or whomever else). The discount period expired shortly after the season started -- and now is being re-offered by Apple at the season's half-way mark. Why?

    And what demographic is this half-season offer aimed at? Those who weren't interested enough to be season ticketholders or pay for the discounted full season pass but who are suddenly really interested in streaming MLS games on Apple. Seems like a really small subset of the North American population -- and the sort of people who would be willing to pay full freight on a monthly basis.
     
  12. Kaitlyn

    Kaitlyn Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 25, 2014
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  13. Goodsport

    Goodsport Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 18, 1999
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Episode 15 of “Quakes Exclusive” (labeled “Prepping for Colorado”) is now available to view in MLS Season Pass. :thumbsup:

    GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! :cool:


    -G
     
  14. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    Perhaps the target audience was European fans of leagues that are just now ending? I have no idea if it is but it would make a lot of sense to try and appeal to consumers that will have a soccer void over the summer. If that’s the case for the promotion, you just open it up to everyone else too.

    If this is happening, I would expect that Apple is somehow involved in Messi coming to MLS.
     
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  15. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    MLB.tv runs a big promo for a rest-of-season half-price deal every June. A lot of what MLS/Apple have done resembles closely how the most established single-league streaming platform does things. Except MLB has tons of blackouts.
     
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  16. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    I haven’t seen this proposed anywhere, so I’m gonna call it “Jeff’s Big Idea”.

    I’m Apple, so I approach MLS with this proposal. Offer Messi a discount on an MLS franchise in Phoenix to start in 2027 (year after USA World Cup). Messi would be the majority owner in partnership with Barcelona. Team name Barca AZ. The youth academy is already there and could fold their U19 team into MLS Next Pro as early as 24/25.

    Messi signs a contract to play in Miami until the end of 2026 and can chose to retire after the World Cup and then run his team.

    Barcelona and Apple TV can come to an agreement where Apple streams Barcelona Spain games world wide. Apple helps Barcelona get on better financial footing while increasing their global brand. Messi and Barcelona help to launch Apple’s sporting expansion plans. Arizona gets a first division pro soccer team.
     
  17. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Arizona is the American Saudi Arabia; is that the pitch? :)
     
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  18. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Most likely Messi expansion teams if he comes to MLS:

    30% Las Vegas - athletes and celebrities love Vegas
    25% Tampa - not exactly Miami but the closest metropolitan area without MLS
    25% Inter Miami part owner - Messi has a house in Miami already
    15% Phoenix - hot as hell and no beach, but the biggest metropolitan area without MLS
    4% buys into some other existing MLS team like LAFC, San Diego, etc.
    1% all other - Detroit, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Cleveland, etc. because why
     
  19. MuchoTakeItEasy

    MuchoTakeItEasy Member+

    LAFC
    United States
    May 16, 2015
    Land of the Free
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe LMX fans who want Leagues Cup?
     
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  20. Scott Rohde

    Scott Rohde Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 28, 2018
    xbhaskarx and Goodsport repped this.
  21. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    The NBA has been effectively dead to me for 45 years, since 1978 when the Buffalo Braves were relocated. But your post prompted me to do some Google searching, and apparently the NBA viewership is indeed in decline. I could post Deadspin, but here's a more charitable admission of a problem (reading more like an apologia):

    . . . The point of this examination is not to argue that the NBA is in a particularly strong position right now. It is hard to imagine that the league wants to be in the same viewership range it was in 20 years ago, when perceptions surrounding the game were perhaps even more negative than they are today, especially given the contribution from out-of-home viewing that did not exist back then . . .

    It may be cold comfort that the league has been in far worse situations before . . . but that does not make it any less true . . .

    The reality is that the league’s downturn is both real and exaggerated . . .


    https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/04/nba-ratings-viewership-past-30-years-analysis-where-league-stands/#:~:text=NBA viewership in context&text=NBA viewership may be down,in the most recent campaign.
     
  22. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
  23. Scott Rohde

    Scott Rohde Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 28, 2018
    NBA viewership grows despite RSN troubles as league banks on future deals

    "The NBA’s scoring is up and its storylines are compelling, fueling enormous social media growth and helping keep TV ratings flat in an era of dwindling television usage.

    That’s the midseason report card on the NBA’s audience situation, and it’s all passing grades amid the ongoing uncertainty of the broadcast industry — with one worrisome element looming over everything: The collapse of the regional sports network (RSN) model because of the relentless cord-cutting trend."
     
  24. Scott Rohde

    Scott Rohde Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 28, 2018
    NBA viewership flat for '22-23 on TNT, ABC, ESPN

    "The continued shrinking of the TV universe (broadcast and cable) meant NBA games saw its best share of the U.S. audience on record, and up 11% from last season. NBA games across ABC, TNT and ESPN also saw viewers watch for 43 minutes on average this season, the longest time spent viewing yet. NBA games on RSNs this season saw share rise 17%.

    The NBA’s Instagram account generated over 13 billion video views this regular season, the most of any account on the platform. The NBA is now No. 8 among all brands on the platform in terms of followers. On YouTube, the league’s official channel this season became the first pro sports league account to surpass 20 million subs."
     
  25. Scott Rohde

    Scott Rohde Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 28, 2018
    The NBA is doing just fine. Cable and RSNs are falling off a cliff.

    Will NBA navigate to a streaming platform as smoothly as MLS was able to? Hopefully so but MLS has shown amazing foresight.
     

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