Has anybody else given up on MLS after becoming PPV?

I think my sanity was in doubt when I signed up for it in the first place.

 

Everyone wants to complain about having to pay to watch games. Well, I will take paying to get to see what ever games I want along with MLS 360 and MLS Wrap Up. I remember a time not long ago when we here in the DC area were lucky to even get games on TV. Usually, games were on backa$$ channels that nobody watched or hardly anyone received. I for one will pay for the content and know I will be able to see the game I want to watch.

 

Just wait till May when there are no MLS games on Fox at all.

 

$99 a year is really cheap for domestic soccer.
Plus your can watch at least 34 games in the US and 68 in Canada.
I'm not sure how many Apple TV makes available for non-subscribers.

Of course having to remember a username and password is incredibly onerous.

 

I found 2. There may be more.

Crew v FCC, May 11 on FS1
Timbers v Seattle, May 12 on Fox.

And another

Sounders v Galaxy May 5, FS1

 

Way to inconsistent for Fox. FS1 always has one or two games a week, but then you are at the mercy of what games they are showing. I like knowing I can watch any game I want that week, not what Fox or FS1 thinks I should be watching.

 

Weren't you at the mercy of what games they were showing before the Apple deal?

 

We were, but now we do not have to be.

 

I don't understand.

 

Fox would always show New York or LA teams. With the apple deal I can watch any game. If I like Kansas City or Cincy, I can watch those instead. I live 3 hours away from Chicago in another state but somehow was in their game blackout zone. I don't have to deal with that either.

 

I misunderstood. I though you meant it was a negative.
I couldn't watch NYCFC games before the Apple deal, unless they were on national TV.
Now I can watch every game.
Not sure that's a positive.

 

I live near Baltimore, 45 minutes from DC and still could not get the DC United games on my local TV. So, I got MLS Direct Kick and DC United was blacked out on there. With Apple, no more blackouts and I can watch any team in MLS I like.

 

I find myself watching more MLS now with it all consolidated in one place (plus the consistent start times). I do sometimes hate the interface, but it's a minor annoyance. I think the channel would benefit greatly from sort of Match Day summary show that used to be on after the Premier League matches were over for the day. If that exists, I'm missing it.

 

MLS Wrap Up

 

I think a scheduled weekend highlights show at 10 or 11 pm Eastern on a Sunday night with studio type presentation would be fantastic.

 

What county do you live in? I live in Anne Arundel and I’ve never had a problem getting DC United on local tv. I can’t speak to Direct Kick.

 

MLS was pretty fun in the 2010s when it began focusing on building infrastructure and rivalries and an actual culture of competition.

Unfortunately that format was not making enough money, so it is now a Messi concert tour/third-party transfer agency. https://t.co/31dzcu8CXR

— Ben Cork (@corkinho) May 24, 2024

 

So they were fun when they were the "unknown" indie band? Now that they are more mainstream and have a larger following, and some of the popular kids are taking an interest they're suddenly not fun?

 

Pink Floyd was never the same after Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac.

 

I think what’s fun is seeing a league cultivate a culture of competition. MLS on Apple feels like a circus on state-sponsored tv.

 

What?

The Premier League grew from formation to what it is today exclusively on Rupert Murdoch's Sky Sports domestically. That started in 1992 at £30 a month.

All the major European leagues have followed, including the EFL. They're all on pay channels.

Why wouldn't MLS adopt a very successful model? After all, people keep saying we should be more like Europe.

 

What does this even mean? For years there's been calls for MLS to grow and spend more money. In order to spend more money the league needs to bring in more money.... They finally get a fairly lucrative broadcast deal that also gives them control over their broadcast windows.... and now it's "MLS is all about the money!!!" "I want MLS to go go back to the way it was in 2010!!!"

Here's the thing. Other than the NFL, all American Professional Leagues are predominantly on pay TV. Cable TV is NOT FREE!!!! People are not "forced" to buy cable TV. People willingly choose to purchase cable TV. Sports have been on PPV TV for nearly 40+ years now.

Visit any of the league websites (the official league run ones), and they are largely like reading state-sponsored TV. MLS produces all of its' broadcasts and content for MLS Season Pass.......so yeah.... it's gonna be Pro-MLS and mostly controversy free.

 

Look man, I’m not saying you can’t like it. I’m saying I don’t like it. Look at the thread title.

 

Cool man. That's all you had to say. I just didn't understand your viewpoint of "seeing a league cultivate a culture of competition." Which I find odd for a league that has had 15 different champions in it's less than 30 years of existence.

 

Well why didn't you say that?

I think MLS adopting a successful European model and making more money in the process, which can be used to develop and sign better players, is a big step forward.