Apple TV buys all MLS broadcast rights for 10 years

I'd guess that most people in El Paso understand English. And there's also a Spanish dub on all of the shows.

Perhaps you can read a synopsis of what the show is actually about and ask again?

 

Yeah, the Nathan Shelly character is clearly not an “immigrant”.

 

Immigrant is commonly used in England to refer to the arriving immigrant and their children, even if born there.

 

It’s not a matteroif people not speaking English, I’m saying the initial storyline wouldn’t raise much interest in Hispanic fans

 

According to AI, Ted Lasso is “hugely popular in Mexico”.

 

I also read Ted Lasso is popular in throughout Latin America....

 

The show isn't really even so much about soccer at all. Sure the core audience might be "white urban Zillenials who work on Macs and watch Premier League and listen to Men in Blazers", but the premise is more "Jason Sudeikis plays an aw-shucks American who goes to England to the locals' bemusement".

Soccer hipsters who actually watch USL are firmly in their core target segment though. Approximately 99.9% of El Paso Locomotive's fans are familiar with Dani Rojas.

 

…and since 98% of statistics are made up on the spot…

 

I read the owners are fed up with Don Garber because of this Apple TV deal he made.

His contract is up in 2027 but he said he would step down sooner if someone else emerges.

 

I have mixed feelings about Garber. I'm not sure whether I want him hanged or guillotined...

 

Why would the owners be upset about the Apple TV deal? I hadn't read/heard that. On the contrary, I thought everyone in MLS thinks it's been good for MLS. On the Major League Journeymen podcast, either Gargs or Dax said that Apple TV viewership was up 40% this season (I think they said 40%, but I'd have to figure out which episode it was.).

 

I read it was a disaster from a club standpoint and losing casual fans.

I can see that.

Anyway, Garber has overstayed his welcome and it's time for him to go.

 

I'd hazard a guess that the reason viewership is up is more closely associated with not requiring a separate, rather costly subscription than any large increase in interest.

 

Of course, we're in Apple Central territory, but the Apple TV deal hasn't hurt Quakes attendance. On the contrary, PPP is steadily filling up the last 2 years. But of course maybe that's largely the Bruce effect. As far as stadium attendance, what I've seen is:

2023-2024 = our lowest point in attendance after Stahre + Luchi Gonzalez
2024-2025 = Bruce year 1 and the Messi game
2025-2026 = Bruce year 2 and good start to season

 

Actually, looking at my post above, I think the biggest increase in MLS viewership is due to Messi.

 

Supposedly, MLS and Apple restructured and completely rewrote their contract terms and their 10 year deal and "expedited a divorce" to salvage the remains of the experiment.

So now their deal ends in 2029.

 

You have to actively seek out MLS games (other than Miami) to watch on The Apple TV app, even if you have it. The games (other than Miami) are generally not accessible from the home page. Makes it hard for a casual to stumble on a game. And impossible if they don’t have the app.

 

Even if true, that probably means the deal was good for MLS but not for Apple.
Again, I don’t believe the owners could be unhappy with Garber

 

Now that I’m trying to watch DirectTV on streaming, I don’t think it’s any harder to find sports games on Apple TV than any other streamer.

I think all these streaming user interfaces are designed to engage you by making you look for stuff. I often fall asleep trying to find something to watch.

 

Casuals won’t exert the effort to look. Indeed, they won’t even know to look.

Streaming is the balkanization of culture. MLS fandom is a small boutique subculture. And the death of cable will keep it that way.

The Messi experiment was an effort to break out of the bubble. Hasn’t worked.

 

I don't know if the Apple TV MLS deal is good for the league but it is sure is good for me - being able to easily find and watch any game, with good video quality, and re-watch at any time + additional team content, and for $0.

I'm quite confident that if it ends and there's a new deal it will be a worse experience for me, probably much worse. I think back to the bad old days of ESPN+. Holy crap, that was bad. You couldn't find the games, they'd appear late, they'd appear but when you go to watch, it was blacked out, etc., all kinds of mistakes in the listings. Just a nightmare. My recent experience with "Paramount+" (to watch USOC) was similar. Just seems like they don't really care about US domestic soccer, and it's a reluctant, obscure add-on for them.

 

Watched USOC games on Paramount and they are very boring.

That may have to do with clubs using their reserves and also because the tournament is almost meaningless.

 

Yes, people are saying that streaming is the balkanization of TV culture. People no longer stand around the water cooler discussing that week's episode of "Thirty Something". First of all, few subscribe to the streamer, few can find the show, there's no water cooler, people work remotely, or no one has a job. It's symptomatic of American social isolation.

Maybe it's really the death of the casual fan, Don. So instead of cultivating casual fans, MLS has to cultivate dedicated fans. But of course, they got rid of a lot of their media team, so I guess MLS doesn't agree with me. Maybe MLS' strategy is simply to tailgate other sports, celebrities and cultures. So pretty soon, Quakes will be having a Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, or Timothy Chalamet night.

 

Apparently Fox has hired James Corden to do a "World Cup After Hours" show. :facepalm

For video content I've always said that the ideal state would be "universal buffet". The problem with cable is that you get big packages of things, much of it you don't want, but you have to ultimately pay for that stuff. It's the restaurant with a couple of prix fixe offerings, and you didn't want the cornish game hen, blackened codfish, and roasted brussels sprouts, etc. You just wanted the ravioli.

With the "boutique streaming" model you can get precisely what you want at one restaurent, but only that thing, and you have to go to several restaurants to get everything you want. 'Kay we got the ravioli, now we need to drive across town to get the salad, and then we'll drop by the bread shop, and then the wine shop, and then I think we're good!