MLS 2015 TV Thread (Ratings, contracts etc)

Fair enough. I guess I'm a bit more pessimistic. I think the European elite could potentially be a much bigger deal over here than they already are, big enough where in a saturated sports marketplace that boxes out an inferior product like MLS. The same is true of player development, really.

 

I understand Boloni86's comment as saying there is nothing inevitable about the outcome. I agree, but the balance of the evidence is that MLS is going to become enormous with semi-competent stewardship.

 

That is the belief of a lot of people smarter and richer than I, admittedly.

 

Well I'm probably neither, but glad to be in their company.

 

In many ways right now MLS is offering something that other leagues can't: the live experience. There is really no reason MLS can't eventually work its way up to 30k/game, which would fund a pretty solid roster without any real TV improvements.

What are the worries with player development? It seems MLS has done better recently with kids not leaving for Europe. With Yedlin and probably Miazga, MLS seems to be doing pretty well as the best route for americans to go to major European leagues.

So I guess the question is your definition of "making it". If in 2025 MLS has 28 teams, an average attendance of 23-25k, $10 million rosters (before DP spending), 300k people watching the typical game on TV and $200 million in annual TV contracts, would you say that is making it?

 

I'm not super fluent in TV numbers, but I take 300k to be higher than where they are now but clearly below other Big Four sports.

Anyway, I guess my take is that I don't see the two things I quoted being sustainable together long term. Either attendance growth is going to create national televised fan interest, or the lack of interest from TV viewers is eventually going to erode the ticket-buying community as well.

 

This year a typical nationally televised game on ESPN2/FS1/Unimas had just over 200k viewers. The historical average for ESPN2 is 200-250k, so this would mean modest growth. Comparing MLS to other Big4 leagues is a little difficult because two of the leagues (NHL and NBA) have long playoff series that see significant ratings boosts. A typical regular season NHL matchup won't have big national ratings (300k), but there were 28 million total viewers for the stanley cup finals this year, which is likely more than the total viewership MLS has had for all matches in a given year. And NHL is significantly less followed than MLB or NBA (it seems a national baseball game gets about a million viewers and NBA is 1 - 2 million).

This could be true, but it it seems MLS has seen a significant increase in ticket buying even without any concurrent bump in TV ratings. Past results don't necessitate future performance, but it could be true that many MLS fans go to the games on Saturday/Sunday to drink beer and sing along with the crowd, without caring much about what happens around the rest of the league.

Seeing as this is a TV thread, I have a TV question for the board about TV rights. Let's say MLS TV ratings grow and so does attendance over the next few year, so that in 2018 or so (before the current deal runs out) MLS thinks it can host weekly midweek games without taking a huge hit in game day revenue. If MLS believed that a Wednesday game would draw better ratings and was happy to have a game there, how would that work? Would it alternate between FS1, ESPN2 and Unimas? Would it have to move from the Friday/Sunday time slot, or can they add more games to the weekly schedule? And if they did this, does MLS get additional compensation?

 

When I was reading Football in a Soccer World and Distance Corners the ASL started in 1921 it sounds like most of the immigrants who followed soccer-football were from Scotland, England and Ireland. Moreover, when a huge influx of immigrants coming to America in the late 1800's (12Million) didn't have a foreign pro football league to follow because pro football really didn't exist in the old country until the early 1900's when they already settled in our big country.

Here are some of your examples,

Joe DiMaggio: I don't know if DiMaggio's father Giuseppe (1872–1949) ever had any connection with pro soccer in Italy. Seire A didn't start until 1929 after Giuseppe left for America Joe was born in 1914 in California. Before Seire from 1898 to 1922 the competition was organised into regional groups.

Joe Namath: Joe was born in PA by Hungarian descent parents in 1943. IMO, his grandfather came over from the old country years before Joe was born maybe the late 1800's(?) and before Nemzeti started in 1901.

George Halas: He was born into Cezch immigrants in 1895 the Cezch league started in 1025.

I am not picking on you here. What I am saying it's so hard to figure out when the old country people came over to America when most of our immigrants came over before the soccer leagues were founded.

 

I'm sorry didn't know we were posting for your views, I don't see your gripe I'm just posting the MLS Cup total viewership for where it was viewed, much akin how the NFL post global SuperBowl numbers.

 

Did I say I had a gripe? Just asked for some clarification on a detail. Post I replied to originally didn't mention the word global. Seemed like a significant detail.

 

People who are passionate about soccer in this country will go to live games in our country over watching a superior product on television cheering for clubs in Europe on the couch. MLS is starting the second generation of fans going to games and having a passion for their local club, over time the local club will be bigger than Europe. IMO, when MLS starts year 40 we will see 30k stadiums filled to the rafters. The league is young and people need to understand that.

 

MLS is successful, established and has started to become profitable.

Let's face it though, compared to Liga MX or EPL, or any of the top 4 US sports, the TV coverage is crap.

 

I think the immigrant effect is significant but overstated. How many people who have posted on this thread are first or second generation immigrants?

OK, I'm 1st generation.

 

I am 10th generation. Are family are York's as in New York.

 

That has not been my experience to this point. JFWIW.

How much of that is Chicago-specific, I don't know.

 

Probably because MLS is so young especially when fans can cheer for a 125 year old club with a huge payroll. IMO, when MLS is 40 years old the American soccer fan will be so much different than today. I bet we see 30k to 35k stadiums and a bigger payroll to compete with Europe.

 

And also probably because your market's venue is out in Bridgeview. That doesn't help.

 

I'm thinking the "European elite" may in some ways already be "topping out" and doesn't truly have significant potential left to be a "much bigger deal over here."

With time, MLS will improve (and will pay more for players) and MLS will honestly not be viewed as "an inferior product." So much of this is about perception.

The local (and live, in-person) option(s) will grow and improve and adapt until they are perceived to be of (at least) comparable quality as the "best imported" options. ymmv.

 

How about selling generic MLS shirts? They'd be a great promotion for the League.

 

http://sportstvratings.com/heisman-...v-ratings-for-saturday-december-12-2015/4095/

2 a.m. start time against a Chinese League team:
America vs. Guangzhou Evergrande: 344k on Fox Deportes + 32k on FS2 = 376k

Then there's this with Sunday Night Football going on.

Sunday’s 2nd leg of Liga MX final averaged 2.8 million viewers combined on UniMás & Univision Deportes: https://t.co/nUkCmPJTTZ

— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) December 15, 2015

 

If the MLS Cup final had been shown on Fox I bet the audience would have been > 2 million.

That's what I don't like about the current TV contract, no games on network TV.

All games free nationally and half a dozen games shown on Fox or ABC, that's what MLS needs.

 

You'd lose that bet.

 

In the 430-7 timeslot with the 1pm NFL lead-in...I can see 2 mil.
Not that it would make any sense for FOX to choose any MLS game over NFL, but if one of those occasional weeks where FOX only has the 1pm window happens to fit into MLS Cup week, that would be gold for MLS!

 

Heck, Fox played a pre-recorded Bundesliga match as a lead-in for the NFL that did over 900k. CBS does similar numbers for taped bull-riding contests in the 4:30-7 timeslot. I'm confident an MLS Cup final with an NFL-inflated lead in could pop 2 million+ if the right teams are involved.

Other ratings news:
International Friendly: USWNT vs China (FS1) - 709k
Wednesday Night Rivalry: Penguins vs Bruins (NBCSN) - 626k

http://sportstvratings.com/suns-war...-ratings-for-wednesday-december-16-2015/4110/