Haven't touched an Apple product/service since my Apple IIe. I don't need another streaming service so I'll probably watch whatever games I can and miss the rest unless there's a MLS only package on the cheap. There's always:
Lets clarify some things here: AppleTV is an app that allows you to subscribe to a variety of services. One of which is AppleTV+. AppleTV+ is what you need if you want to watch Ted Lasso or any of the other Apple exclusive shows. MLS is coming to AppleTV, with some things being available on AppleTV+ as well. MLS will be a new channel (lets call it MLSC) on AppleTV that you can subscribe to. If you currently have an AppleTV+ subscription and do not subscribe to MLSC then you'll get some of the games and programming, but not all of it. Season-ticket holders will get a free MLSC subscription. Expanded details here: http://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2022/06/rapids-tv-now-as-easy-as-apple-pie.html
Another important clarification is that you can get the Apple TV app on a wide variety of devices, not just Apple devices. Most Smart TVs can get it, Fire Stick, Roku, Xbox, Playstation, and others. The major device that CAN'T get it is any Android phone or tablet. However, even on those devices, you can use the device's web browser to access it by going to tv.apple.com I think this is mostly a win for MLS. I worry a bit about my in-laws, who have become big Minnesota United fans and watch on the Minnesota sports cable channel. Getting a new subscription just for that is something they might not do. On the other hand, they do have Apple TV+ and like Ted Lasso, so it's not too much of a leap. Would love to see Mareclo and Richard hired by MLS to keep doing games. (and, for that matter, Callum Williams and Kyndra de St. Aubin who do the Minnesota matches)
I know @JasonMa already brought it up in his blog post, but the MLS production being in-house means they will have their own set of commentators. Reading through Twitter it sounds like a LOT of fan bases are not happy at the thought of potentially losing out on their local TV game callers - which is probably why MLS mentioned they are allowing local teams to do their own Pre / Post game shows. Would be a shame to have Fleming and Balboa relegated to just Pre /Post game. However, from an MLS perspective I totally understand it. Not sure how many here on BS watch the NFL on the regular - but the NFL also does it's own production and has it's own crew of broadcasters. Having a specific set of broadcasters (camera team, commentary, et al) on FOX or CBS has brought a lot of uniformity to the production of the games - and honestly I think it's a good step forward for the MLS as they hope to grow into the national sports media space MLS still has a very "small town" or "local team" feel - which isn't a bad thing. But as they are looking to grow and overtake some of the other sports in the US (we're looking at you Hockey and Baseball!) it'll be important for them to produce a consistent product from game to game. On ESPN+ with local production crews, there would be streams in 720p, or other games would have poor camera work, and other games having CLEAR homer bias in the calls - even though audiences from both teams fanbases would be watching. I think it's a bittersweet move, but the right move for MLS as a whole. Regarding Fleming and Balboa in specific - I would not be surprised to see Fleming get brought on by the MLS as one of their 10-14 broadcasters they are hiring. He's proven himself to be one of the best in the business - and he goes out of his way to call the games fairly. I would also not be surprised for the Rapids to hire him as their media guy. With the new TV deal, teams are getting a HUGE bump in the yearly cut from the TV deal (I remember seeing something like 8-10mil per year, vs the 3 or so mil they are getting now). So they could easily use a little chunk of that new cash flow to do right by Richard. For Balboa, he's been doing A LOT of work for Univision. I would also not be surprised in the slightest to see him increase his work with Univision, and then do solely pre and post game work if he does anything for the Rapids (beyond his coaching). It'll be interesting for sure how this all works out, but on the whole, I think this is a GREAT move for the MLS as they hope to grow as a league and take market share from the other sports leagues in the US.
Based on his tweets its pretty clear he's not expecting to be in the booth next year. I know MLS was reviewing the various commentary teams in the first half of the season to figure out who they might bring on. Given Fleming's public reaction I assume he feels he's not going to be one of them. One thing the AppleTV deal is also doing is allowing users to switch from the national audio to the local radio broadcast stream if there is one. Its not entirely fair to Connor Cape, but maybe the Rapids could be encourage to move Fleming and 'Celo over to the radio broadcast? Then you could switch the audio while watching and still get their call. (Fleming also mentioned he won't be working the October 1st home match, due to it being on Univision, and with ESPN+ usually taking the home audio the last time for us to hear him if you don't have Altitude might be the September 14th match)
Fleming's tweets this entire season have showed uncertainty about being in the booth next year. Honestly, I don't think anyone knows anything about whether they are brought on for the MLS broadcast crew. But that wasn't my point really. My point was moreso that I wouldn't be surprised if the MLS hires some people who have already been calling games instead of trying to farm out new / inexperienced casters - and that it wouldn't surprise me to see Fleming get an interview as one of the guys they bring on. What would surprise me is the MLS bringing in an entirely new crew of people who have never called an MLS Game before next season. That's a recipe for a disaster and I'm sure NOT the start to the new TV deal the MLS would want.
The plus side is, on the surface, it does look like a good deal for existing and hardcore fans. However, it really doesn't solve the problem of the Rapids being more accessible to casual sports fans in the local Denver market, which is one thing that helps to grow a fan base. We'll still remain as inaccessible under this new deal as we are now...and that means the Rapids will continue to be essentially invisible in their own town. The only difference is KSE gets an extra $3 million a year or whatever for doing nothing, and they'll of course just pocket that money rather than spend it on the team and facilities. I'm also actually pretty skeptical about what the production quality is gonna look like. If MLS is gonna do everything in-house, and they don't even consider guys like Fleming or Celo, you should be expecting MLS' in-house pool of announcers to consist of guys that won't be able to name 3 players on our roster...but will know what every Atlanta/Seattle/LAFC player had for lunch that day, and won't shut up about it. I also bet they're gonna do a lot of experimenting with cameras and other assorted broadcast gimmicks that add nothing to try and "broaden appeal" to younger demographics that don't even watch sports to begin with. I'm gonna be honest, I'm really not as excited about this as others are. EDIT: I wanted to add another positive from the deal, which is the era of afternoon games on a Sunday in August when its 1000 degrees outside is finally dead. Hallelujah! Wednesday games suck though.
I do understand some of those concerns, but I wonder if the "casual sports fan" you mention is a category of person that's more and more rare. Anymore, a casual sports fan is just as likely to be a cord-cutter as a cable or a directv subscriber. A person is more likely to hear about a game to watch on social media than they are flipping through channels (especially those in the coveted 18-34 range), and the path to giving a Rapids match a shot using Apple's streaming app could involve fewer steps than tuning in to Altitude. Lots of people have expressed concern that local TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers will now be far less likely to do segments and promos about the local MLS team. Which may in fact be true-- but how many potential fans are you really missing out on in this day and age because of that? I also think that MLS media employees (like the young dudes on their podcasts, including the former players like Charlie Davies and Calen Carr) are actually quite knowledgeable about all the teams. Sure, they probably devote more attention to the Seattles and LAFCs but the gulf is not as big as one might expect. But I'm in total agreement with you about how KSE is probably going to remain very apathetic owners. Hell, now that one of the teams they own can no longer be shown on their cable channel, they mare care even less. I wonder if Apple made any demands on the league in terms of roster spend.
Social media is notorious for being built like an echo chamber and caters to the user's history. That means in order for a user to be exposed to MLS/Rapids, they'll have already had to make the conscious decision to seek that out without being prompted. People finding stuff on a streaming service faces a similar problem in that the user will have already made the conscious decision to seek it out. This is honestly the big problem with streaming services in general with content being so fragmented. If you not interested in paying for a service, you're just gonna not watch that content at all. In other words if you don't have Apple TV, you're not going to watch MLS. The only people without it that will sign up are already MLS fans. Counter point; look at how the league treats power rankings, the All-$tar game, and GOTW/GOTY. If the league controls everything, they're absolutely going to play heavy favorites because that's where the money is. I'm not at all convinced that we're going to be anything more than a background character on our own show. For example, you just know the "free" games under the Apple deal will work just like how national broadcasts have in the past, with the big teams getting all the exposure and us getting maybe 1 match a year. Unfortunately that is a likely situation, but I do have to wonder why MLS continues to allow that kind of non-investment while every other owner is doing at least something to improve their product. I wish.
In regards to concerns about who the league will hire, remember that there are a lot of FOX/ESPN guys who are now going to have less/no games to call. I wouldn't be surprised to see the current National TV crews as the primary crews for the new MLS Apple channel.
If they can pull Taylor Twellman from ESPN....phew boy would that be an interesting pickup. Taylor has hosted Sportscenter several times, had his own soccer specific segments, etc. It's going to be very interesting how all of this shakes out in the coming weeks.
I would think Balboa, Twellman sort of high profile players-turned-media would be ideal additions, you know as opposed to The Kardashians...
Our family is one of the few who purchased Evoca for $25/month. We got sick of finding the Avs-Nuggets-Rapids on the Internet and the varying quality. Glad we did. Apple plus sounds fine, but we’ll have to figure out the total package. Love the Rapids but go Avs.
Concerning the TV deal, I am trying to figure what it means on a lot of levels. On one hand, it will be great to have all the Rapids MLS and Leagues matches available without a local blackout. On the other hand, because it's a subscription service it most likely won't bring in many casual viewers. Also, worry that in the future everything will be on a streaming service and in particular, soccer/sports. So MLS will be on one service, USNT on another, Pemier League another, etc. Glad that MLS will be getting more revenue than in the current deal.
Here's the link to the long piece from The Athletic on the Apple+ TV deal. Lot's of interesting reader comments as well. https://theathletic.com/3365616/2022/06/14/mls-media-rights-deal-facts/
With its Apple deal in hand, MLS now is talking to Fox and ESPN about a small package of non exclusive games.Here's an update on those negotiations.Listen here:Apple: https://t.co/ZssNyj6UjWSpotify: https://t.co/dMmV3M4VI2Google: https://t.co/pDHcd8vcup pic.twitter.com/JPkkjY3Wqj— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) July 8, 2022
MLS debuts on Apple TV in ~4 months.How is the deal coming together?✔️League interested in Taylor Twellman, Herc Gomez✔️Plan to have announcers on-site for all games✔️No executive producer yet✔️~40% of games will be avail. for freeMassive update: https://t.co/JevGOJSSr1 pic.twitter.com/DUPiYETEFz— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) October 27, 2022
A typical MLS Saturday night on Apple TV could look like this:✔️National pregame shows✔️Match-specific lead-ins from stadia✔️National postgame shows✔️A massive, 5-6 hour whiparound broadcast✔️12 total matches, all in one streaming serviceMore: https://t.co/JevGOJSSr1 pic.twitter.com/OYpB7qsqQu— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) October 27, 2022
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/appl...unce-mls-season-pass-launches-february-1-2023 MLS Season Pass is the name. It's $14.99/month or $99/year if you don't already subscribe to Apple TV+ It's $12.99/month or $79/year if you already subscribe to Apple TV+ Apple TV+ subscribers get some games for free even if they don't get MLS Season Pass Anyone with the Apple TV App gets a smaller number of games for free even if they have neither Apple TV+ nor MLS Season Pass As previously announced, if you're a season ticket holder to an MLS team, you get it for free. Nothing further announced about broadcast teams.
I thought I read somewhere that all local broadcasters had been interviewed. I assume that included Fleming and Balboa. Fleming still seems to be living in suburban Denver given his tweets. Also, I believe thee broadcast teams will be on location rather than in a studio calling the match remotely.
They've all been interviewed, but no word on who's been hired. Its unclear how many of the games will be in person vs. in a studio. And yes, Fleming has plans to stay here regardless of his work (or not) with MLS. A couple of years ago he started working for a realty company in town based on his tweets. I think doing communications for them.
That's a tough one to swallow. This year it was $20 less for Disney, Hulu, and ESPN. Since I don't really care about the other content I might take a pass on the 2023 season and use my Saturday nights for astrophotography.