The 2022 MLS TV thread

The chart here says otherwise.

Outside of paying a premium for DirecTV Stream, there's a very sparse set of options. Fubo is probably the best, but it's a no go for me because it's lacking the TBS/TNT package from Warner and that eliminates a lot of NHL games and a huge chunk of the NCAA tournament. Bally has its own app now, MASN (Nationals and Orioles) isn't available anywhere, Longhorn Network is only on Sling, YouTube TV carries 9, etc.

 

Yup, that does suck. BeIn Sports was a nice part of it, at least until La Liga left for ESPN+

And wow, I had no idea the RSN availability was so NBC-specific. Which makes approximately zero sense given that they're owned by Comcast whose lunch is beating eaten by these services.

It's an absolute primordial Hobbesian jungle out there at this moment, it's all pretty crazy.

Do not be surprised if the next turn in this is multiple of the major US leagues coming together on an over-the-top direct-to-consumer product that essentially bundles nationally via streaming what all these RSN's are delivering by wire locally.

Nine zillion little problems between here and there, but that's the vision they think is right to pursue next.

 

Netflix's DVD mail service still exists.

 

Four year deal for the linear rights seems notable.

Coming out of the 2026 World Cup (and hopefully big buzz and big ratings) and with still six years left on the Apple deal.

I think my MLS is betting on being able to sell the remaining six years of linear rights for more.

 

You think those who would watch in TUDN will follow MLS to Apple? It doesn't apply to me, I don't really care cause I'm going to get Apple. But I just don't see alot of those casuals that would watch in TUDN subscribing to Apple to follow MLS. Hope I'm proven wrong though.

 

My point is that the ratings show there aren't a significant number of casuals just coming across games and tuning in right now, so worrying about losing them with the Apple move is pointless.

 

Depends on how much they want to watch MLS, right?

 

If they follow MLS to Apple they aren't casuals.

I guess time will tell if it was a good move or not. So far they are set with Apple for the next couple of years. Let's see how TV evolves in the coming years.

 

Staying on Fox is pretty big. MLS needs to at least start on the peripheral vision of casuals. We can't go full niche. Also, if Messi signs with Miami, how badly does ESPN regret their decision? Beckham's debut was watched by 3 million. How many would watch Messi's?

 

Remember that Apple also has a casual audience checking out its content, most pertinently Ted Lasso.

 

Would it matter how many watched to ESPN? They need advertising dollars to make a profit and it looks like they've given up on soccer now. How many subscribe outside the U.S. to Apple and MLS is the bigger story as MLS gets a cut after reaching a set subscriber number.

 

Your home of the Bundesliga, La Liga, Eredivisie, English Championship and FA and League Cups (among others) has not given up on soccer in any way shape or form, they're just coming at it from a different angle.

We just reached an inflection point where using the fairly small MLS hardcore audience as a guinea pig for the paywalled streaming future was worth so much more to Apple than conventional linear ESPN Game of the Week type coverage plus local market pittances that MLS felt they couldn't ignore it.

In a different context, the Big Ten reportedly turned down a higher bid from Amazon than what they accepted from CBS for a weekly college football telecast replacing the SEC in that 2:30PM Saturday slot.

It's the Wild West out there right now. Some will end up rich, some will end up dead. Choose wisely.

 

For now, sure. Apple is apparently after the Eredivisie rights. Bundesliga coverage has been filled with lost feeds, streams not starting for 8-10 minutes or more after kickoff, and other glaring issues that have people thinking they'll move to a different provider. At this point I suspect ESPN is going to go for La Liga and maybe the future Ligue 1 rights, along with the stuff they have from England while letting everything else flounder or leave.

 

Yeah we'll see. There's the broader question of whether ESPN is even a viable business model anymore.

 

You would think that Disney would roll all of their various streaming services into a single one at some point...

 

The ESPN branding is too big to be rolled into something. More likely to be spun off.

 

This very back and forth currently roiling the newly mashed up boardroom of HBO Warner Turner Discovery (but also CNN and the DC Comic Books Universe and and and)


Anyway, the bad news here is this industry either secures constant, quarter-by-quarter revenue growth from your and my pockets or it dies, and it won't be allowed to die.

We love to live in terminal late capitalism don't we folks?

 

Yep, and yet they seem to instead seem to be splitting them into 3 very distinct items. Disney+ gets the classic Disney/kids content along with NatGeo, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Hulu is getting all the documentary, "real crime" miniseries, more traditional TV, and FX content. ESPN+ is getting the sports content. The bundle does put ESPN content on the Hulu homepage, but that's about it. They even bill differently depending on whether or not you set up your bundle through Hulu or Disney+. It's cumbersome to say the least.

 

Question about Paramount+. It says live NFL games....is that ALL of the games CBS broadcasts on Sunday or just the ones that are airing in your local market?

 

Just local market. Thus protecting the moat around Sunday Ticket, the new deal for which will be fascinating whenever it comes, rumor has it with Apple.

 

That's where VPN comes in handy. Lubbock is the only market in West Texas that shows Houston Texans games instead of the game of the week, so I either use the antenna for the Amarillo feed or I use VPN and grab one if I'm watching something else on the TV.

 

I think the lack of a traditional TV deal will show up in decreased interest in local markets of teams stuck in MLS 2.0 or similar (Houston, Dallas, Chicago, etc.). Used to joke that UniMas was the "unofficial home station of the Houston Dynamo" because the Dynamo typically have 4-6 games on UniMas and 0 games on Fox or ESPN each year. Are Spanish language viewers really going to tune in to Apple TV+ AND pay for the MLS package in Houston market?

Now, a fair counterpoint is that after years of being on a variety of local RSNs (AT&T Sports, Fox SW, CSN Houston - which actually paid a rights fee until it went bankrupt) , local UHF channels, and even a digital subchannel of the CBS affiliate (11.2!!), it was already hard enough for fans to find the Dynamo so if they care they will buy Apple TV+ MLS. But any local casual viewer is largely gone in this deal. Last few years they were on AT&T Sportsnet with Astros and Rockets so they at least had decent exposure.

It will be interesting, maybe Apple throwing a ton of resources elevates the profile of MLS

 

Have to bump my own prior post. where is they guy who thought MLS would get a big linear rights fee from Fox or ESPN even after the Apple TV deal?

 

Terminal?

 

Thank you! Been mulling paring back my cable plan. Looking at Paramount+/Showtime. As a Bills fan living in Philly, was hopeful that maybe I could watch Bills games on P+. Here's hoping that Apple gets a deal over the line for Sunday Ticket.