The 2024 MLS TV thread

You mean New Pennsylvania.

 

Gooners using VPNs.

 

Most viewed but then the people click away when they realize that’s not the arsenal they’re looking for.

 

There's a noticeable contingent of Palace fans in C38, so Colorado checks out

 

And/or are just very, very insecure and need constant validation, so they obsessively check and recheck the interwebs for "news" about their team.

 

Racing Louisville? Did someone's cat sit on he F5 key?

We need some parameters.

 

New at @SBJ: Linear viewership of 427,000 for Saturday's @MLS Cup across @FoxTV and @FOXDeportes was down 47% from 2023. Both this year's and last year's MLS Cup were also available on the league's Season Pass streaming service via @AppleTV. https://t.co/yTPvWNUXxg

— Alex M. Silverman🏒⚽️ (@AlexMSilverman) December 11, 2024

 

NWSL has a better TV deal than MLS.

 

NWSL is getting $250M+ a year for their broadcast rights? NWSL has dedicated channels and kickoff times every week in their broadcast deal?

 

I think MLS fans have forgotten that there are games on Fox, even in this thread.

 

I think Fox has forgotten that they have MLS matches

 

Anti MLS people are celebrating this massive viewership drop, but we know that the Galaxy's average viewership in L.A. is just around... 0 (too low to be measured) and I would assume (thought I really don't know) similar for Red Bulls. These are the biggest market teams with relatively tiny fanbases. Before this absolute DISASTER the lowest rating was 857k in 2,000. Assuming 0 watched on Apple TV, we now halved our lowest rating. Existential.

 

Probably it's mostly a demonstration of the effect of playing opposite the SEC championship instead of a week later as it was last year. (Thus one of the big motivations for considering a schedule flip.) And of course it's an incomplete story with the black hole of Apple viewership data.

 

Yep disaster. Meanwhile we were all watching on Apple.

 

Yes all 10 of us watched on Apple.

 

The number on FOX isn't really that relevant since FOX isn't paying much for the broadcast. This all comes down to 2027 and what happens next. Garber did an interesting interview almost a month ago talking about revenue, Apple, LC and world football. Worth the watch as I think you get some hints about the future. One thing that caught my attention was things they might not have gotten right like low salary budget.

 

I think since 2008 the salary budget (including allocation money minus DPs) has increased about 4 fold while the average valuation has increased 13.5 fold.

Operating revenue isn't great though it may not include non-soccer specific activities but my point is the owners have deep pockets.

Hopefully any increase in salaries won't be reflected in higher ticket prices (we know it will).

 

Disappointing but not a disaster. Fox is an afterthought in this whole deal. If it’s a disaster it would be because of the Apple numbers, which we won’t know about unless drastic changes are made next season.

For me personally it was the most interesting final in years but from a neutral perspective Red Bulls aren’t a draw at all and the Galaxy aren’t the trendsetters anymore even with a great team. At least the number is pretty much guaranteed to go up next year—unless the final is two teams with even less hype. I’m rooting for Chicago vs. San Jose.

 

This is, quite likely, the most interesting comment about MLS I have read in years.

I have been thinking about the difference between valuation and salary, but never really articulated it.

Thanks, PB.

 

MLS retreated from the broadcast/pay-tv space and that vacuum allowed the NWSL and USL to move in.

Soccer fans are conditioned to see their sport on the same vehicles as other sports. Sports + TV are like cheese + macaroni. Sports + streaming are avocado puree + macaroni. pic.twitter.com/zx2T9GFJ5l

— L W Johnson (@HelltownBeer) December 12, 2024

Sounds simple, yet may be more complicated than that.

 

MLS lost the war! Does pro/rel begin tomorrow or next week?