*** WOR: Joe Bartlett to ask for soccer calls on Saturday ***

How do they know when people are tuning out during a specefic segment of a radio program? Do they have Neilsen-kinda boxes in cars and homes? Or are they basing that belief of people writing in and saying they turn the station when soccer comes on?

 

not sure if trying to tackle tv ratings against the nfl, baseball and basketball is such a good idea...cause only the soccer fanatic will optimistically say yes.

its a question which only has one answer in the public's mind. (NO)


maybe mention a few good facts, and then ask a question about attending a soccer game. ie...

with 2 more stadium being opened this year for soccer (in addition to the 4 already in existence), what do you think can be done to increase the average attendance in the league above its current level of about 15000.



average listener would be interested. 1...chances are they had no idea there were soccer only stadiums. 2. chances are they had no idea we were drawing 15K averages...etc...

 

Topic:
"If you do not currently attend matches, will you attend now that the team is moving into a new stadium or perhaps because their results are better?"

Maybe this?


note:
Didn't read Stinky's post. I agree with him

 

I just sent Joe a very nice email -- with a touch of humor, too -- about 'litening' forward to the Saturday Soccer show.

How much penetration into the mainstream does MLS and soccer in general really need? It may never be the game for the majority of sports fans, and if MLS can still grow, and the soccer fan-base can grow, does it really matter if we edge-out basketball or not? Must we be the next NFL to be a success?

None of this was in my leter to Joe, by the way.

 

You seem to be using "MLS" and "soccer" interchangeably. MLS is far from the no. 1 soccer product that appears on TV in the US. And that's one of the things that non-soccer people simply can't seem to wrap their brains around. NFL=pro football, MLB=pro baseball, therefore MLS=pro soccer. The fallacy here needs to be constantly emphasized. Soccer is the World Cup, other int'l soccer, the Mexican League, MLS, the Champions League, the EPL, etc. The US soccer fan base is fractured in a way that no other sport in the US is. It also has a fan base that's a lot less "white, male, middle aged, New York area," than the types who listen to such programs are accustomed to, which results a significant attitude of, "no one I know likes soccer, therefore it obviously doesn't have a following".

Anyway, I lost my train of thought there a bit, but it's important to harp on the difference between talking soccer and talking MLS. Soccer as a spectator sport is firmly a fixture on the US sports landscape now. MLS is not. At least not yet.

 

Here's a question.

Univision's broadcast of the USA-Mexico match in February was the second highest rated program that evening in New York, second only to American Idol. Simultaneously, it received much better ratings nationally on ESPN2 than is typical for that slot on ESPN2. Despite this, it was basically just a footnote in the New York media. Does this not indicate that soccer's acceptance by the mainstream media is much more a question of who is watching rather than how many people are watching? Is the lack of media attention to numerous exhibition soccer matches that bring large crowds to Giants stadium not also an indication of this?

 

Wow that came out of nowhere.. I thought WOR was happy with the flood of emails thanking them... Are we being outflooded by an anti-soccer constituency Michael?

Question Idea: How can soccer become more popular in the United States?

 

good stuff Mejido.

 

Well, it was really more a sociological queston than a soccer question. And one they should be pretty well positioned to address, given that they're smack in the middle of the industry. Another way to phrase it might be, what are the benchmarks soccer, in any of its forms (MLS, Int'l, Mexican, Champion's League, whatever) need to reach to receive NHL-level (or whatever level) mainstream media coverage? Are there attendance figures or TV ratings that industry insiders have in mind that the sport needs to reach? Or again, does it make the a big difference who those viewers are? Does, just to name one of many possible demographic dynamics, one upper-middle class white viewer equal five poor Hispanic viewers?

Every time I hear the question of soccer covereage addressed, it's presented as a very cut and dried topic - for more covereage you need to have more people interested. The last US-Mexico match is just one example of that logic not playing out in reality.

I'd be interested what someone in the media, especially someone who is neither a huge soccer fan nor a "soccer-basher," has to say about this.

 

I dug that segment they did last week about the Mexican food joint near ground zero. The Bigger Place? Whatev, I'm down for some mexi-food any day of the week.

After that they had Jeff Agoos on, who was good, but had no mexican food to offer or "I escaped death" stories to draw from, sadly.

Setting an alarm clock on a Saturday is just mean, but, I'll try.

 

Called in but the girl said they have lots of callers in front of me and to call back nnext week... Hope that is the case... Thanks to Howard and Mike and everyone else who called in...

 

Again props to you Michael... I will keep listening, phone in and sending in positive emails... I could tell that George was a little more surly this morning re: soccer and bird watching... RED BULL should invite these guys and give them the star treatment so they will continue doing this and more perfhaps hire Howard!

 

Well, I am available. I'm retired, now, and my play doesn't go into rehearsal until August 27.

(Check out http://www.theladyswimstoday.com or http://www.brownswan.us for old info from the showcase last Feb. The new production will be in a larger 99-seat house on W. 28th. WE open Sep.12.)

In the meantime, I could use the gig.

 

You were very good and even my wife commenting on you knowing your stuff... Thanks for helping the Bulls out... I am also in the entertainment industry only I am in film...go to www.njfilmfest.com we have some great stuff lined up for June!

 

Thanks, Michael. It's a strong cast, and most are returning, including the Sopronos people. We have a new director, so I have bowed out of that position, with no regrets at all. It's going to be a good show, and it will run for 6 to 8 weeks -- right up to the playoffs!

AG -- thanks for the link. I wish it were easier to get to Rutgers by public transit. AmTrak gets you to New Brunswick, but it's a long cab ride to the campus from there, isn't that right? When we had the OC matches there, I could never get a campus bus to the stadium.