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View Full Version : Sky Sports in UK to air 2 MLS games per week



GabrielHurl
02-24-2015, 10:14 AM
https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/570236221454221312


Big news here @MLS #BroadcastMeetings that @SkySports will carry 2 matches/week.

Fort York Redcoat
02-24-2015, 10:16 AM
This is big news. I can predict what the majority watching will say about it over there. Baby steps...

kshep
02-24-2015, 10:21 AM
This is big news. I can predict what the majority watching will say about it over there. Baby steps...

Depends how many people are willing to watch MLS at stupid o'clock in the morning when sky will probably air the matches.

Detroit_TFC
02-24-2015, 10:36 AM
The option to record a game and watch it later is probably better than watching an archived game online, so I could see some small growth in the number of people paying attention to MLS over there.

Red CB Toronto
02-24-2015, 10:42 AM
London is also home to the international chapter of the American Outlaws, so interest would be there to watch the members of the USMNT.

bones
02-24-2015, 10:42 AM
If anything it will give any/all players a chance to look at our league if they had the slightest interest. That is a step in the right direction for the league.

Canary10
02-24-2015, 10:44 AM
Really good idea for MLS to target the UK. Lots of people are looking for any football to fill time in the summer during their off season. Part of the reason I think a winter schedule would be a huge mistake for MLS. Would lose that potential market.

sully
02-24-2015, 10:46 AM
Depends how many people are willing to watch MLS at stupid o'clock in the morning when sky will probably air the matches.

Most games in the eastern conference played in the afternoon here, would be on TV in the late evening over there.

gmacpheetfc
02-24-2015, 10:54 AM
This is massive.

And may shift perceived value of soccer specific stadium in North America if sky sports/mls only want to show games with good tv sight lines on UK television.

burlington Red
02-24-2015, 11:28 AM
will draw people on a few different fronts. We love watching football over there, especially leagues we haven't really seen much of.You'll get Stevie G and Lampard fan boys wanting to watch them and follow them, and lastly we love to bet on football in the UK, especially games we can watch on tv.
I think it's a great move.The MLS style of play ie more physical, faster paced will resonate with the SKY viewers. I could see viewing figures continue to grow over next few yrs re MLS in UK.
The first thing anyone says who i bring to games when they are on holiday visiting me, is they thought the standard would be much lower, they are actually surprised.
With the new additions coming in this season, league is continually improving.

WestStandGeoff
02-24-2015, 11:42 AM
This is massive.

And may shift perceived value of soccer specific stadium in North America if sky sports/mls only want to show games with good tv sight lines on UK television.

I like your optimism, but something tells me they will prioritize games like NYCFC v. Orlando over something with better TV sight lines...

kodiakTFC
02-24-2015, 11:46 AM
More TV money is always good too. I agree with the thoughts expressed above. Its going to be a lot of Keane, Lampard, Gerrard, etc.

gmacpheetfc
02-24-2015, 11:59 AM
I like your optimism, but something tells me they will prioritize games like NYCFC v. Orlando over something with better TV sight lines...

I see them doing that as well...which makes me think they might just do the Sunday night 5 pm and 7 o clock kickoffs for consistency. As well it would be something to challenge match of the day 2 (starts at 10:30).

brad
02-24-2015, 12:08 PM
This is big news. I can predict what the majority watching will say about it over there. Baby steps...

Some will. But not everyone over there is watching top tier stuff. Plenty supporters of the lower league game to appeal to.

Super
02-24-2015, 12:47 PM
Some will. But not everyone over there is watching top tier stuff. Plenty supporters of the lower league game to appeal to.

Supporters of lower league teams tend to also have a Prem team they follow. Or a Spanish or Italian team.

Initial B
02-24-2015, 01:24 PM
And may shift perceived value of soccer specific stadium in North America if sky sports/mls only want to show games with good tv sight lines on UK television.
Who cares about if anyone watches - what are they paying for Broadcast rights? That's more cash to raise the salary cap!

If they broadcast 4pm EST / 1pm PST games, then that would be around 9pm GMT, which would be perfect for a Saturday night pub crowd. They could show 1-2pm EST games as a Sun Evening game across the pond. This bodes well for MLS exposure during the slow summer months.

Super
02-24-2015, 02:36 PM
Who cares about if anyone watches - what are they paying for Broadcast rights? That's more cash to raise the salary cap!

If they broadcast 4pm EST / 1pm PST games, then that would be around 9pm GMT, which would be perfect for a Saturday night pub crowd. They could show 1-2pm EST games as a Sun Evening game across the pond. This bodes well for MLS exposure during the slow summer months.

Ideally we'd start to export our game to televisions around the world. It's all about building our brand and getting people interested in our league. This will help financially, but will also help in terms of bringing better players to our league. We've come a long way already in building a reputation overseas, but we're still seen as nowhere near the top 10 of world leagues. We need to push into that top 10 to win enough respect to where we can actually sell the product, not just at home, but internationally. We have a lot of upsides compared to others - big international/known cities, etc.

brad
02-24-2015, 03:06 PM
Supporters of lower league teams tend to also have a Prem team they follow. Or a Spanish or Italian team.

Sure - but the don't have the same filter that some EPL supporters do that football not played at the highest level is garbage. I think the better quality MLS teams will draw decently on TV over there.

brad
02-24-2015, 03:06 PM
Who cares about if anyone watches - what are they paying for Broadcast rights? That's more cash to raise the salary cap!

If they broadcast 4pm EST / 1pm PST games, then that would be around 9pm GMT, which would be perfect for a Saturday night pub crowd. They could show 1-2pm EST games as a Sun Evening game across the pond. This bodes well for MLS exposure during the slow summer months.

If nobody watches - the likelyhood of the contracts being renewed are slim.

Greatest Ripoff
02-24-2015, 03:38 PM
Not great news. This is actually a lot less matches then have been shown previously. When BT had the rights last year, they showed 4-5 matches a week. Must say I am very disappointed. This will mean less of presence in England for MLS.

mowe
02-24-2015, 03:56 PM
Not great news. This is actually a lot less matches then have been shown previously. When BT had the rights last year, they showed 4-5 matches a week. Must say I am very disappointed. This will mean less of presence in England for MLS.
Yeah I was wondering about that. Didn't they already show matches in the UK? I guess this is a different channel. Is Sky is more widely available?

Greatest Ripoff
02-24-2015, 04:28 PM
Yeah I was wondering about that. Didn't they already show matches in the UK? I guess this is a different channel. Is Sky is more widely available?

It is kinda like the difference between Sportsnet and TSN. Although if you get your cable from BT, you can't get all of the Sky Sports channels. So it depends hwich channel they get put on. To me, the matches will be just as easy to get but there will be less on tv.

Super
02-24-2015, 04:32 PM
If nobody watches - the likelyhood of the contracts being renewed are slim.

True. But there's still a problem. They watch their home teams because it's their home town team. The other teams they watch (Prem, La Liga, etc.) is because of quality. MLS won't fall into that category. The best we can hope for is that people will watch because we're kinda odd and new. Until we scrap our weird rules and join the international community the chances of us getting proper attention in the rest of the world is close to zero. Personally the ONLY reason I watch the MLS is because it's the best/only live option in my city. Having said that, I do have a lot of hopes for the future, but it all depends on the fans and their willingness to step away from typical North American rules (NHL, NFL, etc.) and become more of a proper football league. That's my hope.

Canary10
02-24-2015, 04:49 PM
True. But there's still a problem. They watch their home teams because it's their home town team. The other teams they watch (Prem, La Liga, etc.) is because of quality. MLS won't fall into that category. The best we can hope for is that people will watch because we're kinda odd and new. Until we scrap our weird rules and join the international community the chances of us getting proper attention in the rest of the world is close to zero. Personally the ONLY reason I watch the MLS is because it's the best/only live option in my city. Having said that, I do have a lot of hopes for the future, but it all depends on the fans and their willingness to step away from typical North American rules (NHL, NFL, etc.) and become more of a proper football league. That's my hope.

A lot of MLS is played during their off season when people are dying for any kind of football. MLS should be able to capitalize on that for a couple of months at least.

troy1982
02-25-2015, 05:58 AM
True. But there's still a problem. They watch their home teams because it's their home town team. The other teams they watch (Prem, La Liga, etc.) is because of quality. MLS won't fall into that category. The best we can hope for is that people will watch because we're kinda odd and new. Until we scrap our weird rules and join the international community the chances of us getting proper attention in the rest of the world is close to zero. Personally the ONLY reason I watch the MLS is because it's the best/only live option in my city. Having said that, I do have a lot of hopes for the future, but it all depends on the fans and their willingness to step away from typical North American rules (NHL, NFL, etc.) and become more of a proper football league. That's my hope.

North American has the most successful leagues in the world, so what do you consider improper about them.

Fort York Redcoat
02-25-2015, 09:19 AM
North American has the most successful leagues in the world, so what do you consider improper about them.

The rules and schedules and tournaments differ from most of the successful leagues in world football. The differences are vast and many and I'm sure you'll see many references to them around here.

GabrielHurl
02-25-2015, 09:30 AM
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/02/25/mls-and-british-broadcaster-sky-sports-announce-groundbreaking-partnership


Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with British sports broadcaster Sky Sports to televise league matches live in the United Kingdom, marking the first time Sky Sports will own MLS broadcast rights. The four-year multimedia deal begins with the kickoff of MLS’s landmark 20th season.
As part of the new agreement, Sky Sports will broadcast at least two MLS regular-season matches each week, as well as the AT&T MLS All-Star Game, every MLS Cup Playoff game, and the MLS Cup final. The matches will appear across Sky's family of networks.

The UK-based broadcaster will also carry weekly MLS highlights across various platforms, including Sky Sports News and SkySports.com.

Sky Sports will also broadcast at least one match from MLS's new "Decision Day" – the recently announced format change for the final day of the MLS regular season, during which all Eastern Conference games will be played simultaneously at 5 pm ET (9 pm UK time) followed by all Western Conference games at 7 pm ET (11 pm UK time). Many of the matches are expected to determine the final spots for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

“As MLS continues to grow into a global brand, we are excited to partner with Sky Sports, a leader in the UK TV market, to bring the sport to millions of soccer fans,” said Gary Stevenson, president and managing director, MLS Business Ventures, in a statement. “2015 is a milestone year for MLS including new stars, new clubs and a new brand. Sky Sports will help continue to grow the League and clubs worldwide.”

“Football in the US and Canada has enormous potential for growth and we can’t wait to bring this competition to our viewers for the first time,” said Sky Sports Managing Director Barney Francis. “Thierry Henry has joined us [as an on-air pundit]. He created fantastic memories in MLS, and we look forward to seeing more of those great stories from across the Atlantic.”

Henry played for the New York Red Bulls for nearly five seasons before retiring from the game after the 2014 season.

“I saw the passion of the fans in the US and Canada," he said in a statement. "They have always had it for other sports but they also have it for football now and it’s going to be huge in years to come. Sky Sports is the best place for the game, to bring it closer to fans in the UK and build MLS even more.”

Henry is just one of several Sky ambassadors. Another is David Beckham, the retired two-time MLS Cup champion with the LA Galaxy who is currently spearheading an MLS expansion bid in Miami. He sees the new deal with Sky Sports as another step in the evolution of MLS.

"This is another important moment that shows the continued growth of MLS," he said in a statement. "I have seen first-hand how popular soccer has become in America. Having fantastic partners such as Sky Sports on board will not only add to the coverage of the game, it will also broaden its appeal outside of the US."

The deal was negotiated with MLS’ new global media rights agent, IMG, as part of a continued focus to bring MLS to more fans around the world and grow the relevance of the league.

Canary10
02-25-2015, 09:36 AM
North American has the most successful leagues in the world, so what do you consider improper about them.

MLS is still sooo far below the top European leagues it will always struggle for eyeballs in the UK or anywhere else. The thing about the other North American leagues is they are insular. Football, baseball, and to less extent hockey and basketball are really North American sports that are only really played here. They can be run as if there is not competition anywhere else in the world. It's not the same for soccer, which is global. MLS is still using largely a North American model in a game that is global. Until it gets with the global rules, it'll always be minor league imo.

Super
02-25-2015, 11:34 AM
MLS is still sooo far below the top European leagues it will always struggle for eyeballs in the UK or anywhere else. The thing about the other North American leagues is they are insular. Football, baseball, and to less extent hockey and basketball are really North American sports that are only really played here. They can be run as if there is not competition anywhere else in the world. It's not the same for soccer, which is global. MLS is still using largely a North American model in a game that is global. Until it gets with the global rules, it'll always be minor league imo.

I agree with this 100%, and it's the biggest reason why I speak out against the salary cap, support free agency, and want clubs to own all of their own contracts, etc.. We need to be on the same wave length with the rest of the world. THEN we can begin to seriously compete for players and fan attention around the world. The MLS has HUGE potential. Surely we can make 1 league work in a market with 400 million people. If we make this league internationally respectable, look out!

brad
02-25-2015, 11:41 AM
True. But there's still a problem. They watch their home teams because it's their home town team. The other teams they watch (Prem, La Liga, etc.) is because of quality. MLS won't fall into that category. The best we can hope for is that people will watch because we're kinda odd and new. Until we scrap our weird rules and join the international community the chances of us getting proper attention in the rest of the world is close to zero. Personally the ONLY reason I watch the MLS is because it's the best/only live option in my city. Having said that, I do have a lot of hopes for the future, but it all depends on the fans and their willingness to step away from typical North American rules (NHL, NFL, etc.) and become more of a proper football league. That's my hope.

I don't disagree with any of this. However we have the scheduling advantage over the summer when the other leagues aren't playing. If people want to watch football over the summer, the MLS will be there for them

Initial B
02-25-2015, 12:22 PM
I don't want to see the salary cap go. In my mind, that's still the best way to promote parity. Yes, I understand that's an anathema to some, but North American fans won't be very enthusiastic if they know that their team will never have a chance of winning anything. Eventually, I'd like to see the salary cap on par with the other North American Leagues. $30-50 million sounds good, but that would require 28-team league to have at least $1billion/year in TV revenue to be sustainable.

sully
02-25-2015, 12:32 PM
http://www.hudsonriverblue.com/2015/2/23/8091403/exclusive-soccernomics-stefan-szymanski-talks-dollars-data-mls

I think this is a good article on why MLS should truely stands for Minor League Football and can never be 'Major' until fundamental changes are made...

Greatest Ripoff
02-27-2015, 07:46 AM
One thing that could be a major improvement on BT Sport would be a weekly highlight show.

I am a little worried that the season starts in. Week and there is no info in what matches they will show.

Greatest Ripoff
03-01-2015, 08:17 AM
Looks like MLS has fucked up with this. Matches have been announced for Sky Sports 3. If you get your cable from another provider you can only get sky sports 1, 2 and 5. A lot of people will no longer be bale to watch MLS with this new deal.

OgtheDim
03-01-2015, 12:49 PM
http://www.hudsonriverblue.com/2015/2/23/8091403/exclusive-soccernomics-stefan-szymanski-talks-dollars-data-mls

I think this is a good article on why MLS should truely stands for Minor League Football and can never be 'Major' until fundamental changes are made...


It should be pointed out that this guy believes in spending money, and ignores the fundamental issue of revenues. He firmly believes that investment is all that matters and has no issue with people spending hundreds of millions when the revenue to support that is not there.

One quote just about sums up his inability to understand the North American sports mindset


I think one of the things that MLS could learn is that nobody really cares about competitive balance.


Uh, no. People want to see their team compete. The imbalance occurring in European football is killing gate revenues - i.e. attendance everywhere but those who are constantly succeeding. If you can't compete, its not worth going to.


He doesn't understand that spending $50 - $100 million per team in North American is not sustainable given the lack of TV revenues.

Its a ludicrous analysis based on a flawed understanding of success.


*********

And his ideas are the antithesis of Moneyball, so I have no idea where that reference is coming from. Baseball is the one place where his thesis actually applies - but that's not how Beane went about and is going about doing things.


Sorry, guys like this bug me cause they look at success based on a limited set of economic variables that do not necessarily transfer from one society to the next. Then people fawn all over them as if they are gurus, when in fact they are just bean counting descriptors who lack both historical and sociological knowledge references in their analysis.

gmacpheetfc
03-08-2015, 04:30 PM
sky broadcast is quality

Yohan
03-08-2015, 04:37 PM
EuroSport is picking up quite a few games too

TFC07
03-30-2015, 01:10 PM
More good news:

Brazil: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/03/27/mls-agrees-four-year-deal-broadcaster-globosat-televise-league-matches-live-

Middle East and North Africa: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/03/30/mls-partners-abu-dhabi-sports-channel-broadcast-league-middle-east-north-afr

Nice to see MLS games being shown internationally on TV. These sort of deals will help the league grow and increase it's value.

David_Oliveira
03-30-2015, 02:22 PM
EuroSport is picking up quite a few games too

I got a text from my cousin last night who was watching the TFC game at a bar on Eurosport. Says there is usually two games a week

This article says they have the rights to MLS in Europe (Except the UK) for every game including All-Star, Playoffs, and MLS Cup (http://tv.eurosport.pt/futebol/mls/2015/storynews_sto4627788.shtml) until 2018

C.Ronaldo
03-30-2015, 02:29 PM
the world can watch the shitty refs.

Greatest Ripoff
04-07-2015, 03:46 PM
We are a few weeks in and Sky has stopped showing it's highlight show. I think it was only on the first week and all of the text was in Spanish for some reason. So far Sky's coverage is not as good as BT's coverage over the past few seasons.

Gazza_55
04-12-2015, 09:31 AM
http://www.hudsonriverblue.com/2015/2/23/8091403/exclusive-soccernomics-stefan-szymanski-talks-dollars-data-mls

I think this is a good article on why MLS should truely stands for Minor League Football and can never be 'Major' until fundamental changes are made...

Everything the writer proposes can be done by the NASL and every other soccer league in the US. In the last 15 years any league could have had each club spend $100m on payroll and $200m on transfer fees buying 'Superclubs' and put MLS with our $2.5m salary cap out of business. What happened is Seattle Vancouver Portland Montreal and now Atlanta & Minnesota etc are paying huge expansion fees to Major League Soccer to GET OUT OF THAT SYSTEM.

The Footy Diary
04-17-2015, 09:06 PM
I've seen the majority of their coverage over here and i'm enjoying watching the league for the first time seeing as I haven't got the BT Sport channels.

Only gripe I really have with the product is the lack of studio punditry/lack of highlights show if I miss the action want and to catch up with the rest of the action.