Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1602489830117724160
TSN is keeping the broadcast rights in Canada for MLS. This is good news.
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1602489830117724160
TSN is keeping the broadcast rights in Canada for MLS. This is good news.
If that means we get the really weak pregame & no post game for TFC that TSN provides, then the Apple deal is not an upgrade at all for us beyond what DAZN provides.
This is only good news if you have cable. For cord cutters like me, TSN better put some effort into their content.
Yaaaay... Another year of Steven Caldwell telling me why TFC is fucking garbage and how Liam Fraser is the best sub while down two goals even though he plays in Belgium.
Yeah, by good news I meant being able to watch on traditional cable - I don't trust most bars and restaurants to splurge on an Apple TV subscription just so a few people can catch a game. I'm hopeful that the Apple TV pre-game and post game shows are much better than TSN's. Having the games on TSN are also important to get the casual fans into the game.
General self-educational query for the community; anyone?
Regarding Tom Bogert; the likes of him.
And how he 'Breaks' MLS News; for example like Osorio.
BTW, is Gio Reyna his young doppelganger?
Understand his background.
USA - New York / New Jersey based.
Besides MLS, has MLB experience, even a remote columnist for a UK Football Club.
Is he more connected to TFC over a local journalist/pundit?
Does he just have better agent or player relationships?
Even with Club Management?
Or is he simply connected into MLS Head Office?
Through which I suspect all transactions, even potential, are discussed and then processed?
I'm thrilled about Apple tv because now I can watch every single game at whatever time I want! It's fantastic.
World/MLS Football Economics.
Think MLS has to be careful- walking the razor's edge- and not get too ahead of itself.
The league is being politely schooled...
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/WilliamsBob75/status/1603798657937162247
IIUC...
AFC Bournemouth sold for circa...
120M Pounds,
145M USD,
200M CAD.
Debatable best league in the world.
Middling EPL team.
Let's Gooo Mr. Tanenbaum/MLSE!
Last edited by Mr. Inbetween; 12-17-2022 at 03:02 AM.
Schooled by that sort of investor is not being schooled.
Guy should buy out Joey - he'd be better for Club Foot because although like Joey he's not willing to spend money, he isn't going to meddle as much.
Heck, he isn't willing to even do the Cinci / Minnesota / Austin / St. Louis style.
MLS is not interested in bringing in his style of ownership anymore - they either want people with built in stadiums or people willing to invest in those stadiums to get to a certain point.
MLS is a long term bet -you invest knowing full well sometime in the next 30 years, this league is going to be the dominant one beyond Europe.
e.g. Arthur Blank is doing Atlanta United for his kids & step kids.
I don’t know that I see the MLS endgame the way I used too. Soccer just isn’t breaking out in North America (as measured by TV ratings). It has hardly moved at all the last 15 years. Seems to me the league is being carried by expansion fees. Seems to me we have seen that movie before.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
We shall see.
I would love to be a fly in the wall in league meetings and hear how they actually felt about TV arrangements over the past decade.
Because to me it seemed like they just wanted the cheques from the networks and then put out a terrible product in terms of telecast quality. They allowed one team to play out of baseball stadium and still have turf fields in far too many cities. They also accepted bad time slots and other arrangements that were never going to help them grow.
I think there is a path to solid ratings here (although we’ll never be top dog in North America or world terms). But, they have to invest in the game and start giving ultimatums to owners like Bob Kraft: get in or get out.
I will disagree with you on this.
Why... that sort of investor?
Because Foley got others to finance/build another multi-purpose stadium- T-Mobile he needed to use?
And would be using for just 41 Regular+14 Playoff possible NHL home games.
A max 55 days a year out of 365 days.
I believe he took a 15% Stadium Ownership Stake for circa a 15% yearly occupancy rate?
Seems like a fair and smart piece of business to me.
Also seems to me MLS would at least consider anyone whom has demonstrated such resourcefulness.
The ability to previously orchestrate such a venture and sign such a cheque; expansion fee and stadium build.
While there are more Billionaires than ever, those that may want to pursue such a risk are still few a far between.
Especially those with such acumen and experience.
Ones that are already vetted and involved in another successful sports league and franchise.
I agree eventually there will be a ROI on a MLS franchise.
On 1B? In time, maybe an average of a doubling; hopefully a tripling?
However, not similar or close to a return like those TFC/MLSE are experiencing; 30+ times and counting.
As for Arthur Blank, my position is that his MLS franchise was more a viable business decision afterthought.
For sure not the primary build reason or tenant for the new stadium- Mercedes Benz.
Oddly, which was also financed and is owned by others; in this instance the State of Georgia.
Yep, another smart billionaire.
Blank also seems to own the entity that runs the stadium on behalf of the Taxpayers of Georgia.
I believe his MLS venture was a fortunate happenstance; a business value-add that greased the wheels.
As another offset for occupancy, stadium costs and payments and profitability for his landlord benefactor.
BTW, his expansion fee seems to have been around 70M and not the current MLS ask of 300M.
Thiago Almada- ATLUTD- becomes first active MLS player to win a World Cup title!
Albeit... on the bench and as a substitute- limited minutes during tourney campaign.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/thiag...orld-cup-title
So how does everyone feel about the schedule? All night games.
Easter long weekend in Nashville is interesting.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
Say hello to “MLS Saturday Night” and “MLS Wednesday Night” or some such branding.
Pretty significant league wide attempt to have most games on Saturday night. One or two games on most Sundays (none for Canadian teams). Exception is Sun Aug 20 (no idea why), and we play Montreal that Sunday.
They do occasionally play midweek, everybody plays on same Wednesday night (eg Wed May 17, Wed May 31, Wed Jun 21, Wed Aug 30, Wed Oct 4)
This was the Leafs schedule when I was a kid. Saturday night, always, Wednesday nights, often. Other nights were very rare.
Last edited by ensco; 12-20-2022 at 09:09 PM.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
Yeh, we first heard this would be the way when Apple bought the broadcast rights. Happy to have the continuity.
Nice to have a Canada day game actually IN Canada.
I'm curious about this though.
I know the US is the main target for Apple in this deal, but they also make a point of declaring 'available in 100 countries' in their advertising, so I assume they have the international market in mind. I would also assume (though I could be wrong there) that Europe would be one of, if not the, prime international market targets, and, I've heard that one reason MLS was gaining in popularity in Europe was because MLS afternoon games would come on TV there after their domestic games were done, giving footy fans something else to watch late into the evening.
However, with all MLS games now night games, that's overnight in Europe, meaning most people aren't going to stay up and watch them live. So the interesting thing will be to see if the 'on demand' feature is going to really catch on when people realize they can get up and watch them first thing in the morning if they want to.
^I think the issue of not being able to watch it live in a secondary market is a problem for another day, when your main issue is that no one watches it at all in your home market.
What they are doing seems smart to me. The biggest surprise to me is that they chose Saturday night to anchor to, and not a weeknight. Saturday night is a branding problem in Canada (that is hockey night here) and is the weakest night of the week ratings wise in TV generally. The NBA for instance has never done much with Saturday night (they tried 25 years ago to brand it on NBC, that lasted 1-2 seasons iirc).
I suspect the Apple plan is to model after Hockey Night in Canada, which of course has never been hurt by the fact its a Saturday. Issue is though that US culture on this is pretty different.
They obviously were wise to avoid really going head on against the NFL on Sunday, even if it would only be for a few weeks.
Last edited by ensco; 12-21-2022 at 08:24 AM.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
I like night games as a supporter, but they absolutely suck when you have kids who are 3 and 7. They won't get to go to a single game this year, which really sucks, especially as they've been excited to go after the World Cup. It's bad to bring in the next generation of supporters.
Montreal hires former DCU coach Hernan Losada to be their new manager.
So they are going from a players coach to a guy who had players openly revolt due to what were considered harsh training methods. Maybe the latter is overstated as I’ve seen a few people mention the training methods here are soft and behind Europe.
But still, must feel like a bit of whiplash to whoever is in the locker room. I am sure he and Kamara will get along great.
Only, the most important, requisite by Joey… speaks French; seems Losada does.
I sent an email to my TFC account manager about the night games. I know he can't do anything about it but it's such a bad move for the next generation of TFC supporters to shut so many kids out of attending games.
Times have changed since when I was a kid. When I was a kid, and I mean like 5-9 years old, I was going with my Dad or my friend's Dad to Leafs games at night, wrestling matches at Maple Leaf Gardens & local arenas, crappy concerts at Ontario Place,etc.
Like, it's a Saturday night. When I was kid I would be fighting to stay out until 10pm or 11pm anyway and that was just me on the streets screwing around but this would be supervised with parents.