MLS’ media domino has fallen. What comes next is anyone’s guess.
On Monday, Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer unveiled a new media partnership with ESPN, FOX Sports and Univision Deportes. According to official MLS reports, the deal extends eight years through the 2022 season.
MLS Media Deal Details
National television broadcasts will be anchored on Fridays and Sundays, with local and regional MLS broadcasts exclusively on Saturdays to allow for scheduling flexibility. Out-of-market games will be made available on ESPN3 and WatchESPN. MLS doubleheaders(Matches of the Week) will be televised every Sunday, with back to back matches being televised at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and FOX Sports 1.
The new agreements will also include marketing and promotional support from the networks, including cross promotion between each network for all soccer matches and multi platform marketing initiatives to build the league’s profile. This will include tune-in campaigns, digital content, shoulder programming and social media marketing.
MLS Media Deal Compared to NBC- Premier League Deal
The deal is reportedly bigger than the deal currently struck between NBC and the Barclays Premier League. Between ESPN, Fox Sports, and Univision, the television deal is worth a reported $90 million per season (ESPN, FOX Sports paying $75 million, Univision paying $15 million). The current U.S. media deal, set to expire at the end of the 2014 season, has brought the league an average of $18 million a season.
By comparison, the current deal between the Barclay’s Premier League and NBC is worth $83 million a season.
Below are the official packages as per mlssoccer.com.
ESPN Networks
- Minimum of 34 regular season games, on an exclusive basis, on Sundays at 5 p.m. ET primarily on ESPN2.
- ESPN and FOX Sports will share MLS Cup Playoff matches outside of the two Univision games.
- MLS Cup will alternate each year between ESPN and FOX Sports 1.
- The AT&T MLS All-Star Game will alternate each year between ESPN and FOX Sports 1.
- ESPN and FOX Sports will split all U.S. Soccer matches.
- ESPN3 will carry the matches in MLS’ out-of-market package.
- ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes Radio networks have the rights to broadcast MLS matches.
- ESPN obtains digital rights across all platforms and devices for the games it televises.
FOX Sports
- Minimum of 34 regular season games, on an exclusive basis, on Sundays at 7 p.m. ET primarily on FOX Sports 1.
- FOX Sports 1 and ESPN will split MLS Cup Playoff matches outside of the two Univision games.
- MLS Cup will alternate each year between FOX Sports 1 and ESPN.
- The AT&T MLS All-Star Game will alternate each year between FOX Sports 1 and ESPN.
- FOX Sports obtains digital rights across all platforms and devices for the games it televises, including its FOX Sports GO mobile app and FOXSportsGO.com for desktops.
- FOX Sports obtain digital highlight rights for MLS’s out-of-market package via FOX Sports digital platforms.
- ESPN and FOX Sports 1 will split all U.S. Soccer matches.
- FOX Sports Radio network has the opportunity to broadcast MLS matches.
Univision
- Minimum of 34 regular season games, on an exclusive basis, on Friday evenings usually at 7 p.m. ET or 11 p.m. ET, primarily on UniMás.
- Two MLS Cup Playoff matches per season, on an exclusive basis, during the knockout round.
- The AT&T MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup, exclusively in Spanish on Univision.
- All U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team matches, including a minimum of four U.S. Women’s National Team matches each year over the term.
- Exclusive MLS matches on the Univision networks will include Second Audio Program (SAP), providing viewers the option of watching games in English. English audio also will be available for matches televised on Univision’s digital platforms.
- Univision Deportes Network (UDN), Univision’s 24-hour sports network, will feature 5-7 consecutive Friday doubleheaders in May and June that will be surrounded by two hours of MLS ancillary programming.
- UDN will televise a weekly Sunday MLS wrap-up program and a condensed MLS match of the week.
- Univision obtains digital rights across all platforms and mobile devices for the games it televises.
In a press conference on Monday afternoon, Commissioner Don Garber stated that the league has not begun negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The current CBA is set to expire at the end of the 2014 season, and it was widely expected that the new media deal would have a large influence on the scope of the new CBA. But for now, soccer fans across North America can breathe easy. On the face of it, this deal is the start of many good things to come for MLS.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @LastWordXavi. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at sports injury alert.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
