7 ms·

This is probably one of the best decision by any TV provider. MLS is going to blow up in the coming years. There is a lot of talk about US national team being

by avgDev 4y ago

This is probably one of the best decision by any TV provider. MLS is going to blow up in the coming years. There is a lot of talk about US national team being very competitive in 2026 World Cup. MLS has produced stars already, like Alphonso Davies. Once the hype gets higher and more money start being spent on soccer in the US, it will become a power house.

eschulz 4y ago
MLS is also a good place to see some of Europe's biggest stars play in the final years of their careers. I've always thought a league full of almost-retired legends was a good way to get some publicity.
- hermitdev 4y ago
  I was a season ticket holder of a club that kept bringing in the older stars. Frankly, it was frustrating as a fan that wanted to see their team do well in the MLS Cup & US Open Cup. I was a ticket holder during one US Open Cup win and elimination in the semi finals of an MLS Cup run. The team did both without retiring international stars. My perspective on the big money stars coming in is that it's a huge financial drain on the team for around 1/2-3 years of performance by the star. Yes, MLS has designated players (DPs), but last I looked, the first $500k in salary still counts towards the team's salary cap. I'm not sure what the salary cap is this year, but even if they've doubled it from the last time I paid attention, it'd only be $5M... It's a huge chunk of change relative to the rest of the team for not a lot of performance. Teams would largely be better off finding and growing youth talent than brining in another DP. I finally gave up on my tickets after nearly 15 years because it was apparent the team wasn't interested in winning cups anymore. Ownership just wanted to fill the stadium with whatever retiring star they could get their hands on.
- jandrewrogers 4y ago
  The best teams in MLS typically don't have any retired legends. This is a gimmick more commonly associated with not-so-good teams. Most good MLS teams are heavy with South American talent in their prime and, increasingly, products of their own academies.
throwaway12245 4y ago
U.S. Soccer is a joke : that goes for international and MLS. Top U.S. club is ranked 122 in the world : https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/global-club-rankings/ https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/glob... U.S. got beat by some central american club and did not qualify for world cup last time. MLS is a rigged league. Purported local "ownership" is a ruse. MLS management decides who wins championship. Real U.S. soccer fans follow top European leagues and UEAFA champions league.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  What the heck happened to Man U in those rankings? Did they fall precipitously in the last few years or what
  - thrill 4y ago
    Sir Alex knew "when to fold 'em".
  - jl6 4y ago
    Fergexit.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    Yes. It has been glorius to watch! YNWA!!!
- jdminhbg 4y ago
  Ah yes, the old "oi m8 I watch proper footy down the pub" archetype. MLS is "rigged," top Euro leagues like the one Bayern has won nine consecutive times are "not."
- HidyBush 4y ago
  >U.S. Soccer is a joke U.S. male Soccer is a joke* I urge anyone curious about this topic to go and look how the US female soccer team performs globally, it truly speaks about how the US has a bad soccer team simply because all the talent is funneled elsewhere
- 4y ago
relaxatorium 4y ago
It's a gamble, because as of now they're not even the most popular soccer league in America let alone the world. Liga MX (Mexican soccer) ratings destroy them for the obvious reasons (the league the US's largest most passionate soccer fanbase is most passionate about), EPL ratings beat them pretty handily as well (English Premier League, the highest profile and probably best of the European leagues). Given the money and momentum behind MLS though, there is at least a chance by the end of this deal that they have become one of the top soccer leagues in the world and Apple looks extremely clever, which is not something you can really say for a lot of leagues with actual better soccer than MLS has right now. It is weird that Apple, one of the biggest companies in the world, now has a vested interest in globally promoting a specific soccer league. MLS is probably thrilled with this compared to their current situation where ESPN+ does dump pretty much all the games onto streaming as content, but is generally disinterested in promoting it too heavily because of their vast prtfolio of already more popular sports.
- alostpuppy 4y ago
  From a value prospective it might work out well. I don’t watch soccer and I’ll probably watch a few matches. I suppose it all comes down to the price they paid.
- trynewideas 4y ago
  MLS also lost linear TV ratings and viewership battles a few times this season to the women's league (NWSL), which a few MLS teams also own teams in. NWSL's media deals with CBS and Twitch are worth $4.5M/year, or less than 2% this deal from Apple. Most of those NWSL matches where MLS lost in viewership were also just preseason tournament matches for the women's league. The season hadn't even started yet.
JamesSwift 4y ago
I just dont see MLS "blowing up". Will it be more popular than today? Possibly, though I feel like its been given several chances to catch on and never has. Will it challenge NFL / NBA popularity in any way? IMO, absolutely not.
- PaulHoule 4y ago
  Engagement with MLS is somewhere close to zero. Back when I was involved in coaching youth soccer I found the other coaches had never heard of the New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, L.A. Galaxy, etc. These folks were fans of man united but had no interest at all in US soccer. Who knows? Maybe not having lockouts will mean that if some team starts playing well people will be able to watch it. MLS definitely needs something to happen to get people interested but it seems to me they should relegate the whole league.
  - JamesSwift 4y ago
    I'm near Orlando and it was a big deal when Orlando City came to town. That excitement has mostly subsided outside of Orlando proper and people are generally back to the Magic / NCAAF / NFL now.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Kon-Peki 4y ago
    Our local small-town youth soccer league hosted a tournament over Memorial Day weekend. The nearest MLS team sent a big box truck with their logo painted on it, and set up a bunch of activities and a merchandise tent. They are definitely working on improving engagement - but perhaps each team is at a different level ;)
    - PaulHoule 4y ago
      Good for them.
  - syntaxfree 4y ago
dylan604 4y ago
This will happen right after the year of Linux desktops. The US National team being competitive in international is way too high of an expection from anyone that follows international soccer. The US is stuck geographically playing Mexico all. the. damn. time. They rarely play any European teams. They also rarely play good South American teams. Until they regularly play good teams, they will stagnate going back and forth with Mexico. The same applies to Mexico too. The only way to get better is to keep playing better teams.
- bwing 4y ago
  This overestimates the role of international soccer in predicting future international soccer success. Players get 99% of their development with their club teams. While it is crucial for Americans to regularly play good teams, this experience is mostly going to happen in top European leagues and the Champions League. And we're in the midst of a huge boom period for Americans in Europe, with young Americans playing regularly for perennial Champions League teams Dortmund, Barcelona, Chelsea, Juventus, and Leipzig, a handful of starters on quality teams behind them, and major European teams spending more and more resources scouting American prospects. Player quality is the main driver of international success: Belgium went from 57th-ranked in 2010 to 1st-ranked in 2015 (yes, FIFA rankings are bad, but they point to something real) not because of some change in scheduling philosophy but because they had a bunch of great players in 2015.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    Belgium has not one but two players named Hazard, a Mertens, a Lukaku, a Tielemens, just to name a few. It's not surprising they've jumped in the standings with a squad like that. They also have Martinez as a coach. Just look at the recent fixture list of the USMNT[0]. I'm really not meaning to offend, but these are not soccer power house types of squads they are facing. The USMNT has a long long way to go. As long as there competition with American Throwball, basketball, baseball, etc, the US will suffer this level of mediocrity as the money potential just isn't there. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men%27s_national_soccer_team#Recent_results_and_schedule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men%27s_national...
bitsoda 4y ago
MLS will steadily grow over the next decade, of that I have no doubt. I think soccer in America has a ceiling, though. NFL and NBA will be #1 and #2 for a long, long time, but MLS could surpass NHL, and maybe MLB by the end of the decade if its momentum continues. In any case, I'm so geeked over this deal. MLS is the only league I enjoy anymore. I dig parity and salary-capped leagues, and soccer has this suspense about it where every minute matters unlike most other sports. Great pickup for Apple.
- asdff 4y ago
  MLS doesn't yet have a good farm system like in Europe or other leagues here in the U.S. like MLB. Seems to be why you get a lot of older talent coming from elsewhere.
kernal 4y ago
>MLS is going to blow up in the coming years. MLS is a distant 4th or 5th sport in the North America and I don't see that ever changing. European soccer (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A) will always be the pinnacle of soccer in the world. People want to watch the best teams and best players and MLS doesn't compare to the caliber of European soccer and never will.

by avgDev 4y ago

eschulz 4y ago

MLS is also a good place to see some of Europe's biggest stars play in the final years of their careers. I've always thought a league full of almost-retired legends was a good way to get some publicity.

hermitdev 4y ago
I was a season ticket holder of a club that kept bringing in the older stars. Frankly, it was frustrating as a fan that wanted to see their team do well in the MLS Cup & US Open Cup. I was a ticket holder during one US Open Cup win and elimination in the semi finals of an MLS Cup run. The team did both without retiring international stars. My perspective on the big money stars coming in is that it's a huge financial drain on the team for around 1/2-3 years of performance by the star. Yes, MLS has designated players (DPs), but last I looked, the first $500k in salary still counts towards the team's salary cap. I'm not sure what the salary cap is this year, but even if they've doubled it from the last time I paid attention, it'd only be $5M... It's a huge chunk of change relative to the rest of the team for not a lot of performance. Teams would largely be better off finding and growing youth talent than brining in another DP. I finally gave up on my tickets after nearly 15 years because it was apparent the team wasn't interested in winning cups anymore. Ownership just wanted to fill the stadium with whatever retiring star they could get their hands on.
jandrewrogers 4y ago
The best teams in MLS typically don't have any retired legends. This is a gimmick more commonly associated with not-so-good teams. Most good MLS teams are heavy with South American talent in their prime and, increasingly, products of their own academies.

throwaway12245 4y ago

U.S. Soccer is a joke : that goes for international and MLS. Top U.S. club is ranked 122 in the world : https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/global-club-rankings/ https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/glob... U.S. got beat by some central american club and did not qualify for world cup last time. MLS is a rigged league. Purported local "ownership" is a ruse. MLS management decides who wins championship. Real U.S. soccer fans follow top European leagues and UEAFA champions league.

Apocryphon 4y ago
What the heck happened to Man U in those rankings? Did they fall precipitously in the last few years or what
- thrill 4y ago
  Sir Alex knew "when to fold 'em".
- jl6 4y ago
  Fergexit.
- dylan604 4y ago
  Yes. It has been glorius to watch! YNWA!!!
jdminhbg 4y ago
Ah yes, the old "oi m8 I watch proper footy down the pub" archetype. MLS is "rigged," top Euro leagues like the one Bayern has won nine consecutive times are "not."
HidyBush 4y ago
>U.S. Soccer is a joke U.S. male Soccer is a joke* I urge anyone curious about this topic to go and look how the US female soccer team performs globally, it truly speaks about how the US has a bad soccer team simply because all the talent is funneled elsewhere
4y ago

relaxatorium 4y ago

It's a gamble, because as of now they're not even the most popular soccer league in America let alone the world. Liga MX (Mexican soccer) ratings destroy them for the obvious reasons (the league the US's largest most passionate soccer fanbase is most passionate about), EPL ratings beat them pretty handily as well (English Premier League, the highest profile and probably best of the European leagues). Given the money and momentum behind MLS though, there is at least a chance by the end of this deal that they have become one of the top soccer leagues in the world and Apple looks extremely clever, which is not something you can really say for a lot of leagues with actual better soccer than MLS has right now. It is weird that Apple, one of the biggest companies in the world, now has a vested interest in globally promoting a specific soccer league. MLS is probably thrilled with this compared to their current situation where ESPN+ does dump pretty much all the games onto streaming as content, but is generally disinterested in promoting it too heavily because of their vast prtfolio of already more popular sports.

alostpuppy 4y ago
From a value prospective it might work out well. I don’t watch soccer and I’ll probably watch a few matches. I suppose it all comes down to the price they paid.
trynewideas 4y ago
MLS also lost linear TV ratings and viewership battles a few times this season to the women's league (NWSL), which a few MLS teams also own teams in. NWSL's media deals with CBS and Twitch are worth $4.5M/year, or less than 2% this deal from Apple. Most of those NWSL matches where MLS lost in viewership were also just preseason tournament matches for the women's league. The season hadn't even started yet.

JamesSwift 4y ago

I just dont see MLS "blowing up". Will it be more popular than today? Possibly, though I feel like its been given several chances to catch on and never has. Will it challenge NFL / NBA popularity in any way? IMO, absolutely not.

PaulHoule 4y ago
Engagement with MLS is somewhere close to zero. Back when I was involved in coaching youth soccer I found the other coaches had never heard of the New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, L.A. Galaxy, etc. These folks were fans of man united but had no interest at all in US soccer. Who knows? Maybe not having lockouts will mean that if some team starts playing well people will be able to watch it. MLS definitely needs something to happen to get people interested but it seems to me they should relegate the whole league.
- JamesSwift 4y ago
  I'm near Orlando and it was a big deal when Orlando City came to town. That excitement has mostly subsided outside of Orlando proper and people are generally back to the Magic / NCAAF / NFL now.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Kon-Peki 4y ago
  Our local small-town youth soccer league hosted a tournament over Memorial Day weekend. The nearest MLS team sent a big box truck with their logo painted on it, and set up a bunch of activities and a merchandise tent. They are definitely working on improving engagement - but perhaps each team is at a different level ;)
  - PaulHoule 4y ago
    Good for them.
- syntaxfree 4y ago

dylan604 4y ago

This will happen right after the year of Linux desktops. The US National team being competitive in international is way too high of an expection from anyone that follows international soccer. The US is stuck geographically playing Mexico all. the. damn. time. They rarely play any European teams. They also rarely play good South American teams. Until they regularly play good teams, they will stagnate going back and forth with Mexico. The same applies to Mexico too. The only way to get better is to keep playing better teams.

bwing 4y ago
This overestimates the role of international soccer in predicting future international soccer success. Players get 99% of their development with their club teams. While it is crucial for Americans to regularly play good teams, this experience is mostly going to happen in top European leagues and the Champions League. And we're in the midst of a huge boom period for Americans in Europe, with young Americans playing regularly for perennial Champions League teams Dortmund, Barcelona, Chelsea, Juventus, and Leipzig, a handful of starters on quality teams behind them, and major European teams spending more and more resources scouting American prospects. Player quality is the main driver of international success: Belgium went from 57th-ranked in 2010 to 1st-ranked in 2015 (yes, FIFA rankings are bad, but they point to something real) not because of some change in scheduling philosophy but because they had a bunch of great players in 2015.
- dylan604 4y ago
  Belgium has not one but two players named Hazard, a Mertens, a Lukaku, a Tielemens, just to name a few. It's not surprising they've jumped in the standings with a squad like that. They also have Martinez as a coach. Just look at the recent fixture list of the USMNT[0]. I'm really not meaning to offend, but these are not soccer power house types of squads they are facing. The USMNT has a long long way to go. As long as there competition with American Throwball, basketball, baseball, etc, the US will suffer this level of mediocrity as the money potential just isn't there. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men%27s_national_soccer_team#Recent_results_and_schedule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men%27s_national...

bitsoda 4y ago

MLS will steadily grow over the next decade, of that I have no doubt. I think soccer in America has a ceiling, though. NFL and NBA will be #1 and #2 for a long, long time, but MLS could surpass NHL, and maybe MLB by the end of the decade if its momentum continues. In any case, I'm so geeked over this deal. MLS is the only league I enjoy anymore. I dig parity and salary-capped leagues, and soccer has this suspense about it where every minute matters unlike most other sports. Great pickup for Apple.

asdff 4y ago
MLS doesn't yet have a good farm system like in Europe or other leagues here in the U.S. like MLB. Seems to be why you get a lot of older talent coming from elsewhere.

kernal 4y ago

>MLS is going to blow up in the coming years. MLS is a distant 4th or 5th sport in the North America and I don't see that ever changing. European soccer (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A) will always be the pinnacle of soccer in the world. People want to watch the best teams and best players and MLS doesn't compare to the caliber of European soccer and never will.