photo by Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
More countries will now be able to watch MLS. Just in time for the playoffs, too.
MLS announced on Monday that it has partnered with Fox Sports Latin America to televise live league games in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and all of South America except Brazil. The two sides have agreed to a deal that runs through 2018, and it raises the amount of countries and territories that MLS can be viewed in to 120 across the globe.
The partnership will see Fox Sports Latin America telecast two MLS regular season matches a week, half of the playoff games, and the MLS All-Star Game and MLS Cup final in alternating years. A weekly highlights program will also be included.
“This significant agreement with Fox Sports Latin America creates an opportunity for MLS to reach millions of passionate soccer fans on one of the premier sports networks in Latin America,” said Gary Stevenson, president and managing Director of MLS Business Ventures. “With recent signings of top players from Latin America and the world, interest in MLS is higher than ever and this partnership will bring fans closer to stars, like Giovani Dos Santos, Kaká, Clint Dempsey and Sebastian Giovinco every week.”
MLS has made other similar TV announcements throughout the year, including with Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and beIN Sports for coverage in Southeast Asia and Australia.
The league also agreed to a deal with Globosat in Brazil this past spring, which is why the South American country is not part of this agreement with Fox Sports Latin America.
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What do you think of MLS striking this deal? How much does this exposure help the league, especially since this partnership will telecast games in Mexico and South America? Like how aggressive MLS has been with these type of agreements this year?
Share your thoughts below.
MLS needs to change DP Rules: start DP’s salary 650k, only well know International stars as DPs, or transfer over a million, and increase DP by one more.
MLS need to change salary cap a bit more and increase max salary (non-DP), and give bonuses to top non-DP performers.
There is a simple way to do that in the next CBA. DP salaries will not count against the cap, thus allowing that $350k-$800k to be spread around on the rest of the salaries.
Sounds fair to me. DP should not be part salary cap, agreed.
I would still love major increase max salary for non-DP’s.
USNT avoiding Copa America cost MLS a negative backlash, in past.
MLS should focus more markets like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras because mexico, Costa Rica and South America won’t support MLS, those markets see MLS as inferior product, even do those some countries leagues pay less than MLS.
LoL. Bad day today Scott? Because the NT hasn’t been involved in an out of CONCACAF tourney our league is dead there? Maintain your station? Don’t strive to improve. Think small, seek the smallest markets where you don’t have to compete. Be a slave to the perceptions of yesterday. Thank goodness MLS isn’t so defeatist as this is bot exactly a good business model. If people, companies, teams, leagues followed this model, there would never be anything new under the sun or anything to reach for. Up your game, provide a good product. MLS prob won’t ever be top dog there, but can make a few bucks providing another option. People who love the game will watch any league if the play is good enough. I’m so ruined, I can barely walk by a park if there is a game going on. Even worse on my own sofa… I’d watch the Mars league if they had any game.
Good stuff.
How does this help MLS? Does it give teams more money? Does it increase the salary cap? Watching MLS in Chile doesnt do much. Sure some Chilean youth may desire to play there but majority will continue with playing local football and getting to Europe to emulate Vidal and Sanchez.
So what does this do for us?
A typical arrangement in the world of sports broadcasting is that a league will sell its broadcasting rights to a TV channel for money. The TV channel will then sell advertising space during the broadcast to advertisers. Let me know if you have any questions.
lol +1
120 countries is still 117 more then liga MX, which is only in Mexico, US, and Spain
I know for a fact that you can watch Liga MX outside of just Mexico, USA and Spain. Again, what really matters is what the viewership numbers are. While this is great for MLS, keep in mind Liga MX still crushes MLS in the US (averages over 1 million viewers a game), in Mexico and Canada. You really have to understand how much revenue Liga MX makes. The make more money than any other league in the Americas except for Brazil. Liga MX makes more than some European leagues, which is why their rosters are deep.
Btw, I read in an article (I think it was Forbes Business) that Liga MX made $600 million last season. NHL which everyone thinks MLS is about to surpass made almost $4 Billion last season.
Yes, and they still don’t pay their players half the time. And, the league is filthy corrupt. Not to mention the crumbling stadiums, and jerseys that look like a travel suitcase with stickers.
As the MLS salary cap was set by the CBA over the next few years, you may not see any increase in the salary cap, per se. HOWEVER, if most of this money is allocated back to the teams (most likely), you will see things like additional TAMS and, more dollars put into the various allocation funds. In case you don’t know, teams get allocation funds for finishing last, for making the CCL and for various other reasons. SO yes, these agreements do help the MLS, in spreading MLS football across the world, and putting money back to teams, players academies, facilities and the like.
How the hell does it NOT help MLS?
Great! More TV blackouts…
More Exposure. More opportunities to recruit the next gen of up and coming S.A. Starlets and More money for players in the future. I do wish that ALL the playoffs and the All-Star game and MLS Cup Final were covered in full, but some of something (exposure) is better than nothing.
This is HUGE!