Until MLS gets higher ratings, the big money advertisers are not going to step up.
And indeed, some suggest any "soccer fever" we’re experiencing will vanish once the World Cup ends. That, like the Olympics, Americans watch the World Cup for patriotic reasons over any enduring desire to follow the sport the four years in between.
They’ll note that MLS television ratings on ESPN actually declined 33 percent to an average 220,000 viewers last year, trailing the WNBA’s 231,000 on that network. Overall, the league’s combined viewership on ESPN and NBC fell from 443,000 to 332,000 and was dwarfed by the 532,000 who watched the NHL on NBC channels last season.
Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a consulting firm that tracks consumer loyalty, says MLS lags well behind the "Big Four" leagues.
"This is the UFO of major league sports,’’ Passikoff said. "Every four years, it floats around long enough so people get a glimpse of it. But it never lands."
The biggest problem, he adds, is that despite the arrival of David Beckham with the LA Galaxy in 2007, the MLS lacks the star caliber of leagues overseas. Indeed, American TV ratings for English Premier League games still outpace MLS.
"Until the MLS teams here start bringing in some stars, nobody’s going to pay attention to them,’’ he said. "The truth is, any one of your friends can rattle off the names of five or 10 of the major league baseball, or basketball or even hockey teams. Nobody here knows who the heck the MLS teams or players are in some of their own cities.’’
http://seattletimes.com/html/worldcup/2023956614_bakersoccer30xml.html
And indeed, some suggest any "soccer fever" we’re experiencing will vanish once the World Cup ends. That, like the Olympics, Americans watch the World Cup for patriotic reasons over any enduring desire to follow the sport the four years in between.
They’ll note that MLS television ratings on ESPN actually declined 33 percent to an average 220,000 viewers last year, trailing the WNBA’s 231,000 on that network. Overall, the league’s combined viewership on ESPN and NBC fell from 443,000 to 332,000 and was dwarfed by the 532,000 who watched the NHL on NBC channels last season.
Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a consulting firm that tracks consumer loyalty, says MLS lags well behind the "Big Four" leagues.
"This is the UFO of major league sports,’’ Passikoff said. "Every four years, it floats around long enough so people get a glimpse of it. But it never lands."
The biggest problem, he adds, is that despite the arrival of David Beckham with the LA Galaxy in 2007, the MLS lacks the star caliber of leagues overseas. Indeed, American TV ratings for English Premier League games still outpace MLS.
"Until the MLS teams here start bringing in some stars, nobody’s going to pay attention to them,’’ he said. "The truth is, any one of your friends can rattle off the names of five or 10 of the major league baseball, or basketball or even hockey teams. Nobody here knows who the heck the MLS teams or players are in some of their own cities.’’
http://seattletimes.com/html/worldcup/2023956614_bakersoccer30xml.html
GoSooners, just think of 1 goal as 10 points to convert to college football terms.....Its only one month out of 4 years regarding the World Cup.
Just think of bad flopping calls as shady pass intereference calls, especially the horrible NFL rule where the teams gets the ball on the 1 if in the endzone (college rule is a lot better in my opinion)
Whenever a soccer play kicks the ball over the net way in the air I think of a Field Goal except it doesn't count for points obviously, but its still funny..
.
The problem is the level of play in MLS is horrible.
I love soccer and have probably watched 90% of the world cup. I watch many English, Italian, German, French, and Spanish league games.
I have maybe watched one or two MLS games ever. The teams are awful.
If you want soccer to work in the US cut the # of teams down to about 8 and fill them with international level talent.
Sean
I love soccer and have probably watched 90% of the world cup. I watch many English, Italian, German, French, and Spanish league games.
I have maybe watched one or two MLS games ever. The teams are awful.
If you want soccer to work in the US cut the # of teams down to about 8 and fill them with international level talent.
Sean
Mediocre playing mediocre is still soccer.. and the first thing i mention in this entire thread. I would rather watch Flys Fukking than wnba..
The only thing American soccer is missing is the TV coverage. (Which will never happen) then they can stop the discusting wnba experiment
I don't know if it's ready to completely take off...I'm pretty sure I remember reading that MLS games have higher attendance averages than NBA and NHL games. Still, I just can't take the MLS seriously. The quality of plat flat out sucks in comparison to Europe. It's like comparing a Tunica, Mississippi casino to one in Vegas.
It's probably something the country will get wrapped up in once every four years, which is cool with me. A lot of athletes and celebs were getting into it and supporting the US big time. At almost every bar you went to, it was jam-packed and standing room only. Just look at the YouTube videos. You could barely move, and I've never seen that for any other sport in my life. It's really too bad the US couldn't have matched up with Argentina on Saturday. Holiday weekend, going against a well-known team and one of the best players in the world? Old TV viewer records would have been shattered.
It's probably something the country will get wrapped up in once every four years, which is cool with me. A lot of athletes and celebs were getting into it and supporting the US big time. At almost every bar you went to, it was jam-packed and standing room only. Just look at the YouTube videos. You could barely move, and I've never seen that for any other sport in my life. It's really too bad the US couldn't have matched up with Argentina on Saturday. Holiday weekend, going against a well-known team and one of the best players in the world? Old TV viewer records would have been shattered.
Soccer will take off as soon as the rich owners and executives can jam 50 commercials in every hour, then it takes off. Soccer is not considered cool so the star athletes either never play or drop it in their early teens when they start caring more about what is "cool".
One thing I love about soccer over other more popular sports. Absolutely no fat people; not one. Those guys from Belgium that played the USA, I have a feeling those are the best athletes in Belgium.
One thing I didnt know that changes it for me is some of those athletes that plated in world cup are not even from the country. 7 of Algeria's 11 starters were born in France. So basically Algeria was France's B team.
One thing I love about soccer over other more popular sports. Absolutely no fat people; not one. Those guys from Belgium that played the USA, I have a feeling those are the best athletes in Belgium.
One thing I didnt know that changes it for me is some of those athletes that plated in world cup are not even from the country. 7 of Algeria's 11 starters were born in France. So basically Algeria was France's B team.
I turned the game on at 3pm yesterday. Watched it for 10 minutes. Then came back and turned it on again at 5pm and it was still a 0-0 tie (draw). So basically they did a lot of running around and nothing happened. Take the goal keeper away and I might actually watch this sport. At least then we'll see some scoring!
