Comments on: MLS sells international tv rights/ “Polish Rifle to take charge of Crew? / MLS to Miami

By: Glenn Davis

Glenn Davis — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:40:43 +0000

Jacentito,
What an experience and great compliments from Jaime Correa of Pachuca. What an amazing vehicle it would be for the Dynamo if they one day get to this tournament.
Coop, do not worry you will not lose MLS on FOX or ESPN in the states. This is for international rights not domestic.
HDNET is up for renewal with MLS which means Mark Cuban and Don Garber need to get together.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:42:04 +0000

hey guys … it’s “international broadcast”, so i don’t think it’s going to affect the broadcast within US.

For example, ESPN holds the right for some College Bowl games (nationally/internationally), which means that I can even watch the BCS Champs game even in places such as Hong Kong where there’s an ESPN Channel.

Now for MLS, ESPN has sold the rights to a different company, which means that MLS games will be shown on a different channel than ESPN, which might be a good thing because internationally ESPN might already have too many sports (and leagues) to cover (that leaves little room for MLS broadcast).

Daniel

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:39:38 +0000

They sold the international rights. The US broadcast should remain the same or altered only slightly. This is good for MLS because now the games will be shown abroad. You will have more than just ESPN showing games in place all over the world.

By: coop

coop — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:28:36 +0000

Does this new deal affect Fox Soccer Channel’s broadcasts at all? Does this also mean that ESPN will no longer show MLS games? Where will we be able to see nationally televised games in the States?

By: Jacentito

Jacentito — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:06:59 +0000

Glenn –
I was in Tokyo last week on holiday and was hoping to score tickets to the tourney there. Didn’t get to make the matches due to ran and lack of planning. Anyway, was in the Ginza district of Tokyo and wandered into the Adidas store. In the football section, I ran into 4-5 members of Pachuca doing some shopping. They had just won their first match 4-2. I met Jaime Correa and introduced myself as a fan of theirs secondary to my fanactic for the Dynamo. He was very complementary of the Dynamo and said they are a very good team and they take it seriously when they play each other. I wished him and Pachuca luck and said thanks for his time. Tokyo is an amazing city and perhaps I’ll make it to Dubai for the next tourney.

By: glenndavis

glenndavis — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:00:48 +0000

Brandon,
What it means is that MP &Silvia will work to distribute the MLS product internationally so more eyes can see it. Not to mention an eight figure deal.
Glenn

By: MLS Rumors

MLS Rumors — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:39:58 +0000

No the US TV deals are a separate thing from this. Basically selling the international media rights means that MP & Silva will be a sort of “one point of contact” for TV systems, mobile phone providers, and other media outlets outside the US and probably mostly outside of the US and Canada. This deal is aimed at boosting their media profile in Asia but also in Europe and South America. MLS has had a patchwork of individual deals with media overseas, this deal basically brings everything under one roof now like the EPL and Serie-A have (they use this same company).

By: Brandon Cooper

Brandon Cooper — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:33:56 +0000

What does this “selling of international media rights” mean? Will ESPN not be showing MLS matches on Thursdays, MLS All-star, or MLS Cup matches anymore?