Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 n…
As a South American fútbol fan: the is very annoying. Just say “New York Fútbol Club”. See, it breathes already. Also make way for teams that are just called “Sports Association Firebug” for historically cogent but difficult to parse at first.
Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
121–130 of 192 posts
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always thought that was silly. Games sell out, that doesn’t mean local fans still don’t want to watch.
> I always thought that was silly. Games sell out, that doesn’t mean local fans still don’t want to watch. Do they still do blackouts if the game sells out? I'm not a sports fan, but I thought games would only get blacked out if they didn't sell enough in-person tickets.
The NFL stopped that in 2014. I’m unaware of any league that still does blackouts like this.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_tel...
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#123I'm really curious as to what Apple's broader strategy is with live sports, since that's typically been one of the last big reasons to keep a cable subscription. However, given that Apple TV Plus is going to have at least some MLB games[1] and is rumored to possibly be the new home for the NFL Sunday Ticket[2], they could be seeking to make it the must-have subscription for fans of live sports. https://www.apple.com/…
There is a lot i don't understand about how they view things in Cupertino. I mean, there must be a lot of people at Apple thinking about the future - what it will look like, how media is consumed and then again how Apple can own that pipeline and ecosystem. Both on the media side, hardware side and software side the offering is lacking in ways i find very strange coming from Apple. For instance why haven't Apple just…
A lot of those rights are already bought up, in some sports. I suspect Apple will need to wait til those contracts expire, no matter how much they are willing to spend.
As for Apple TV+, no, it's not a no-brainer. The approach they took was to sign up a lot of creative talent, instead, and make their own content. That's already been a proven success, so it's hard to say that a diametrically-opposed approach (which is kind of lame and would not even result in any new content) was a "no-brainer".
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
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 n…
My local MLS has youth development teams.
Soccer will only benefit from the decline in youth American Football participation.
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#125Making this available for free to all season ticket holders which is a really nice benefit. Right almost Austin FC games are broadcast locally over the air, but I'm really excited about being able to watch easily when I travel.
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#126Making this available for free to all season ticket holders which is a really nice benefit. Right almost Austin FC games are broadcast locally over the air, but I'm really excited about being able to watch easily when I travel.
This tiny detail buried in the middle of the article is amazing.
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#127I stream my hometown's hockey and baseball games, because I don't have a choice (I no longer live in the region), but it's a second-rate experience for one fundamental reason: buffering delays. I routinely get messages in my group chat that are a reaction to something that hasn't yet happened on my screen. The group chat makes for fun communal viewing, so I don't want to leave it, but these messages undermine the exp…
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-shareplay-to-watc...
Can use SharePlay to synchronize things.
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a lot i don't understand about how they view things in Cupertino. I mean, there must be a lot of people at Apple thinking about the future - what it will look like, how media is consumed and then again how Apple can own that pipeline and ecosystem. Both on the media side, hardware side and software side the offering is lacking in ways i find very strange coming from Apple. For instance why haven't Apple just…
>For instance why haven't Apple just gotten the internet broadcast right to a lot of sports to build a moat around it - It is possible that they want all or nothing rights. There are a ton of complicated rules by NHL/MLB/NFL/NBA on blackout games, parceling out different games to different broadcasters in different areas, and then of course, different broadcasters by country. All with different contract expiry dates.…
Yes, I think blackouts are sticking point for Apple because it is a terrible user experience. Their MLB Friday games are not subject to blackout rules, which is different from the MLB app experience.
Sports are an interesting approach for Apple, but in a way it makes sense as it is an area that has the opportunity to be disrupted. People loves sports but the consumption of sports can be a frustrating experience. Many leagues still do not have a good streaming experience and the leagues that do, such as MLB, are subject to blackout rules. If Apple can cut through the red tape to eliminate blackout rules and create a white-labeled app experience for sports leagues it might be lucrative for Apple and beneficial to the league and their fans.
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#129This 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.
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.
Yep. Soccer's breakthrough in the USA has been "just around the corner" since the '80s. No matter how many PLAYSOCCER bumper stickers you shove in people's faces, they still don't care.
Re: Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023
#130This is a great move for Apple. The game-changer for them, IMO, is to buy the rights to broadcast Pac-12 and Big-10 football (and ideally all sports). I am an avid college football fan. Trying to find games to watch is a pain without some sort of lame ass subscription somewhere. I already pay for Apple TV + because it's bundled with other services that I use. With the incoming threat of ESPN + Disney + SEC fracturing…
At one point we had 12 different channels that carried college sports and maybe half the games we wanted to watch weren't available.