It was just a year ago when New York City FC beat the Portland Timbers to win the MLS Cup in Portland, Oregon. The sports network won’t be part of the league’s new TV deal after MLS agreed to multiple four-year deals with media companies including Fox Sports and Univision, which will air games exclusively in the U.S., and Canadian company Bell Media, which will show games on its TSN and RDS networks. The agreements run through 2026.
ESPN is part of the expiring deal to show MLS games. In that agreement, Fox and ESPN paid MLS a combined $75 million a year, and Univision paid roughly $15 million annually. Of that amount, MLS estimates $25 million went to the U.S. Soccer Federation for national team TV rights.reported that ESPN offered MLS a four-year deal worth about $40 million, while Fox Sports offered MLS only $7 million per season.
This time around, MLS didn’t offer networks enough premium matchups in popular soccer markets, such as Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, according to people with knowledge of the matter, and ESPN quit negotiations. Apple’s acquisition of the league’s entire streaming content in June made MLS linear rights less valuable because the league no longer offered exclusivity.
In a statement, ESPN said its “happy” with its current soccer lineup which includes top soccer league LaLiga. The network added, “We wish Major League Soccer continued success.” ESPN reported 2022 MLS regular season games averaged only 343,000 viewers across its platforms. Still, that was up 16% from 2021. In 2020, MLS games averaged 233,000 viewers on ESPN platforms. Fox Sports, which will broadcast the 2026 FIFA World Cup, didn’t respond to aMLS will face competition from other sports streaming offerings, including the National Football League’s NFL+ service and the National Basketball Association’s newly revamped package.
JabariJYoung At last some good news for the MLS ..
JabariJYoung At last some good news for t