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MLS on TV


whale_31

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I hope CBC isn't shut out altogether, especially after all the effort they put into the "early years" of MLS in Canada.

Maybe they'll do the Voyageurs Cup... that way they can have double headers with Vancouver playing Edmonton in the late game and Toronto v Montreal in the early game. Or if they are weekday games. Split them up regionally like they do with HNIC games. That would keep them involved.

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Maybe they'll do the Voyageurs Cup... that way they can have double headers with Vancouver playing Edmonton in the late game and Toronto v Montreal in the early game. Or if they are weekday games. Split them up regionally like they do with HNIC games. That would keep them involved.

We (Edmonton) don't play Vancouver until after we beat Toronto.

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Hopefully this means a return of the legendary Vic Rauter to soccer play by play. Way better than listening to Nigel Reed drone on and on in a semi-bored sort of tone. Another positive would be if it means TFC can get their games out of the midsummer Saturday afternoon start times and play in the evenings when it is cooler and there is no direct sunlight.

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Luke Wileman will be doing the play by play. Paul Beirne twittered that they are looking for a colour man to join him.

I'm hoping that as few games as possible are on TSN2. I'm assuming the games they can't carry will end up on Gol TV only. I don't see TSN sharing with Sportsnet considering they are at war. And CBC won't want the scraps.

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Have to see how this plays out, but I also hope these games aren't buried on TSN2 - it would mean a step backwards as far as media exposure was concerned. The regular TSN staff does not feature a lot of people that are very knowledgeable about soccer so I can expect a lot of butchered/mis-pronounced names in their sports reports (assuming they even bother to cover it). I for one would not welcome the return of Vic Rauter as a play by play man should it happen (and didn't he have some disparaging comments about the MLS a couple of years ago?). There's also the Voyageurs Cup games - will TSN's deal include those?

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The TSN deal is reported to be for one game a week (some TFC some Whitecaps) national level coverage with regional deals also being on the cards for the remaining TFC and Whitecaps games. Paul Beirne is probably tweeting about the colour commentator for Gol TV broadcasts in the latter context with Luke Wileman continuing in his role from last season in that regard (Gol TV is owned by MLSE hence why he would have a strong say on the matter) rather than what would happen on TSN where it is Nigel Reed's role with CBC that is up for grabs with the change in national broadcaster.

The Canadian Championship games are clearly a separate issue from national coverage of MLS given they are separate competitions run by separate bodies i.e. CSA/CONCACAF on the one hand and MLS on the other. Given the CBC's close links with Rogers Sportsnet where the CMNT is concerned odds on it will be Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest in that context and from what's being reported there is a good chance they'll be doing at least some of the regional coverage for TFC and/or the Whitecaps as well.

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Either the TSN boost will help push MLS into the Canadian mainstream or TSN is buying the rights to kill soccer once and for all.

Seriously though, please no Vic Rauter. He has been atrocious during champions league coverage. Not only does he bring nothing to the table in terms of analysis, he can't even get the team names right*.

*One of my favs, "Shaktar Don't-ask"

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Luke Wileman will be doing the play by play. Paul Beirne twittered that they are looking for a colour man to join him.

That doesn't necessarily mean that Luke will be doing PBP on TSN's TFC broadcasts (although that would be my preference). They could be looking to replace DeVos on Gol for some reason.

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While WC 2010 ratings from South Africa were solid last summer, ratings for MLS still amount to crickets chirping. For example, Chivas-Toronto FC on CBC drew just 134,000 in August. Why then, are networks interested in North American soccer? Even with the addition of Vancouver and Montreal, the league will remain a pale imitation of the CFL. Few MLS players represent their countries at the World Cup or UEFA championships, and with Canada perpetually out of the men's World Cup there’s little domestic rooting interest.

So why all the fuss? Why was Michael Douglas ga-ga for Catherine Zeta Jones? Bragging rights. Soccer TV rights are the trophy bride of Canadian broadcasting. The demographics for women and minorities look swell, the residual glow from FIFA events is sexy, and getting David Beckham to visit your city makes you look younger. Who cares if there’s not much behind the splashy facade?

In the current network battles for supremacy between Rogers, CTV/ TSN and CBC, any sports property is a hot commodity in the larger battle for market share between their corporate parents. So soccer is getting bid up in the process. For now, the rich (TSN) look to be getting richer while those on government assistance (CBC) get buried a little deeper.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/bruce-dowbiggin/tsn-lands-mls-broadcast-rights/article1891351/

yeah...

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This just in: idiotic old-school Canadian reporter (Bruce Dowbiggin, in case you don't want to dignify that moron by clicking on the link and I don't blame you) is an idiot.

??

Not sure what biases you have against Dowbiggin, but what exactly in this article is in any way inaccurate? He's not trying to slam or dismiss our beloved sport, he's just stating facts. MLS ratings in Canada over the past four seasons have been abysmal, by any measure. To a lot of people (me included), it's not exactly obvious as to why the networks would spend their money on something with such low ratings (though I'm happy they do).

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Perhaps worth bearing in mind that the supposedly abysmal ratings are generally obtained in bad time slots relative to other leagues and in reality have been no worse than what the Raptors tend to draw. The reason the networks are interested is because the ratings for the most part have actually not been that bad and can be expected to improve considerably once there are three Canadian teams.

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Dammit, I'm not a visible minority or a woman.

However, I do think he is taking a bit of a dig at the sport when he states: Who cares if there’s not much behind the splashy facade?

To me that implies that he thinks soccer isn't worth watching. And he may have an case in the context in which he's mentioning. It does seem more like positioning for other needs than an actual interest in the property. However, I hope TSN is able to help boost the sport a bit as they seem to have more market penetration as a sports network and I do think they'll be able to secure better time slots in their program schedule than CBC was able to provide. I was torn to watch TFC games that were midday in spring and summer in my time zone.

In addition, as I've always said and tried to suggest to soccer nuts who think the sport is above reproach, he has every right not to like (domestic or international) soccer and to say/write it. Isn't going to change my mind and I prefer to let the sport grow organically rather than trying to convert those that don't like it. I've had people try to convert me to MMA, but I just don't like it ... live or on television. Yet, I don't think people who do are stupid or misinformed.

Different strokes.

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However, I do think he is taking a bit of a dig at the sport when he states: Who cares if there’s not much behind the splashy facade?

To me that implies that he thinks soccer isn't worth watching. And he may have an case in the context in which he's mentioning.

Yeah, I assumed he was talking here about MLS soccer (and perhaps Toronto FC specifically), not soccer in general. A dig like that at MLS is not enough to get me riled up.

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Hopefully this means a return of the legendary Vic Rauter to soccer play by play. Way better than listening to Nigel Reed drone on and on in a semi-bored sort of tone. Another positive would be if it means TFC can get their games out of the midsummer Saturday afternoon start times and play in the evenings when it is cooler and there is no direct sunlight.

Agree.

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How is MLS ever going to live up to the CFL? Should we just fold the teams now?

Since the CFL, is now the highest rated sports property on TSN, beating out even the NHL, i would think MLS has a long way to go before even making a dent in CFL ratings. When MLS is hundred years old, and still around, then perhaps you can take a cheap shot at the CFL.

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