Footiebusiness

The Memorial Day holiday is upon us and that includes a full slate of games on national television.  In addition to Major League Soccer, the USMNT will play a friendly versus Scotland at Everbank Filed in Jacksonville.  The Scotland match will be televised by NBC Sports Network and will feature the network’s lead soccer tandem of Arlo White and Kyle Martino.  As a result, NBCSN, which will also televise two MLS matches during the weekend, will need to bring some veteran soccer talent to the booth.  According to the always excellent Jonathan Tannenwald, J.P. DellaCamera and Brian Dunseth will man the booth for Houston vs. Los Angeles and Kansas City vs. San Jose.  Those games will bookend the Saturday night match.

The national television schedule concludes mid-week with an ESPN2 broadcast of the United States versus Brazil.  The game will be telecast live from FedEx Field in Maryland.

Enjoy the long weekend.  On Tuesday we will back with a long weekend version of the Monday After.

Most of the league is set to take an extended break following this weekend’s matches.

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Soccer America is reporting here that the first World Cup Qualifier of 2012 featuring the United States (versus Guatemala in Guatemala City on June 12) will not be broadcast on American broadcast or cable television.  Instead, the home federation has sold the rights to a third party vendor who is looking to use Pay Per View to recoup its fee.  According to Soccer America, the anticipated price will be $29.95 to watch the 10:00 p.m. match.  The rights are held by Traffic Sports, which holds the rights to a number of United States World Cup qualifying match-up.  Traffic is free to sell the rights to a traditional network, but the company is betting that it will have more success on a PPV basis.

Elsewhere, Al Jazeera is looking to enter the crowded United States soccer television market with two new channels set to debut in August.  According to this article, the stations have landed rights to Italian, French and Spanish league matches for the 2012/2013 seasons.  bein Sport will offer the matches in English and Spanish and will also include Copa America and South American World Cup Qualifiers.  The addition of bein sport, strips Fox Soccer, Gol TV and Univision of some of their most valuable sports properties.

Finally, Fox is touting the success of its Survival Sunday broadcasts.  Here direct from the press release, are some of the numbers.
“According to audience figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research, the English language (FX, SPEED, FOX Soccer, FSN, FUEL TV & ESPN2) and Spanish language (FOX Deportes & ESPN Deportes) viewership in the United States for Survival Sunday came in at 1,348,000, up +72% over the combined viewing on FOX Soccer, FOX Deportes, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes on Survival Sunday 2011 (728,000).   The English language audience on the FOX-outlets (392,000) and ESPN2 (600,000) combined for 992,000 viewers, up +80% over the combined viewing on ESPN2 and FOX Soccer a year ago (550,000).”

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On March 29, 2009 the WPS kicked off its inaugural season with a nationally televised match-up at the Home Depot Center.  Pitting the Los Angeles Sol against the Washington Freedom, the opening match featured Brazilian star Marta and U.S. National Team scorer Abby Wambach.  At the time, this site was just over one month old and covering the birth of the league was a natural fit.  At the time, I wrote that as part of the league’s efforts to gain a foothold in the American sports scene, “a  national TV deal, a partnership with MLS and a reduction in team costs are all part of the “new model.”

In advance of the league’s first match, I was fortunate to speak with WPS’ Director of Communications Robert Penner.  Mr. Penner’s role was a natural outgrowth of the league’s close relationship with PUMA, WPS’ founding sponsor.  Mr. Penner emphasized that the league’s attendance goals of 4-6k per match were reasonable and the league was going to move slowly and steadily toward growth.  The league’s relationship with Fox Soccer was key as was the presence of top players and even a jersey sponsor (Amway).  With respect to demographics, here is what Mr. Penner said.

our core demographic is of course the young female soccer player age 8-18 who plays at the club and recreational level, but we also want to reach their parents, fitness-minded women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, as well as soccer fans in general. With our world class product and athletes on the field, we think we can accomplish that. The sponsors that we have met with and those that have signed on with WPS, know that we can help deliver this hard-to-reach demographic to them through many different activation platform.

Over the years, the league built a stadium in Atlanta, added a team in upstate New York and added league sponsors.  Yet the attendance and television numbers never impressed, disputes among owners drained resources and energy and teams began to fold. Despite a successful World Cup last Summer, especially on television, WPS couldn’t gain a foothold.  The WPS was the second attempt in less than 20 years to add a women’s soccer league.

It is sad for American soccer and female sports that the WPS, which started with such promise has now folded.  Hopefully a new effort will materialize, perhaps in partnership with MLS, which will make a third effort a charm.

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Another busy weekend in Major League Soccer, but before looking at attendance from the last round of matches, a couple of quick business notes.  First, Saturday afternoon saw the telecast of the Champions League Final to a worldwide audience that included the United States.  The match was broadcast on over-the-air television via the FOX network and featured Bayern Munich and Chelsea.  The Chelsea victory comes with a hidden benefit for MLS.  The European champions will be guests of both the Seattle Sounders and the Major League Soccer All-Star Game.  The presence of the FA Cup and Kings of the Champions League adds to the profile of Chelsea’s American Summer Tour.

The MLS week started with a Tuesday night tilt at BBVA Compass Stadium.  The game again drew a crowd in excess of 22k.  A mid-week crowd of just over 11,500 scattered throughout RFK for DC United’s weeknight match.  The weekend started in Vancouver with a packed crowd of 21k in attendance for Cascadia Cup match.  Later that day, DC managed to eclipse 14k in their second home game of the week.

The Revs managed almost 16,500 for their draw with the Dynamo.  That number was seemingly bolstered by an armed forces ticket give-away in excess of 3,000 seats.  Montreal drew more than 20k at Olympic Stadium as the days count down to the re-opening of Stade Saputo.  Dallas cracked the 13k mark will the Rapids managed to shoot past 15k at DSG Park late Saturday night.  Chivas hosted the LA Galaxy on Saturday night but failed to get a crowd in excess of 19k for the Classico.  San Jose got its usual 10k plus for their home match against the Crew.

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All is quiet on the expansion front with no new team set to join the league in 2013.  Nevertheless, there are a number of potential expansion candidates waiting in the wings.  Last week, the Minnesota legislature voted in a stadium bill to keep the Vikings in Minnesota.  The stadium project is expected to cost almost a billion dollars.  Although it didn’t receive much attention outside soccer circles, the possibility of a soccer tenant at the new facility was the subject of much debate during negotiations for the bill.  Multiple versions of a clause that provided for free rent or other opportunities were part of the discussion.  For more on that provision, click here. The commitment of Vikings ownership to an MLS franchise is an open question, but if the Footiebusiness poll from last September is an indicator, there is plenty of fan interest!

The leading candidate has long been New York.  The Commissioner has made no secret that New York2 is the target and the league is actively searching for an appropriate stadium site. An urban stadium in New York would seem to be an automatic draw in its own right, although it is tough to  fully agree that the presence of a second franchise in the Big Apple region will invigorate the Red Bulls.  The league also still needs an ownership group before the possibility of a franchise could be taken seriously.

One other option has always been a return to South Florida.   The Miami area should be a strong supporter of soccer despite the league’s prior failure in that market.  Count me among the unconvinced.  The “beloved” Miami Dolphins struggle to sell out their games, the Panthers are barely a blip on the Miami scene and Marlins are an annual embarrassment (although the new stadium might change that).  Why would MLS be any different? The idea of 9,000 fans snoozing through Sunday afternoon game in 110 degree Miami August heat, is a nightmare scenario for supporters of the League.

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Tuesday was the date for the annual meeting between Major League Soccer’s defending champions and the President of the United States.  The meeting always generates publicity for the league, but the 2012 version was even more high profile than usual.  This visit included such big names as David Beckham and Landon Donovan.  Beckham might be the only soccer player in the world with a higher Q Score than the President. For a link to a story about the event, videos and photos, click here. A copy of the President’s remarks are also accessible via the link.

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Another busy weekend in Major League Soccer, highlighted by the opening of beautiful BBV Compass Stadium in Houston.  Before we get to MLS, “Survival Sunday” deserves a mention. If anecdotal evidence is any guide, the dramatic Manchester City victory over QPR and the remarkable finish to the EPL season certainly drew interest from mainstream sports fans.  The results were major lead stories on sports websites and non-soccer fans who stumbled into the events of Sunday remained transfixed by the remarkable conclusion. Fox’s decision to televise all of the matches (save the most dramatic which was on ESPN2) was a great sign for soccer in this country.

On to the MLS slate, which started with a series of mid-week games.  The week started at Red Bull Arena which saw record low numbers for their 1-0 victory over Houston.  Less than 11,500 were in attendance for the game. Chicago was able to draw just over 13k for their mid-week tilt, while FC Dallas scraped past the 10k mark at what is now the smallest MLS facility in Texas. \

David Beckham’s only visit to Montreal drew a remarkable crowd of over 60k and all were treated to a classic Beckham free kick goal.  The sellout in Houston was officially reported as 22,039.  The Revs crept past 12k for their impressive victory over Vancouver, while Columbus was able to move past 11k at Crew Stadium.  Chicago managed to slide past the 14k mark while Seattle managed a remarkable 39k plus for their home loss to RSL.

In a Sunday afternoon tilt, the Philadelphia Union managed more than 18k at PPL Park. The match was televised after the Manchester City match on ESPN2.

Overall it was a great attendance weekend for the league at the gate.

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This weekend, the Houston Dynamo will open the 12th soccer specific facility in the league, BBVA Compass Stadium. In honor of the event, today’s post will focus on the Dynamo.  Before we get to the stadium, the team has just announced a new partner.  The team’s new official energy partner is Direct Energy.  The long-term deal matches the Dynamo with a large retail energy supplier that is moving its headquarters from Toronto to Houston.

The first game from the new stadium will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network.  The network has actively promoted the game during its Stanley Cup broadcasts.  However, as one of our Twitter followers aptly noted, the promotion has focused on Tally Hall and DeRo rather than the new stadium.  This fits with the network’s stated goal to promote individual player story lines but probably forfeits an opportunity to show a large non-soccer audience some of progress made by the league.

The stadium includes 33 suites in close proximity to the field and 2 party suites.  Construction is moving along nicely.  Those standing on the grass field will have the opportunity to look at 75 foot canopies hanging over the stands.  The downtown stadium is part of a stadium district that includes facilities for a number of Houston’s sports teams.  Total cost of the projected stadium was expected to come in at $95 million with the Dynamo ownership (primarily AEG and Golden Boy Promotions) funding about $60 million.

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Thinking about what to write for tonight it occurred to me that 2012 has lacked some of the big business stories that have been an MLS trademark over the last few seasons.  Obviously, the entry of Montreal into the league was a big business story as was the start of the NBC/MLS relationship.  Over the next few weeks, two new soccer venues will open, one in Montreal and the other in Houston.  Yet, there have been fewer big stories occupying the business headlines.

Since the season started in March, there have been no new jersey sponsors to discuss and no new league sponsors to highlight.  There have been no high profile designated player signings and no new expansion announcements. There have no new local television deals and  attendance and ratings have been solid but not spectacular.

What does it all mean?  There is one argument that league has reached a certain level of maturity and stability and that big changes are now less frequent and subtle shifts will become the norm.  After years of scrambling for relevance, the league has grabbed a solid foothold on the American sports pyramid and fears of crashing and fading seem like distant memories.   Publications like the Sports Business Journal have sung the praises of league management for years and sports business executives remain impressed with the league’s steady growth.  This consistent process suggests that league, while still on the upswing, is entering a period that will be marked by occasional significant events and fewer peaks and valleys.

Another argument is that league has peaked as a corporate property.  Those companies that wanted to get involved in the league have done so, and those local networks that want to televise their MLS team have already inked deals.  Teams like Dallas and Colorado continue to struggle to find jersey sponsors despite their successful runs in 2010 and the league has peaked as the nation’s 5th professional sport.

I’m inclined to the first view.  MLS has grown dramatically over the last few years and has earned a few moments to breathe.  New deals will come, new partners will be found and the league will continue to grow.

Do you agree?

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The Revs have announced a relationship with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Massachusetts Chapter for a year-long campaign through the end of 2012. Per the team’s press release, the Revs will fundraise on the organization’s behalf and will showcase and support three of LLS’ campaigns throughout the season: Pennies for Patients, Team In Training and Light The Night. “We’re pleased to work with LLS this year,” Revolution President Brian Bilello said. “We have incredibly compassionate fans, many of whom have been touched by blood cancer in their lives. We hope to be able to raise awareness about LLS’ work and blood cancers while utilizing the collective power of our fan base to help fundraise on LLS’ behalf.” On June 16, the Revs host LLS Night against the Columbus Crew.

Per Major League Soccer’s press release, “after presale opportunities for Philadelphia Union Full Season Ticket Holders and VISA cardholders, the remaining seats for the 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at PPL Park will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, May 9 at 10:00 a.m. ET.” The game will pit the MLS All-Stars against Chelsea and will take place on July 25, 2012.  Unfortunately, the link provided by the league within the press release doesn’t work, so tickets cannot be purchased directly through the e-mail.

One final note.  Fox has released its broadcast schedule for the final weekend of EPL matches.  The network will have nine matches starting at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday and will be preceded by a 9:30 a.m. pre-game show.  The games will be spread out over the array of Fox affiliated networks.  Manchester City’s match against QPR will be the only game on another network  (ESPN2), while the premier Fox game will feature Manchester United on FX.

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