Footiebusiness

Tripp Mickle at the Sports Business Journal is reporting that Classic Sports and CSTV creator Brian Bedol has been retained by MLS to assist in planning the league’s broadcast and digital medial strategy.   Followers of the league’s tv relationships know that MLS’ longterm deal with FSC is expiring at the end of the season and its deal with ESPN is at the halfway point.  There have also been rumblings about a possible relationship with Versus to replace and/or supplement these earlier arrangements.

According to SBJ, Besol has a longterm friendship with MLS Commissioner Don Garber and MLS is his only consulting gig.  A Harvard MBA, Bedol also launched Court TV in 1990 and has been active in efforts to secure RSN relationships for individual franchises.  His involvement with MLS suggests that the leage may be exploring the possibility of an MLS channel.

The Star is reporting that the CBC”s most recent MLS telecast drew only 134,000 viewers, making it the 14th rated national sports program in Canada for the week.  The CBC deal expires in 2010, but with the upcoming entry of two more MLS franchises in Canada, it stands to reason that there will be a market for MLS broadcast rights. 

Finally, San Jose announced the signing of Brazilian (and former Hull) midfielder/forward Geovanni as the team’s first Designated Player.  This continues the DP trend in the league that has seen high profile players added in New York, DC, Seattle and elsewhere over the last few months.  Whether the signings will impact tv ratings and attendance remains to be seen.  However, the recent big crowds in Chicago and New York for games where multiple DPs are on the field suggest a bump.

A couple of weeks back, we wrote about our trip to PPL Park.  Today, we thought we would give some thoughts on our weekend trip to Gillette Stadium for the Revs/Dynamo match. Built primarily for football, Gillette is a massive stadium surrounded by Robert Kraft’s recently constructed Patriot Place shopping center, parking lots and Route 1.  Acces to the stadium for typically MLS matches is fairly simple and we breezed into the stadium a few minutes before the game.  Ample free parking in the stadium lots is a nice feature and we parked about 30 yards from the stadium entrance despite our late arrival (certain lots are set aside for special pass holders, but a few minutes before the game, the staff manning the lots leaves their station).

The ususal MLS sponsors ring the stadium and there are no electronic message boards at field side.  The Revs only open about 2.5 quarters of the stadium and most of the upper two levels.  However, one of their big marketing campaigns this season is the opening of certain seats on the “other” side in 2011.  The team was actively hawking those seats during the game.

Food choices are plentiful at the stadium as are bathrooms.  However, lines for concessions are typically long and an effort to get a half-time drink or eat could mean missing portions of the second half.  Exceptionally annoying are the “hawkers” that walk the aisles selling food during the game…often blocking views and ruining sightlines.   The half-time entertainment included the Rev Girls throwing shirts to the crowd and a soccer match between mascots of all of the Boston area sports teams.

Attendance for the game was about 11,500 on a beautiful night.  There were no football lines on the field and the overall atmosphere was quiet (it was a very boring game).   Overall, Gillette is a nice stadium, but the soccer experience is wanting. Access by car was great (we were out of the parking lot within minutes) and food choices plentiful.

We will continue this series of posts as we make our way to other stadiums around the league.  We welcome your thoughts on Gillette and the other stadiums in MLS.

Steven Stark and Harrison Stark are the authors of World Cup 2010: The Indispensable Guide to Soccer and Geopolitics recently published by Blue River Press.   The book combines humor, soccer knowledge and a bit history to discuss the World Cup from a variety of angles.  In addition to in depth previews of each team, the book also provides discussion on the politics of hosting, the background of the tournament and offers some predictions on the result.  The first part of the book provides context for the event, while the team guides will be a great companion for  fans looking for insight into the teams on the field.

The Starks were kind enough to take a few questions from us about their book, the politics of the World Cup and the games coming to South Africa.  Thanks to the Starks for a few minutes.

Footiebusiness.com: The book discusses the impact of the first African World Cup and addresses the politics, geography and climate that will make 2010 unique.  Recent reports indicate that ticket sales for South Africa are falling well short of expectations. How do you believe those elements that make South Africa a such a unique destination for the World Cup are affecting ticket sales?  Why are fans staying away?

Steven Stark/Harrison Stark:  There are a couple of things going on here.  It’s a long trip to South Africa for everyone – and an expensive one too. We’re in the middle of the worst economic downturn in over a half century, so money is tight. And, any time you put the World Cup in a locale that is not one of the leading industrial nations of the world, some people are going to be scared away.

For the home nation, we write in the book that like everything else in South Africa, the nation’s attitude to the sport is inextricably tied to the history of apartheid. Most whites in South Africa are more cricket and rugby fans than soccer ones. So that’s a sizable part of a potential audience, too, that may not be buying tickets.

FB: In addition to the geopolitical and historical elements, the book also provides detailed information on each team coming to South Africa.  Was the book  written for the “hard core” soccer fan or someone watching soccer for the first time.  How did you balance the difference in knowledge and interest among your target readers?

SS/HS:  We tried to reach both audiences. In a sense, the chapter introductions may be more geared to a first-time fan (along with the country profiles), while the team discussions are more geared to the hard core fan.

FB: The book offers a series of predictions about the results and classifies teams based on their level of expectation.  What is your basis for those predictions?

SS/HS: Well, we watch a lot of soccer and read a lot about it too. But in the book, we make the point that the World Cup is unusual in that pedigree tends to count for an enormous amount in trying to determine who will do well. A very small set of countries – namely Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Italy – tends to dominate this tournament. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll win again but they’re always the best bets.

FB: What efforts have been made to market the book?  Have you been doing book signings and radio/TV interviews?  What types of stores will be carrying the book?

SS/HS: Hopefully the book is available everywhere, both on line in places such as Amazon and in stores. We are doing a tour featuring New England, New York, and California and we will be doing a fair number of radio/TV interviews. Information about all those is available on the book website (http://worldcupsoccervoice.blogspot.com/) and on booktour.com . We’re also analyzing the Cup for realclearsports.com.

FB: The cover depicts two prominent players (Ronaldinho and Beckham) who will not feature for their national teams? Was thought given to changing the cover to reflect that reality?  Do you think that “hard core” fans will be turned off by the cover photo?

SS/HS: Don’t judge the book by its cover! Yes Beckham got hurt after we had gone to press. But no, it’s too late to change things now.

FB: Finally, given soccer’s place on the American sports landscape, why do Americans purchase more tickets than any other country for the World Cup?  What does that mean for the future of the game in the United States?

SS/HS: It’s certainly a hopeful sign but one shouldn’t read too much into it. As we said before, this is a hard Cup for anyone to get to, and we’re a wealthy and large country so we have more fans available who can make the trip. Last year’s run to the Confederations Cup final may also have convinced some Americans that this team has a chance to do well.

New stadium and new cycle for the United States Men’s National Team.    We thought we would business blog the broadcast of the match to comment on advertisers and ESPN’s first national team broadcast since its outstanding coverage of South Africa 2010. We also thought it would be interesting to see how ESPN promotes its MLS coverage and the new talent in the league.  Old hands JP DellaCamera and John  Harkes were the booth team and the match (which wasn’t aggressively promoted by ESPN.com) started without a pregame show.

Interesting that the first commercial break started with an MLS/Dick’s advertisement that didn’t feature any of the new DPs.  Gatorade was the second advertiser followed by local ads.  McDonalds was prominent on the outfits of the children involved in the pre-match ceremonies. It was also notable that US soccer was using the new Nike ball after all of the coverage garnered by Adidas in South Africa.  The second set of spots started with with Bud and was followed by Dave & Busters.  National retailer Rent a Center bought ad time as did Continental Tire.

The first view of the starting lineups came ten minutes into the broadcast.  Around the stadium, Gatorade, USABid.com, Castrol, Visa, Jose Cuervo, McDonalds and Budweiser were among the evident advertisers.  Gatorade was the first on screen advertiser, appearing in the 3rd minute.  Gatorade sponsored a “prime to perform” in-game spot that featured Omar Gonzalez.  Bud Light was announced as a sponsor in the 15th minute.  In the 16th minute Dick’s had an on screen ad.  Two levels of electronic boards circled the stadium.  In the 20th minute, ESPN’s Premier League coverage was mentioned for the first time.  NFL coverage was also promoted, but there was no mention of MLS broadcasts during the half (although the Red Bulls/Galaxy match was referenced)

Halftime sponsors included Taco Bell, Pepsi, Gillette, Gatorade and surprisingly Bridgestone.  The halftime show was anchored by Rob Stone and Alexi Lalas with a focus on the national team coaching situation.

ESPN made no use of slo motion cameras and there was no advanced offsides technology utilized.  Harkes and DellaCamera certainly have a comfortable banter, but it was a bit surprising how much Bob Bradley’s future dominated the conversation. Rob Stone was a bit preference during the game broadcast in his roving reporter role.

Just over 77k were in attendance.

It has been a while since we posted our most recent update of MLS sponsorships.  We thought it would be worth revisiting the status of corporate MLS sponsors. Companies such as Dick’s, Makita, Gatorade and others have been around for a while. VW, Panasonic and Pepsi are also prominent.  In late September of last year, Degree for Men partnered with SUM on a seven figure deal.   AT&T featured prominently at the All Star game and American Airlines has a prominent roll.    Continental Tire was added as a sponsor a couple of months back and features on broadcasts on both FSC and ESPN.  PPL was announced as the stadium sponsor for the new arena in Philly and the Union have announced additional in-house official vendors such as Coke.  However, there has been little movement elsewhere, with no new jersey sponsors announced and no additional presenting sponsors.

The Sports Business Journal reported a couple of months ago that SUM is pursuing several “big” deals for MLS for this season (and Wal Mart did make an appearance on the most recent ESPN2 broadcast), but to date, the most recent new sponsor to join the fold was Travelodge as sponsor of CONCACAF Champions League.  In the interim, SUM has opened three new relationships for its relationships with Mexican Soccer.

Do these lack of sponsorships matter?  Are the Revs, Union, etc… pursuing jersey sponsors?   Are teams looking to renew existing deals? What factors do teams consider? Recall our interview with Tim Martin of Gallagher Sports:

I’m fairly certain that any club without a jersey sponsor is actively pursuing one.  Its far too great of a potential financial resource not to be.  Each club, however, will assign a different value to the front of their shirt, and by value I don’t just mean a certain sum of money, but also cognizance of the brand they are associating themselves with.  This is very relatable to your first question in that it all comes down to the goals and objectives of the club.  It’s possible that these remaining clubs have had offers from multi level marketers, or casinos, or tobacco companies, and simply choose not to go into business with them due to an organizational belief system (I have no first-hand knowledge of any such offers, just using that as an example).

FSC announced that Kyle Martino will host a new show on the network called “Soccer Talk Live” .  The show will air on Monday evenings and will attempt to combine soccer talk with pop culture discussions.  Martino, who has worked as a color broadcaster for ESPN and the Philadelphia Union, is a former MLS midfielder.  As we discussed, last week Martino is a rising star in the soccer broadcast media, but this seems to be an ambitious project.  The show will replace Fox Football Fone-In in FSC’s Monday lineup.  According to USA Today, the show has been picked up for 42 one hour slots and will debut on August 16, 2010.

FSC unveiled Martino as an interviewer during the Real Madrid/Galaxy match where Martino asked questions of David Beckham.  The initial show will feature Landon Donovan and Elizabeth Shue.  FSC is typically one of the lowest rated cable television networks (among those rated by Nielsen), and it is hard to see how this show will move the needle unless FSC makes a concerted effort to advertise the program on its parent network and other affiliated channels.

At the gate, the Rose Bowl match was certainly a success with almost 90k in the stadium.  Foreign powers continue to have tremendous drawing power in the United States, with solid crowds also in Detroit and Dallas last week.  Speaking of Detroit, the big news from the Motor City at the end of last week was an apparent proposal by the new owners of the Pontiax Silverdome, to bring an MLS franchise to the stadium.  At first glance, it seems prohibitively expensive to refit such an old facility rather than to knock it down and rebuild. However, a team in Detroit would be a boon to the league and would tap a strong tv market.  We will continue to monitor the effort in Detroit.

Speaking of the gate, great crowd in Chicago, but perhaps Sunday afternoons are not ideal for Dallas.

The charitable efforts of professional sports leagues and teams are typically overlooked by their fans, yet they are an important component of the community outreach programs in which almost all leagues are involved.  In addition to providing a way to give back to the community, local charitable efforts often provide teams with an outstanding opportunity to connect with fans and potential fans. This week we will focus on the charitable efforts of the American Soccer Community.  We have interviewed league representatives from MLS and WPS and individual teams to find out how soccer “gives back”.  We chatted with MLS Executive Vice President JoAnn Neale who overseas MLS W.O.R.K.S., the charitable arm of MLS and, we spoke with WPS Director of Communications Robert Penner about the womens’ league’s charitable efforts.

Today we take a look at charitable efforts at the team level, and our focus is the New England Revolution.  Revs Director of Communications Lizz Summers was kind enough to share a few words about the Revs’ good works.  Ms. Summers joined the Revs in 2006 after three seasons as the director of media relations at the University of Texas.  In her current role, Ms. Summers, who holds both an undergraduate and MBA from Boston College, oversees team media relations, public relations, corporate communications and new media activities.  In addition to directing the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation, Ms. Summers also directs the club’s other community relations efforts.  Thanks to Ms. Summers for answering our questions about the Revs’ charitable efforts.

Footiebusiness.com: The Revs are involved in charitable and community activity through the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation.  What is the goal of this group and what are the programs that the Foundation is trying to reach?  How is it determined what charities the Foundation assists?

Lizz Summers: The New England Revolution Charitable Foundation was actually founded very recently, in 2007, with a mission to assist New England-based charitable and community-based organizations, specifically those involved in education, family and health-related areas. Additionally, assisting programming involving and supporting youth soccer was also a priority. For the first few years, most of this support came through in-kind donations, although we’ve also made monetary donations to a select number of organizations. The Foundation’s mission statement has been the backbone for the team’s evolving community relations initiatives, too, so we have a consistent theme between the two entities.

Now that the Foundation has been going for several seasons, we’re taking a deeper look at the impact it’s had in several areas, and we’re re-examining its focus and mission statement. Being a sports team, we have tremendous ambassadors both on the field and off who can speak to a variety of health and wellness topics, more so in some respects than education and family. In 2010, we’re beginning the process of re-focusing the Foundation’s efforts, and extending the health and wellness theme to not only youth programming, but also adult programming to further involve our supporters. Between the Foundation’s growing involvement, its increasing fund raising activities and some of the team’s new community relations initiatives, we’re looking to increase our ability to help  charitable organizations with more monetary support as we head into the future.
FB: Many MLS fans are familiar with MLS W.O.R.K.S.  Do the Revs participate in such league-wide charitable efforts, or does the team focus on its own local charities and organizations?

LS: We do get involved with several of the MLS W.O.R.K.S. initiatives, and will have some deeper involvement in 2010 in some programs. The great thing about the MLS W.O.R.K.S. set-up is that teams can opt-in to most of the programs if they compliment the team’s efforts. Some teams may have conflicts either with local ties or sponsors and they’re unable to participate in some programming, but can incorporate other programs. We’re becoming more active in the league’s overall efforts as we continue to refine what our goals are in the community.
FB: Are the charitable efforts of the Revs separate and distinct from those of the New England Patriots and Kraft Sports?  Is there a company wide charitable philosophy that is consistent through all aspects of Revs/Pats?

LS: Where the Kraft family owns and operates two professional sports teams, as well as other sports and entertainment operations, there is certainly some crossover between the two teams. We also share a lot of best practices, especially us leaning on the Pats staff for advice and guidance since they have so much experience through national NFL programs, as well as their own. We’re actually looking to launch a program this year that we’re modifying from something the Patriots have done in the past, but tying it back to a health and wellness theme. The big thing that the Revs are now trying to do is create community and charitable opportunities where our fans and supporters can join us in giving back or lending a hand – hand-in-hand with the team. The great thing about the soccer community is that it’s a very close-knit group, especially in each city. We’re developing programs and opportunities that we hope our supporters will connect with, and that together with us – players, staff – we can make a greater difference.

FB: How is it determined which players attend certain charitable events?  Are players contractually obligated to participate in community/charity events?

LS: In the past, players have agreed to make a certain number of charitable or community appearances a year on behalf of the team, but we have never pushed players to participate if they don’t want to. Every year, we have some players who are more civic-minded than others, or who just enjoy being active in the community and they seek out opportunities to get involved. We’ve even helped a players connect and get involved with agencies and groups that they have an affinity to outside of the team’s work. Usually, we’ve tried to balance the appearances and rotate all the opportunities around, especially ones that fall in the afternoons or on weekends when the guys are looking to spend time with their families. For some higher-profile events, we’ll offer it up to the team to see who wants to participate.

Great stuff from the Revs and Ms. Summers.  Soccer is indeed a tight community and it is great to see players and teams acting as such valuable ambassodors for the sport.