The introduction of Thierry Henry drew plenty of media coverage both in the New York ara and nationally. Articles in mainstream publications, interviews on local and national media outlets and discussion on ESPN and elsewhere. The introduction was well managed by the Red Bulls, and other than a much maligned in studio interview with Good Day New York, Henry’s appearances were impressive and enjoyable.
Unfortunately, the FSC broadcast if Henry’s debut was decidedly unimpressive. The booth team of Rogadino and Caliguri was below par (in contrast to the Bretos/Twellman pairing from ESPN2 the night before) and Caliguri was especially disappointing. Stadium microphones were seemingly non-existent and picked up little of the Red Bull Arena crowd. Replays were poorly managed, with the slow to develop Barclays graphic forcing viewers to miss live action. Cut away shots also cost viewers game action, with the FSC producers electing to show individual shots of players running rather than the ball. FSC has experienced crews working these games, but the production showed little of that experienced. So close to the World Cup, the poor quality of the broadcast was readily apparent.
In contrast, the ESPN broadcasts since the World Cup suggest that the World Wide Leader learned something about soccer telecasts from the month in South Africa. Coverage has been smooth and the new pairing of Max Bretos and Taylor Twellman was solid. ESPN has definitely been heavy on the soccer in the weeks since the World Cup and they have made good use of their various booth teams. Kyle Martino has become a rising star doing color for the games.
Posted by Ben Berger 
Another weekend of soccer is in the books and it was another full slate for the Beautiful Game in the States. However, before we get to the weekend, a couple of notes. First, 
The big story in American soccer is the return of David Beckham to MLS and the Galaxy lineup. As we have on a number of prior occassions, we thought we would blog about the business of the TV coverage of an important American soccer game. As is typical, FSC started with a 30 minute pre-game. The pre-game was sponsored by Geico, and included a Beckham interview, a Grant Wahl interview and the usual FSC personalities breaking down the game.
As we do every few weeks, it is time again to take a look around MLS for ticket offers and bargains. The Columbus Crew are offering the “
DC United’s efforts to get a stadium built in Prince George’s County took a small step forward with the Maryland House Appropriations Committee 
It was a big weekend for U.S. soccer fans. The National Team was in El Salvador for a qualifier, WPS kicked off in Los Angeles and the MLS completed its second week of games. ESPN2 televised the National Team (after not showing an MLS game this week). Captain Morgan’s featured prominently as an advertisor (I don’t remember them investing heavily in soccer previously) and there was otherwise a fairly typical mix of national and local advertising. Heineken and Southwest also purchased ad time. The crew was on site (as opposed to a booth in Bristol) and the production went fairly smoothly throughout.
