Part II: Chat With MLS Chief Marketing Officer Howard Handler

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Ben Berger

celebrationHoward Handler was named Chief Marketing Officer of Major League Soccer in early 2o12.  In that capacity, Mr. Handler oversees marketing, strategy, communications, digital, events and club services for the League.  Prior to joining MLS, Mr. Handler served as executive vice president, marketing and sales at The Madison Square Garden Company.  He has also worked for Virgin Mobile, The National Football League, MTV, Saturday Night Live and The Quaker Oats Company.

Earlier in the week we posted Part I of our interview with Mr. Handler.  Part II looks at the league’s decision to move the MLS Cup Final to the home ground of the highest remaining seed.

Footiebusiness.com For the first time, MLS Cup was held at the home ground of the highest remaining seed rather than a long planned neutral site.  What logistical challenges did the league face in implementing this change?  What types of items/events cannot be organized until the site is known?

Howard Handler: In the early days, a neutral site gave us more time to plan and sell more tickets.  Having a competitively determined site is a statement to the confidence we have in the size and intensity of our fan base, truly one of the distinguishing aspects of MLS today.

FB: Similarly, MLS Cup is a showcase event for the league. How does the new format impact the league’s ability to promote the league to sponsors, potential sponsors and potential investors?

HH: In 2012, we learned that a competitively determined destination for MLS Cup was the best possible experience for fans. The electricity and noise were amazing, and you could cut through it with a knife at the Home Depot Center. It was unbelievable, and I know the players, fans and partners felt it.

 There are certainly challenges with people having only two weeks to plan around the final destination, and everybody has very busy schedules, especially at that time of year. But, ultimately we are putting our fans and our Clubs first. We think that’s the best thing we can do to ensure that it’s the best environment for the players and clubs. Commercially, it’s also the smartest thing we can do to drive the best possible rating. fireworks

FB: Does the new format increase the importance of the All-Star Game as an annual event with respect to creating an opportunity for league officials, sponsors, media, team officials and fans to gather?  Will the MLS Cup still play a role as a central event off the field?

HH: There is no doubt that MLS Cup is the crowning event of the season. Everybody is gunning to be the champion, so we think that MLS Cup will continue to grow over time.  We’ve got one of the best Special Events teams in the industry and we will get even better at the logistics.  As our popularity and fan base continue to grow, it’s just one of those things that becomes a given. It definitely creates the opportunity to make All-Star a much bigger deal, but we have been doing a pretty good job over the past several years of making All-Star special. We have been able to find ways to layer on more content, more promotion, more surprises and more value for everyone involved.

 The real headline I think relates to March to Soccer, our new season launch platform. March to Soccer is a bigger, multi-faceted event. It stretches over a five week period and there are plenty of ways for everyone to get involved. Our partners acknowledged that, even when it was a concept on the drawing board. The calendar is always a great source of leverage for our league. We have those three big anchor events — March to Soccer, All-Star and MLS Cup —  but we also have rivalries and other exciting matches that exist within the schedule. Over time the big rivalries and some of the international friendlies will all take on greater importance.

FB: How will the new format impact promotion and coverage in the market where the game is held?  What efforts will the league make to connect with mainstream and sports media in the host city? How did that go with Los Angeles this year.

HH: The host markets have done a great job with MLS Cup.  Media today is built to react to the breaking story with the “got to see it now” mentality. With competitively determined places, as in the World Series, journalists know that they will be spending time in both places, and with us, it’s one or the other. I think the experience in Los Angeles was amazing actually. We had a little extra sizzle from David Beckham’s last game and the repeat potential that Los Angeles fulfilled. We had a lot of support from AEG, which is an amazing supporter and a great owner.

galaxyFB: Finally, does the league believe the new format will have an impact on match attendance?  Does that question depend on the city?

HH: The new format in part was adopted based on our confidence that attendance would be one of the real highlights.  What was interesting this year is that you had a couple thousand people travel from Houston. It’s not inexpensive and not uncomplicated, but they wanted to be there. It made for an even better environment. When you looked into the stadium, you saw an entire sea of orange next to the gigantic LA Supporters section.

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Monday After

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Ben Berger

portlandHere it is!  The first “Monday After” of the new season.  Every Monday through the end of the MLS season we will take a look at some of the weekend business stories, including attendance, broadcast and more.  Today we will start with the televising of the league’s first round of games.  Fans were treated to the annual free preview of Direct Kick which offered a number of matches including the tilt between Sporting and the Union.  With the familiar tones of JP DellaCamera and the improving analysis of Alejandro Moreno, the broadcast had a national feel despite its local flavor.  Direct Kick froze for about 8 minutes mid-game, but the telecast was otherwise well done.  The picture quality of MLS Live remains outstanding, although the game was running about one minute behind the television version.  In a world where people are following soccer and Twitter at the same time, the delay can negatively impact the viewing experience.

The first national telecast came courtesy of the NBCSN from BBVA Compass in Houston.  Because of a long running Ivy League basketball game, the broadcast started late, although fans didn’t miss out on any o the action.  The network didn’t offer a scroll explaining the delay (as has been ESPN’s custom), which left viewers wondering what would happen if the game went into overtime.  That said, the NBCSN production was outstanding, with  the entire team providing great commentary and analysis. the Kyle Martino “between the benches” continues to serve viewers well.

ESPN joined the party on Sunday night with the Portland Timbers playing host to the Red Bulls. Twellman and Healy manned the broadcast booth while Lalas reported from the midst of the Timbers Army.   Twellman continues to improve and seems set to become a fixture in the soccer broadcast booth for years to come.  ESPN really focused on the Portland atmosphere during the game and showed live coverage of the fans signing the national anthem before the game.   Also, full credit to ESPN to addressing the Chivas USA, Adu and Donovan as part of the halftime.

Before we get to the attendance picture league-wide, a quick note about Chivas.  Longtime readers of this site know that I have long applauded the promotional efforts of the Chivas Front Office. Using an array of game day attractions, deals and more the, the team managed to keep its gate reasonable, despite playing second fiddle in its own stadium with a roster devoid of star power. That has started to slip over the last couple of years, and the embarrassing attendance numbers (under 7,500) on opening night became a national story.  It may not be time to write obituary just yet, but time is running short for that franchise rebound.

On to attendance.  The Philly game drew an announced 18k plus despite the appearance of some empty seats on a cold day in the City of Brotherly Love.  Vancouver followed with a 21k sellout that saw the home team hold serve against their Canadian rivals.  Dallas impressively managed to seat more than 18k for their home opener. Across the State of Texas, the Dynamo played host to a crowd in excess of 20k.  Seattle closed the night with a crowd of almost 39k. On Sunday, the Galaxy routed Chicago before a crowd of 20k.

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The Monday After

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Ben Berger

An exciting weekend of games in the MLS Conference Finals.  We’ll start in Colorado, where the Rapids turned out a big attendance number despite limited mainstream marketing and a lack of promotional offerings.  With temperatures falling under 30 degrees, more almost 18k fans braved the weather at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

For a team that has struggled at the gate since its move to the new stadium, the big number is contrary to typical MLS attendance patterns.  For much of MLS’s history, teams relied heavily on group sales and family friendly offerings struggled with the short lead times required in the playoffs.  Yet over the last couple of years, this paradigm has changed.  Just this year, there were big first round crowds in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City and San Jose (given capacity) and expected crowds in Dallas and Colorado.  Only Columbus was particularly disappointing the first round.  Whether this represents a change as MLS moves forward remains to be seen, but Colorado’s ability to generate such a big crowd with less than one week’s notice was an especially significant feat.

The other second round game pitted the Galaxy against Dallas.  The Home Depot Center produced its ususal strong crowd.  After a strong showing in the TV Ratings from the prior two Sunday night matchups, it will be interesting to see if ESPN’s Galaxy-centric broadcast strategy continues to pay off.

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The Monday After: The Business of the Playoffs

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Ben Berger

The MLS Playoffs are here and the eight teams entering the post season have been decided.  Under MLS’  much criticized playoff format, there will be 6 representatives from the Western Conference and 2 representatives from the Eastern Conference.  As we did last year at this time, we thought it worth taking a business look at the playoff teams.

Seattle, Los Angeles and RSL are the big attendance draws in the round of 8.  All three teams will be big home draws with Seattle and and RSL likely to be sell outs and Los Angeles likely to have a crowd in excess of 20k.  Given the league’s reliance on group sales in many markets, big crowds are never a certainty in the playoffs.  However, these three teams are almost certain to draw well and will provide focal point of national broadcasts.

On the other side of the coin sit Dallas, Colorado and Columbus were big crowds are not expected for the playoffs.  Both Colorado and Dallas may be helped by visits from Designated Players, but none of these teams are anticipated sell outs.  Because it plays in such a small stadium, San Jose is a bit of an outlier.  The team has done a solid job generating enthusiasm for soccer in the Bay Area, and it will be interesting to see if that enthusiasm continues into the playoffs.  Their attendance will likely be aided by a visit from Thierry Henry.

That leaves with perhaps the biggest attendance mystery in the playoffs, the New York Red Bulls.  Armed with a new stadium, big stars and a two week lead on selling the game.  The game will be set for 8:00 on November 4, 2010 at Red Bull Arena.  The match will be nationally televised on a Thursday night and will provide a very interesting test of the Red Bulls’ ability to sell tickets to fans for a big match.   The league is certainly hoping that the Red Bulls will get more than 20k at the game in order to ensure a visual spectacle.

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The Monday After

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Ben Berger

Another big weekend in Major League Soccer with the ESPN game of the week capping off the proceedings.  While attendance was disappointing (for the much hyped SuperClassico), the match presented a rare opportunity to see 3 US National Team members from the 2010 World Cup Team and David Beckham in a prime time special.  Although matched against the NFL ratings juggernaut, the Sunday night match up could prove an interesting ratings test case for the league.

Perhaps the biggest attendance surprise of the weekend was the 18k plus at Gillette Stadium to see the Revs and RSL.  A combination of a promotional efforts directed to local high school teams and a breast cancer awareness event, led to the biggest stand alone crowd for the Revs this season.  However, the biggest business news out of New England was the report in multiple sources that the Revs’ ownership has decided to change course on its pursuit of a designated player.  The Revs had previously limited their DP search to players that would move the needle in the stands.  With the limited budget restraints placed on that search, there appeared little chance that the Revs would actually sign such a “big name” player.  However, the Revs appear to have now changed their requirements and are more focused on success on the field.

One final attendance note.  An impressive crowd of over 24k at Red Bull Arena.  While many of those numbers can be attributed to fans with “use them or lose” tickets, it will be intersting to see if the team can continue generating big numbers during playoffs.

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The Monday After: A look at MLS Attendance

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Ben Berger

We haven’t taken a hard look at attendance in a number of weeks, but this past slate of games provides some food for thought.  The “weekend” started with a small Wednesday night crowd in Chicago, where approximately 13k saw a scoreless draw at Toyota Park.  The mid-week games continued on Thursday night with the usual 36k at Qwest.  On Friday night, just over 10k saw Chivas USA shut-out New England at the Home Depot Center.

TFC’s loss to DC United was before the usual 20k plus crowd at BMO Field.  In Harrison, a reported crowd in excess of 19k saw an impressive performance by the Red Bulls on a beautiful afternoon.  As has been the case for many Red Bulls games, attendance appeared to be less than the reported number.  Whether no-shows, poor scalper re-sales or fudged numbers account for the discrepancy, New York is one of many franchises where visible attendance doesn’t necessarily square with reality.

Just under 20k were at the Home Depot Center, a low number given David Beckham’s season debut.  In San Jose, the usual 10k plus were on hand for one of many scoreless draws plaguing the league.  Philly brought 18,500 to the stadium for their upset victory over playoff hopeful Chicago.

Going back to the Red Bulls, this is what we wrote last Fall when comparing the prospects at Red Bull Arena to the low attendance at the newly constructed Prudential Center that houses Devils Hockey.  This is the nightmare scenario for the the Red Bulls.  Build a sparkling new stadium with all the amenities, public transportation accessibility, natural grass and fill it with star players.  Pack in crowds for all 25k seats for a few games and then slowly watch attendance drop off.  Sure, the new revenue streams will be outstanding (recall that Rio Tinto has raised RSL’s revenue 42%).  But will Red Bull be happy with 13k on a Saturday night in August? Many in the New Jersey/New York area have no idea the new stadium exists and thus there is limited excitement about its debut.

Things certainly haven’t reached this stage yet. New York attendance has been solid all year with an average of 18k.  That said, given the new stadium and the star power imported this season, New York fans could have rightfully exepected higher numbers.  With a handful of remaning home dates and a likely playoff match, we will continue to monitor attendance at RBA.

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The Monday After

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Ben Berger

Perhaps the biggest business news from the soccer weekend was the announcement  that storied Scottish club Glasgow Rangers is withdrawing from its 2010 American tour.  The tour was intended to include matches against Celtic in Boston and DC United at RFK.  The BBC article references the recent Boston Globe article that criticized Rangers’ fans and ultimately forced the Globe to withdraw the article and issue an apology.

Attendance across the league was varied with more than 10k in Dallas and the usual big numbers in Toronto in Seattle.  We’ve already discussed the sub 6k number on Wednesday in New England, so we thought we would focus on the solid numbers in Salt Lake City, where the defending champs are on pace to crush the attendance from 2009.  RSL is averaging 15,600 this year, up 25% from the first three games of 2009.  We’ve discussed RSL’s 2010 marketing efforts with team Marketing Director Davy Ratchford and it appears those efforts are paying off.  RSL is an exciting franchise to watch, as it garners significant press attention in its “smallish” market and puts an outstanding product on the field.  We will continue to monitor RSL’s attendance as the season moves into the summer.

The big attendance story for the weekend was the amount of empty seats in Atlanta for the Beat’s home opener against Sky Blue in WPS action.  While the crowd looked solid, you always hope to sell-out a stadium in its inagural match.  That said, kudos to WPS for streaming the game live and for free on the league website.

One final note.  The Seattle Sounders’  response to their big loss over the weekend to Los Angeles wasn an MLS first.  The team announced that season ticket holders will be refunded their money (i.e. credited on their account for next year).  This is a great P.R. move even if it is a bit strange.  Teams have bad games and franchises typically don’t offer refunds, but in this case the team will buy some good will with its fans while making headlines in media outlets across the country.

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The Monday After & Media Matters

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Ben Berger

We’ve decided to take a different approach to our Monday After posts from today forward.  Rather than focus on attendance, we thought we look at any business issues that arose over the weekend and focus on one or two significant “gates” on either the high side or low side.  We are also starting a new regular feature called “Media Matters” when we will comment on the presence of soccer coverage in mainstream media.  If you stumble across such coverage, feel free to drop us a line at footiebusiness@gmail.com

On to the weekend.  For MLS fans it was a great Saturday night on Direct Kick, with games kicking off at 7:30, 8:30, 9:00, 10:00 and 10:30.  Add in the FSC game from Houston and there was plenty of soccer to choose from.  Attendance was generally poor across the league despite generally good weather nationwide.  Perhaps most dissappointing was the 15,400 in Los Angeles where the undefeated Galaxy beat expansion Phill 3-1.  Los Angeles is off to a great start this year and the franchise generally draws well and has had plenty of games in the Beckham era near the 27k capacity at the Home Depot Center.

WPS attendance has also been disappointing this year.  The weekend was notable for the 8k that saw Washington win 3-1 at RFK.  The match was part of a doubleheader with stumbling DC United.  Less than 3k were in Philly for the expansion franchise’s win over fellow newcomer Atlanta.

A couple of notes in our media matters section.  Two soccer stories in the most recent edition of Sports Illustrated.  One was a great feature on Jozy Altidore.  With the World Cup 6 weeks away, we should anticipate a number of these types of features in mainstream publications.  The other piece was in the “Scorecard” section that analyzed MLS’ status at the gate.  The article provided a neat two sided argument that compared MLS to the NBA and NHL with respect to attendance and provided reasons both in support and against the staying power of American soccer.

Keeping with the media theme, ESPN has certainly ramped up its World Cup coverage across both the internet and television platforms.  Ads for the World Cup are omnipresent on all programming on the ESPN networks and ESPN.com is running an article every day.  The WorldWide leader has invested an enormous amount of money in the World Cup and they are working hard to push their coverage

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The Monday After: Week Four, Week Two & More

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Ben Berger

Before we get into our look at attendance in MLS and WPS from the weekend, a couple of other business thoughts.  It was a good weekend for MLS MatchDay Live as the online game server seems to have shaken most the problems that beset the new service over the past few weeks.  In DC, the United game was still not available on local television, as conflicts with hockey and basketball have created significant problems in making the games available.  Similar problems impacted the Revolution this weekend, as a conflict with the Celtics forced the Revs’ game onto a variety of different “alternate” channels that didn’t necessarily work as planned forcing many fans to miss portions of the game.

With respect to attendance, it was a fairly disappointing weekend for the league.  Things started well in newly expanded BMO Field where almost 22k saw TFC hold off Philadelphia.  In Houston, just under 15k saw Houston hold off Chivas USA.  More than 35k were in Seattle for the Sounders’ late victory over KC.  A solid 18,500 were in DC where United again failed to win.

In San Jose, less than a sellout (under 10k) saw the home team beat the Revs.  While on Sunday, less than 10k were at DSG for the Rapids win over TFC.  However, the most distressing result for MLS fans was the paltry 13k that were at Red Bull Arena for the New York/Chicago game.  Bad weather certainly didn’t help, but the Red Bulls (and the league) were certainly hoping for numbers closer to 20k for most of the season.  The next home game (involving rival Philly) will likely be better, but attendance for unheralded Western Conference opponents might be a problem for the rest of the season.

In WPS action, 3700 saw FC Gold Pride defeat NJ at Castron Valley Athletic Stadium.  We couldn’t find attendance for the other two games.

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Monday After: Week Two

Posted on April 4, 2010 by Ben Berger

Light docket in MLS this weekend with only 5 games Th-Sa.  Before we get to those matches, a couple of other quick business points.  First, we gave MatchDay live another chance, but couldn’t see any games in real time.  The only non-nationally televised game was the Revs/United match which was blacked out in the Hartford area (also blacked out on Direct Kick). Thus, we couldn’t try the service this weekend.  However, kudos to MLS for having readily available live chat support during the broadcast.  This made it quite easy to cancel our subscription.

While the game was shown on Comcast Sports Net New England (a channel available in CT), in the Hartford area, CSN gets usurped by Knicks/Rangers games on the Madison Square Garden network. Thus, even though the “info” screen reads MLS: Revolution v. DC United, Comcast switches the feed to the MSG feed.  Thus, no Revs (except on the HD feed).

Attendance wise, it was solid week around the league.  The Thursday night doubleheader started with 18k in Houston for the Dynamo’s 2-1 victory over RSL.  Later than night, just under 20k saw Chivas fall to the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center.  Both games were on ESPN2.  The weekend matches started in Commerce City, CO where 11,600 watched the Rapids and Fire play to a 2-2 draw.  On Saturday night, an impressive 20,600 were on hand for the Revs suprising victory in DC.  Finally, a ho-hum 36k saw a the thrilling Red Bulls/Sounders game.  The DC number was especially impressive and was aided by good weather and the addition of an El Salvadoran midfielder.

Next week will likely be a tougher week for the average, but the openers in Chicago and Philly will hopefully draw well.

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