Photo: Marjorie Elzey
Philadelphia Union
A number of Union homegrowns have been named to US U-20 national team.
Union II dropped their MLS Next match with Toronto FC II 1-0.
A FIFA watch party will be held in LOVE Park on June 16th.
MLS
New England hasn’t missed a beat, even while missing their star players.
Charlotte got another big win, this time over Red Bull (with former Union man Derrick Jones opening his MLS account).
NYCFC coach Ronny Deila may be on his way to Belgium.
Sporting KC may have a new signing on the way in.
World
The USMNT defeated Grenada 5-0 on Friday night.
Mexico earned a 3-0 win over Suriname…
…while Canada put 4 past Curacao.
France and Croatia meet again today at 2:45 in Nations League action.
Does anyone know the ramifications of this new deal with apple? Does it mean games won’t be on TV anymore and we’ll only be able to watch on our computers/devices? If so, it shows how stupid MLS is as far as trying to grow the game with new fans.
I read the announcement. It feels like a replacement for ESPN+ but with more games. Kind of like the old MLS app, if you remember that. BUT… it is vague on some important notes (like pricing). Personally, I think there is no way they stop national broadcasts on ESPN or FOX. And in the same breath, I think that also means local games are still broadcast on local stations. So, this may be streaming rights only. That said… is there no exclusivity for national broadcasts? I’d expect FOX to want to stream their own broadcast, for example.
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For me, ESPN+ comes with my Disney+ subscription, so unless the MLS thing is cheap I may be priced out.
Also, there is zero way I am paying for anything AppleTV in addition, so there needs to be a way to get it standalone.
I’m hoping it’s a replacement for online (although I preferred ESPN+ because I also watch hockey there and originally subscribed to it for Copa America), but the “Learn More” on the MLS website also mentions there is no need to pay for traditional TV bundles. Having to watch away games on a device rather than TV is a complete non-starter as it means it’s not on something big enough for my wife and I too watch together.
I take it back. Deadspin is reporting this is now a STREAMING ONLY league!! No more PHL17. No more JP and Danny. It’s Apple or nothing. Although “discussions are still in progress” for some games to be broadcast.
It’s a terrible deal for loyal fans. But Garber could care less about the fans… Just like that idiot Rob Manfred.
Read Garber’s letter, he’s a f-ing joke. Hope the Apple+ ratings are horrible. I for one will NOT pay for it, period. Plenty of other soccer to watch globally.
I have a complaint letter drafted to that moron, Garber, that goes in the mail tomorrow with copies to Sugarman and Herr Tanner Saturday.
Garber will know exactly what this fan feels about this ‘great deal’ and the socialistic marketing MLS perfected the last few years.
PS… Sugarman and Tanner should create their own ‘network’ for Season Ticket Holders ONLY to watch all Union game… Home and away… which would become a potentially major benefit for being a season ticket member!
The announcement says season ticket holders get the stream included
It’s an even worse deal for potential fans since they are a hell of a lot less likely to stumble on a game and gain interest.
This is my feeling too. This does next to nothing to help the league grow. (As it is currently laid out, it could change.) In fact, it may turn off regular fans who simply don’t want another streaming service bill.
The streaming deal is cool… but still think local TV can come into play.. and we’d have to pay $60 a year to that evil empire Apple, then, anyway.
We’ll see…..
The casual fan thing is HUGE. Can’t tell you how many people I’ve turned on to soccer, cause games on 17 or 6.
Garber is a socialist… greater good my *ss. Period. The whole BLM indoctrination was misguided, at best… violence in how many MLS cities? Not because of the subject matter… but think about it…
I guess MLS marketing forgot the Ukrainians this year, right Don?