Don Garber gave an interview the other day to the Associated Press Sports Editors. The main thrust of the discussion surrounded the league’s plans to continue building through expansion, presumably in the form of the team in Queens that seems to go against everything MLS has stood for in recent years. While most expansion sides in recent seasons have either had a well-established supporter group or played seasons in a lower division (in some cases, both), this is clearly not the case with NY2. It’s an MLS driven initiative to anoint an area as “MLS worthy,” without having to pay the dues with clear support.
That is a blog post in itself, but that’s the least controversial part of his remarks. Most of the stories that made headlines about this interview left out a small paragraph about a belief statement that calls into question the way the league is ready to respond to the changing culture of futbol in the United States.
The quote had to do with Garber’s belief that Major League Soccer is behind the eight-ball when it comes to grabbing viewers on the television. Here were his thoughts (from SI):
“There’s more soccer on television than any other sport by far,” Garber said. “You’ve got European soccer. You’ve got Mexican soccer. You’ve got Major League Soccer. There’s way too much soccer on television. I think all of us got to figure out a way to narrow that window so you can get a situation like the NFL has, a couple of days a week, short schedule, something that’s very compelling and very targeted.”
Is this statement a surprise to me? Absolutely not. It is sure to be spun to a much more palatable form in the coming days, if it’s clarified at all. MLS is a league that suffers from a lack of confidence in its ability to churn out viewers. It’s understandable to an extent though, since MLS’ TV numbers have never really stood out. Are there good reasons why?
When the league was formed back in the early 90′s, the past economic struggles were primary on the minds of those beginning a professional soccer league in the US. Those struggles manifested again in the early 2000′s, as teams playing in gigantic coliseums couldn’t create an atmosphere to sell the sport.
So sacrificing some quality in order to keep costs manageable was a reasonable tradeoff back in the early days. Additionally, the cable, satellite, and internet footprint was miniscule compared to our current state of affairs in the world. There was very little soccer on television aside from World Cup time. There was no reason to think that popularity of the sport would grow much at all based on a league with one match televised per week. Running a tight ship was a necessity.
Fast forward to 2013. The first word that comes to mind in this exercise in anachronism is, “Wow,” and the second, ‘Hallelujah!!!” The expansion of what we can consume as soccer lovers is a joy to behold. The key factoid in Don Garber’s point, that we have a ton of soccer available, is spot on. Nearly every waking moment on the weekends, and a good bit on weekdays, is filled with multiple leagues and tournaments. It’s a glorious time for consumers like you and I. From England to Scotland to Italy to Spain to Mexico to the US (and a few more in between), we have a ton of soccer at our fingertips (and that’s just from legally viewed sources).
That is the synthesis of the problem for Garber: for the current financial model to work well for MLS, the media model for soccer needs to operate in the 1990′s. And that ain’t happening. When NBC Universal spends over $50 million per year on the English Premier League, you will not be limiting anything. NBC is going to make their money any way they can, and it behooves Major League Soccer to figure out how they are going to compete.
Which is what makes Garber’s comments extremely troubling for almost anyone who loves MLS and wants to see it grow. Garber is the league’s leader. He can’t be making feeble comments like the ones he made a few days ago. The only thing you can count on in life is change, and the league needs to meet the challenge head on, not with a cynical Allardyce-esque whimper about how unfair it is, and how they’ll park the bus by channeling it all into a nice, neat 4 hour time slot.
I’m sure this has been on Don’s mind for a little while now. The contract the EPL signed with NBC was troubling to start, but as NBC has rolled out their plans for broadcast, it must rock MLS’ world. MLS invested in providing MLS Live, a high-quality subscription service that shows all MLS games that are not on national TV. Now here comes NBC and the EPL willing to give away their product to most people in America. That will certainly have an impact on the revenues that MLS enjoys for their online distribution, unless they figure out alternatives.
As far as the popularity of MLS in America, I’m not sure what exactly needs to happen. Perhaps looking at the way the world consumes and enjoys the sport may be a good start, as opposed to dreaming of the wonderful, “NFL Model.” It seems like they’ve tried this “American sporting model” for the better part of 20 years with mixed results. I’m not saying abandon it completely, but there must be some changes in order to compete in the current state of the market.
My last point: Don Garber needs to start advocating for soccer. His statement is more of an advocacy for business than for soccer. Does Roger Goodell or David Stern ever commiserate about the college game in their respective sport? How it takes away from their viewership and profits? Does the France Family that backs NASCAR whine about Formula 1 coverage? No, because they realize the popularity of the sport will translate to the popularity of their domain. They also know that it sounds defeatist, and leaders need to sound confident in what they are providing.
Soon will be a turning point for MLS. The MLS on NBC deal has had its chance to ferment a bit. NBC now has the EPL. Even though there’s little indication they are unhappy, will NBC be willing to continue partnering with MLS? What if they don’t? Will MLS find another partner that gives them the same financial promises? These are all questions that need answering by a strong, confident leader. Don Garber can be that guy, but he needs to start carrying the cause for soccer in America, and realize that some change is crucial for MLS to survive in this new climate.
