ABC to Add Only One MLS Game Next Year
(USA Today) -- Many fans hope that the strong US showing in the World Cup, which concludes with Sunday's Brazil-Germany championship game, will increase soccer coverage. But they might be disappointed by next year's Major League Soccer telecasts. ABC plans to add only a second regular-season game to its MLS schedule, giving the network a total of four telecasts, including the All-Star Game and MLS Cup. The remain-ing games will be on ESPN2. ''The perception from fans will be that will not be enough for them,'' ABC Sports senior vice president for programming Loren Matthews said Thursday. ''But they will be able to get the MLS on ESPN2 and on local telecasts.'' ABC/ESPN negotiated a deal for no rights fee for the three World Cups. MLS paid $40 million for the English-speaking US rights to ensure it will have a TV home with the Disney channels through 2006. ESPN/ESPN2 benefited from the three-week euphoria over the USA reaching the quarterfinals. Their combined ratings for live early-morning telecasts vaulted 31% over the 1998 Cup in France. But ABC's ratings for taped games on weekend afternoons have sunk to a 1.2 average, 48% below 1998 when telecasts were live. And even though soccer interest was boosted during this World Cup, ABC can't be blamed for cau-tion concerning MLS telecasts. The network has to be convinced there is a noticeable carryover from the World Cup. ABC's 0.8 rating (of the USA's 105.5 million TV homes) for the lone 2002 MLS telecast matches last year's season rating. Three years ago the U.S. women attracted 36.6 million viewers on ABC for the World Cup title game against China. WUSA telecasts on Pax are drawing slightly more than 100,000 viewers.
(USA Today) -- Many fans hope that the strong US showing in the World Cup, which concludes with Sunday's Brazil-Germany championship game, will increase soccer coverage. But they might be disappointed by next year's Major League Soccer telecasts. ABC plans to add only a second regular-season game to its MLS schedule, giving the network a total of four telecasts, including the All-Star Game and MLS Cup. The remain-ing games will be on ESPN2. ''The perception from fans will be that will not be enough for them,'' ABC Sports senior vice president for programming Loren Matthews said Thursday. ''But they will be able to get the MLS on ESPN2 and on local telecasts.'' ABC/ESPN negotiated a deal for no rights fee for the three World Cups. MLS paid $40 million for the English-speaking US rights to ensure it will have a TV home with the Disney channels through 2006. ESPN/ESPN2 benefited from the three-week euphoria over the USA reaching the quarterfinals. Their combined ratings for live early-morning telecasts vaulted 31% over the 1998 Cup in France. But ABC's ratings for taped games on weekend afternoons have sunk to a 1.2 average, 48% below 1998 when telecasts were live. And even though soccer interest was boosted during this World Cup, ABC can't be blamed for cau-tion concerning MLS telecasts. The network has to be convinced there is a noticeable carryover from the World Cup. ABC's 0.8 rating (of the USA's 105.5 million TV homes) for the lone 2002 MLS telecast matches last year's season rating. Three years ago the U.S. women attracted 36.6 million viewers on ABC for the World Cup title game against China. WUSA telecasts on Pax are drawing slightly more than 100,000 viewers.