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NBC Sports announced today that it has sealed a three-year agreement with Major League Soccer that will begin at the start of next season. No financial terms were revealed, but The Sports Business Journal said the deal is reportedly worth $10 million a year. The MLS package previously was housed at Fox, which showed games on its cable network Fox Soccer Channel; ESPN and Univision also have TV rights as part of a separate agreement. The NBC pact will see the network air 45 league games and four U.S. National Team games each season televised live across NBC and NBC Sports Network (the new name of Versus, which is rebranding in January). The move will return soccer to broadcast TV, and is an upgrade for the league’s cable footprint (Versus has 76 million subs; Fox Soccer has 39 million).
NBCUniversal’s NBC Sports Group has been busy building its portfolio since its formation after NBCU’s sale to Comcast: It has a new chairman, Mark Lazarus, who replaced Dick Ebersol; it retained rights to the Olympics through 2020; and in April it inked a new 10-year deal with the NHL worth $2 billion.
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So the network that nobody in America watches is airing the sport that nobody in America watches. Love the synergy!
Look at the ratings aside from the NFL the sport is getting bigger ratings then any other sport out there. Those are the facts really old guy!
I should probably let you think you’re funny and/or smart, but you’re a fool if you think that soccer isn’t popular in the US.
That’s why NBC gets the highest ratings on every sunday. NBC sports is still the crown jewel in terms of production and selling a product. Their Hockey, NFL, PGA, and Olympic coverages dwarfed anything ESPN did up until the 2010 World Cup.
good day for Major League Soccer and NBC Sports
NBC Sports should make a move on the Dodgers as the dust gets settled. Bud Selig is not a Fox fan, and the Dodgers (with new ownership) would be a strong property for NBC Sports Network.
You show your stubborn ignorance to well. Soccer viewership has never been as high as it has been lately. Even with slumping National Teams
This is a great, low risk pick up for NBC Sports. Like the hockey deal, it should easily be profitable, plus give the cable network more original content to air. Soccer’s on the rise. With basketball taking a year off, this is a good opportunity for NBC to spotlight hockey and MLS.
What a bozo move. Any true soccer fan is watching the Premier League not some second rate league. It is like watching little league instead of the Yankees. Give us world class soccer not this crap!
You’re funny. Any true Englishman would know support your local club, then cheer on the much better second club. Personally I would love the premier league quality in America, but the only way to get that is invest in soccer in America, and the only way to do that is to go to MLS matches. Hopefully my investment one day will pay off and you will still be living in the glory days of waking up at 5 am to watch two teams that have no relation to your community or have any approachable players.
NBC will grow the MLS ratings from .1 to a .4 Hard to market a National sports league that is only in 16 markets. $10mm a year for a product this bad and poorly distributed? Good luck w/this turd, NBC.
Why invest in markets that aren’t fertile. That’s why MLS expands slowly (Also its 18 markets, 19 next year, but who is counting?)
Plus who says the product is bad. Last time I checked it was the best soccer league in America.
Love the ignorance! Congrats to NBC and MLS, the increased exposure will definitely be another gain for soccer in the US
NBC’s drive for success continues.
You notice the headline doesn’t read “win” the rights to ML Soccer… This isn’t a win.
This is nothing more than NBC filling spots on the weekend when other sports are idle. They overpaid on the NHL and the Olympics but it does help MLS to some degree in terms of national exposure. now, if ABC Sports can regain its identity back from ESPN.
Good to hear MLS getting some more exposure. Soccer is really starting to pick up here in the US.
I think this is a good move by NBC Sports.
It’s a solid move.
Yes, the ratings won’t be great, and the MLS is not the best product, but Soccer fans are the type of high-end well-educated well-traveled viewer NBC needs to start attracting again if it wants to rebuild it’s brand. (West Wing, ER, Seinfeld, ect)
It’s not WC or Euro Cup or EPL… but it’s not for knuckle-draggers either… and that’s what NBC needs
If they’re smart they will hire at least one English commentator per game, preferably two but that’s probably wishful thinking. All I know is American commentator + soccer = awful.