I have a few random football thoughts that I do not want to fit in a series of tweets, so I will lay all of it out in a blog post before I either forget everything, or it is too late in the MLS season.
We have another Major League Soccer season upon us, but you will not see most matches on regular cable television. MLS signed a 10-year deal with Apple's streaming service (Apple TV) worth around $250 million USD a season. Apple TV will carry every match of the MLS season and playoffs with no regional blackouts.
I have some thoughts on the deal. In the short-term, I think this is great for MLS and hardcore fans of the league. It is great for MLS because you have a guaranteed cash infusion to the league every season for Apple TV airing your matches and you can establish your own production in presenting your matches. It is great for MLS hardcore fans because you can watch all the matches of your favourite team and all of the other MLS teams in one place (not to mention you get a free subscription to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV if you are a season-seat holder).
I do have a problem with this deal, and it is that I do not believe this rights deal addresses MLS's greatest need. MLS needs to grow its audience beyond its physical stadium attendance for matches, and this includes watching matches on TV or online. It does not make sense to me to wall your content to the masses as a premium add-on to a streaming service not everyone has. Again, this is great for the hardcore MLS watcher, but what about the casual watcher? Is purchasing the MLS season pass on Apple TV a good value proposition for a casual MLS watcher? I do not think this is the case right now. This deal made the selling proposition of MLS to potential audiences that much harder, and they may have to do something drastic to get more eyes on their product. Imaging if Lionel Messi signs for Inter Miami over the summer.
I was on the fence about getting Apple TV and purchasing the MLS season pass, but I decided against it. I do not think I will have the time during the season to watch many games.
I am going to switch my attention to Toronto FC. Toronto FC is essentially a new-look squad with several personnel changes from last season. I was watching an MLS preview show before the first week of matches, and the analysts were looking at the Eastern Conference. Every single analyst had Toronto FC firmly in the playoff places, and some had TFC as high as second in the conference.
I was flabbergasted. May I remind everyone: Toronto FC was the second worst team in MLS in 2022. In what world will Toronto FC make the playoffs this year, even with this year's terrible playoff format where the first nine (!) teams in the conference get a playoff berth. I watched Toronto FC's match against Atlanta the other day, and they were lucky to get a point, as Atlanta should have won that match easily. Sean Johnson is a great upgrade in net to Alex Bono, but Toronto FC badly need a DP striker, as Diomande does not look fit at all. I do not have confidence in a midfield where your lynchpin is an aging Michael Bradley. The defence is almost all-new and will need time to gel together. As of right now, I do not think Toronto FC will make the playoffs this year unless they make some additional moves in the summer.
Lastly, I want to talk about the ongoing dispute between the Canada Soccer Association (CSA) and the players of the Canadian Men's and Women's teams. I have been following the situation closely, and much of the dispute stems from a secret merchandising and broadcasting rights deal between the CSA and an organization called Canada Soccer Business (CSB), which is made up of the owners of the teams in the Canadian Premier League (CPL), where the CSA sold its merchandising and broadcast rights to the CSB in return for a yearly fee paid back to the CSA. The national team players (and particularly the women's team) are not getting the proper funding as a result of this deal. I find it interesting that this whole situation is pitting the success of the national teams against the success of the CPL. You would think the successes of both these entities would be beneficial for the whole of Canadian Soccer, but the incompetence and lack of transparency by the CSA threatens that success and could cause an implosion at the heart of Canadian Soccer.
I just want to point out that the General Secretary of the CSA is Earl Cochrane, who was also a member of the Toronto FC front office during its worst period of existence. It seems like everything he touches when it comes to soccer management turns to shit, and I genuinely believe he is one of the villains of Canadian Soccer. Nick Bontis was able to resign as CSA president during this dispute so why can't Earl resign as well? He should be nowhere near any soccer club or soccer association.
Anyways, these were my footy-related thoughts. Hope to see you at BMO Field on March 28 when the Canada men's team plays Honduras. You will find me at my second home in section 114 as usual.
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