NBC in the States have the rights to the Premier League this season, another big financial deal I guess, I believe Gary Lineker is hosting some of it too. Thought this promotional video was pretty funny.
What i think is amazing how in US & many other countries they can show saturday 3pm kick offs when they dont give a shite about footy, literally its mainly the English when they go out watching so why cant we do that here?
By all accounts they are showing loads of live matches. I have signed up to BT which is pretty cheap as I already had BT broadband but I'm really not sure how many live games I'll get to see on there due to the Saturday lunchtime kick offs. Slightly off-topic was surprised to see Clint Dempsey leave for Seattle Sounders although good move for MLS.
What i think is amazing how in US & many other countries they can show saturday 3pm kick offs when they dont give a shite about footy, literally its mainly the English when they go out watching so why cant we do that here?
Because it would be an absolute disaster for attendances outside the Prem.
This is quite a long video of Dempsey being announced to the Seattle fans but quite an impressive stadium and set up in Seattle, had no idea they were getting 40,000 attendances.
What i think is amazing how in US & many other countries they can show saturday 3pm kick offs when they dont give a shite about footy, literally its mainly the English when they go out watching so why cant we do that here?
This is quite a long video of Dempsey being announced to the Seattle fans but quite an impressive stadium and set up in Seattle, had no idea they were getting 40,000 attendances.
Football is now a very popular spectator sport in N. America. johnnybev's comment above shows the average brit is just as ignorant about this as they are about European football.
I think they've done an excellent job with the MLS and Dempsey going back at a relatively young age is a big boost for them. I don't doubt that the US will become a major force on the international stage in the future. The fact that they are going to be showing more English games on a major channel will boost the popularity even more. 40,000 fans is very good indeed.
I agree Nug that the MLS is doing well....also doing well completely under the radar is the NASL (league 2 if indeed there were promotions/relegations in the US).
New York Cosmos made their debut in the league on Saturday night and there were over 11,000 at the game, Atlanta Silverbacks have sold out all but one of their home games so far this season.
If this league continues to expand I'd say its only a matter of time before it becomes MLS 2.
There's a web site called ustvnow.com which streams all the US PSB channels. (For money you get the premium channels as well.) It's a service exclusively for US expats and when signing up you have to say which country you'll be watching from (which may trip copyright denials of service?) and you have to tick a box to say you are a US citizen. I think the service is then pretty much like the BBC iPlayer in that you either stream or download to watch later. Just saying like.....
It's fantastic when I'm in Philly (5 hours time difference), I can get up at 7:30am and then watch 2 or 3 live games in a row (12:45pm, 3pm and 5:15pm kick-offs here), and it's only just after lunch time when I'm done by around midday or 2pm, so I still have the best part of the day left to do other things.
It's fantastic when I'm in Philly (5 hours time difference), I can get up at 7:30am and then watch 2 or 3 live games in a row (12:45pm, 3pm and 5:15pm kick-offs here), and it's only just after lunch time when I'm done by around midday or 2pm, so I still have the best part of the day left to do other things.
Yep and 8:30 and 11:00 on a Sunday morning...perfect!!! (Just a shame you can't buy beer before 12:30 on Sundays here in Georgia!)
Got tickets (just as both games were almost sold out when I bought them a couple of months ago) for the next two Portland Timbers home games later this month...cannot wait, going to be great to be able to watch a decent level of pro football again.
Will be interested to see what happens with MLS expansion now, I'd imagine Becks would start his franchise option in Miami as there are no teams in the South-East at all?
Will be interested to see what happens with MLS expansion now, I'd imagine Becks would start his franchise option in Miami as there are no teams in the South-East at all?
Apparently, according to Sean Wheelock and the chaps on ESPN Miami would be a poor choice.
I think the Tampa Bay Rowdies are still quite a big outfit (best kit ever!). Using some of the old NASL teams is a good idea imho. Has worked for the Seattle Sounders. Although not sure Tampa is "cool" enough for Beckham, lot of hispanics down that way though so big potential.
A friend of mine just told me that a new team is to be started in the NASL next season in Indianapolis called Indy Eleven coached and managed by Juergen Sommer the old QPR and Luton goalkeeper. Certainly seems to be on a roll over there.
Also saw in the Metro this morning that Dempsey has the option to go on loan to a PL team when the MLS season finishes, saying he'll make more money through his contract than Beckham....sounds unlikely. His first home game in 2 weeks time has sold out 66,000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KeG_i8CWE8 
Comments
I can only assume the Premier League never told them that in many seasons there's absolutely nothing to play for by then.
New York Cosmos made their debut in the league on Saturday night and there were over 11,000 at the game, Atlanta Silverbacks have sold out all but one of their home games so far this season.
If this league continues to expand I'd say its only a matter of time before it becomes MLS 2.
Just saying like.....
Incidentially NBC paid $250m for 3 years. BT paid $1.1bn for same period and for less games.
Also saw in the Metro this morning that Dempsey has the option to go on loan to a PL team when the MLS season finishes, saying he'll make more money through his contract than Beckham....sounds unlikely. His first home game in 2 weeks time has sold out 66,000.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391224/Premier-League-ads-cover-New-York-Subway-trains-NBC-spends-161m-broadcast-rights.html