FloSports costs $30 per month, but DC United plans to offer the same fully inclusive packages at reduced ratesGETTY IMAGES
DC United has "signed a multiyear contract" with Austin-based streaming platform FloSports to "carry 21 of 34 regular season matches" this season, according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. The remaining 13 matches will "appear on the league's national TV platforms." The four-year agreement will see FloSports "pay United an undisclosed rights fee and, in addition to game action, provide a platform for supplemental programming." Longtime play-by-play announcer Dave Johnson and analyst Devon McTavish are "expected to return," and DC United also "plans to hire a Spanish announcer." DC United programming will be "available to subscribers on smartphones, smart TV's, tablets and laptops." A subscription to FloSports "costs $150 annually or $30 per month," but DC United plans to "offer the same fully inclusive packages at reduced rates." DC United Senior VP/Business & Legal Affairs Sam Porter said the decision was "very much based on what our options were and what was going to be best for our fans to really connect with the team." Porter: "When you look at all the cord-cutting that is going on, it's really not as radical as it would have been a couple of years ago." Goff noted DC United's TV contract with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns WJLA-ABC, "expired after last season." DC United is FloSports' "first soccer property as part of a dedicated soccer outlet launching this week called FloFC." However, DC United is "not the first MLS organization to take the digital route," as LAFC in its inaugural season "bypassed local TV stations" with YouTube TV (WASHINGTON POST, 1/8).
