MLS' current eight-year domestic deal with ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision began in '15GETTY IMAGES
MLS has "instructed all 24 of its current clubs as well as its future expansion teams in Miami, Nashville and Austin to not have any local broadcast agreements" that go beyond '22, according to Ian Thomas of SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL. That is the year the league’s national and global broadcast deals will expire, "thus allowing MLS to potentially package any combination of those rights to future broadcast partners." It is "unclear how the league will go to market or how it would consider splitting its rights in those future deals." MLS has "made it a priority to maximize" its next media-rights deal. The league’s current eight-year agreement domestic deal with ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision began in '15 and pays MLS roughly $90M per year, a figure that "pales in comparison to the deals held by other North American leagues." But the league's TV ratings, while "steadily growing, are modest compared to those leagues." Likewise, local TV deals have not been a "huge source of revenue for MLS clubs, each of which has its own arrangement" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/4 issue).
CONTENT CREATION: ADWEEK's Sara Jerde noted MLS is "experimenting with new partners in the hopes that it will reach fragmented audiences with new, exclusive material on the devices they are using." Six clubs have "exclusive streaming partnerships outside of deals" with RSNs. YouTube TV has "partnered with three MLS teams" in LAFC, the Sounders and Orlando City, while ESPN+ airs Fire games and Salt Lake City-based KSL-NBC streams Real Salt Lake matches. MLS "hopes to use its partnerships with platforms like Twitter and YouTube to leverage younger audiences." It has "worked to grow its social media presence," and saw a 990% increase since '13 on those platforms. The league has also been "pushing a plethora of new content." Last year, MLS Digital "created 20,000 unique pieces of video content and garnered 786 million video views," a 65% increase in views MLS original content attracted the year prior. Also, the league's YouTube subscribers grew by 50% (ADWEEK.com, 3/1).
