The Union entered the MLS offseason needing new deals for a jersey sponsor and a broadcast home, and after settling the first by "re-upping with longtime partner Bimbo Bakeries" through '23, they "now must settle the second," according to Jonathan Tannenwald of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. The club's games have aired on WPHL-TV and WPVI-ABC for the last two years, which "gave wide TV distribution, but games weren't available online in the market." That drew "frequent criticism from fans." Union Chair & Owner Jay Sugarman said that the team has been "'approached by over-the-top broadcasters' seeking deals to air games only online, but turned them down." He added, "We decided putting a paywall up for our fans made no sense, and other teams have tried that. We thought just being in a cable package; we had tried that in the past; we wanted to try something different." Tannenwald noted MLS' out-of-market streaming deal with ESPN "requires teams to buy back in-market rights from the league for a sum understood to be $100,000 per year." In March, Union Chief Business Officer Tim McDermott insisted that the purchase price "isn't an issue." Sugarman "said the same." Sugarman: "It's really how do we get the best product into the most right places in a way that our partners are all comfortable with?" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/14).
