FloSports has signed a two-year media rights deal with FC Cincinnati, the digital broadcaster’s second deal in MLS.
FC Cincinnati, which kicked off its first MLS season earlier this month, had previously signed a two-year deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned channel WSTR Star 64 to distribute its non-nationally televised games over the air in the Cincinnati market.
As part of this new arrangement, FloSports will have the digital broadcast rights to the club’s matches in the Cincinnati media market, as well as exclusive broadcast rights in the markets of nearby Dayton, as well as Lexington and Louisville, Ky. All markets beyond that are covered by MLS’s out-of-market service MLS Live, which is available via ESPN+.
Przemyslaw Tyton and the club lost its MLS debut in Seattle on March 2, falling 4-1.getty images
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Jeff Berding, FC Cincinnati president and general manager, said the club would be receiving a rights fee from FloSports and control advertising for its over-the-air broadcasts. The club produces its own games and will share that broadcast on both linear and digital platforms. FC Cincinnati’s first locally aired match will be March 24, an away game at the New England Revolution; its first three matches will each have aired nationally.
“The notion of finding a way to deliver matches on both a linear and digital platform is something the league has been doing very creatively, and we were certainly very comfortable with a similar approach,” Berding said.
D.C. United recently became the first MLS team to agree to an exclusive digital local deal with FloSports. Two other teams — the Chicago Fire, with ESPN+, and LAFC, with YouTube — have similar deals with other providers. Orlando City, Real Salt Lake and Seattle have deals with separate linear and digital providers in their markets. Several other clubs offer digital access to their broadcasts through their existing local broadcast partner, such as the New York Red Bulls via MSG Network’s app.
Mike Levy, FloSports vice president of global rights acquisition, said that its approach in Cincinnati will be similar to what it is promising D.C. United fans — a deep, behind-the-scenes look at the club with added content they won’t be able to get elsewhere. FloSports launched its soccer vertical, FloFC, last month, and has acquired rights to the CONCACAF Nations League. Subscriptions start at $12.49 a month.
