Some MLS business news
So one thing that has been an interest of mine since the beginning of the league has been how the business end is run. I believe that the strong governance of Don Garber and the MLS HQ folks was vital to the league survival for the first 10 years of the league but I know believe that much of the control needs to be turned over to the teams and that the league should loosen the reigns. Here are a couple articles I found recently that I thought were interesting (they all come from Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal):
MLS Ticket renewals bucking the economy
Less than two months before the start of the MLS season, the league’s clubs are reporting that ticket sales are keeping pace despite the economic downturn.
Business executives at 10 of the league’s 15 clubs who could be reached for comment reported that season-ticket renewals were flat or ahead of last year. Only the Houston Dynamo reported being behind compared with renewals at the same time in 2008, while several clubs reported being ahead, including the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake.
To read the rest of this article click here
I find this interesting that RSL has a renewal rate of 83% which is great and that they are ahead of last year’s new business. This article was released before it was announced that RSL would be including the MLS All Star match as part of their season tickets package, and the announcement of the US vs. El Salvador World Cup qualifying match which isn’t part of the 18 match package, but season ticket holders will get first access to their seats as well as an early purchase option for other seats to the match. Both of which should increase interest in season ticket packages.
MLS renews Panasonic for 3 years
At a time when renewing corporate sponsors is no guarantee, Major League Soccer has completed a three-year extension with Panasonic to remain the league’s official consumer electronics partner.
The extension, like its predecessor, is valued at just shy of eight figures over three years. With it, Panasonic ensures it will continue to receive rights to MLS league and team marks, in-stadium signage, player appearances and on-site promotion rights at MLS games. It also will remain a presenting partner of MLS Futbolito, a four-on-four grassroots soccer tournament.
“We looked very closely at our sponsorship list as the way most companies are looking at marketing activities and we felt the MLS sponsorship has worked well for us,” said Christine Amirian, vice president of marketing. “We saw strong response from consumers and retail outlets.”
To read the rest of this article click here
My interest point on this one is do you let MLS sponsorships influence your purchasing choices? Here is the list of RSL sponsors and here is the list of league sponsors. It is clear that these companies are spending money to support MLS and our team, we should be doing our best to support them. That means everyone should drink more Budweiser, eat some KFC and wash it down with Pepsi while wearing Adidas and watching Fox Soccer Channel.
Bidders line up for the U.S. rights to Premiership
At least three networks have emerged as serious bidders for the U.S. media rights to the English Premier League, the world’s most popular soccer league.
ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports are lining up to acquire the rights when the bidding process officially opens this spring or early summer. The EPL is making a three-year package available, from the 2010-11 season through the 2012-13 season.
The U.S. media rights will be awarded after the league decides what to do with the six British packages that it is selling. The EPL has set aside Feb. 3 as the day it will hold an auction for those packages, sources said. Fox Soccer parent News Corp., Setanta and ESPN all plan to bid on those U.K. rights.
I have been looking for the announcement of who won the US rights but haven’t been able to find much online. I know that Setanta got hammered by Sky (part of News Corp) in the UK. Here is the rest of the article. I know that Sky got 5 of the 6 UK packages for a price tag of 1.62 billion pounds, but it will be interesting given ESPN’s cold shoulder to MLS to see how much the EPL rights go for in the US. Proof that the networks understand the value of footy, but MLS simply isn’t pulling in the ratings it needs to in order to get more or better coverage. If you know any Nielsen families, please urge them to watch some MLS.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
This entry was posted on February 17, 2009 at 4:54 pm and is filed under The soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.