• Loading stock data...
Thursday, March 28, 2024
2024 Best Venues nominations are open now through April 8! Submit Now

MLS Looking For $300M Media Rights Deal

MLS-Media-Rights
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

MLS is eyeing a media rights deal worth $300 million annually, according to CNBC — more than three times what it currently receives.

The league’s current eight-year broadcasting deals with Fox, Disney’s ESPN, and Univision expire at the end of the season and only bring in $90 million each year.

The league is expanding and growing in popularity — the past several weeks have only confirmed it.

  • This year’s MLS Cup was the most-watched on a Disney-owned network since 2009 with an average of 1.14 million viewers.
  • The Thanksgiving Day playoff was the most-watched MLS game on Fox Sports, bringing in 1.8 million viewers for Fox platforms. It also had the highest MLS audience since 2004.
  • MLS reportedly plans to announce a 30th team in the next 10 months, with two other teams beginning play in the 2023 season.

The league will look to sell rights in a bundle. Amazon, Apple, WarnerMedia, and ViacomCBS have already expressed interest.

Other Factors In New Deal

A possible concern when landing rights is market share. The NFL signed media rights deals worth $113 billion earlier this year, and Lee Burke of LHB Sports thinks such large deals in other sports could affect what’s left for MLS.

CNBC reports the deals could be closer to $200 million annually due to U.S. Soccer ending its long-term agreement with Soccer United Marketing this year.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Spring Football’s Big Bet: An Unlikely TV Marriage, and Crazy Rules

The United Football League launches this weekend on ESPN and Fox.

NFL Executive Questions Logic Behind Streaming Giants’ Joint Venture

The ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox alliance is expected to launch this fall.

The NFLPA Report Card Is Doing Exactly What It Was Intended For

Robert Kraft hasn’t gone to school in nearly 60 years, but on Tuesday the Patriots’ owner found himself talking about his report card. 

How Lack of Planning by NCAA, Gonzaga Led to Racial Abuse of Utah Athletes

The NCAA gave Gonzaga a waiver to place teams in an extremist hotbed.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

MLB Opens Season With MLBPA, Ohtani, and Ownership Dramas

0:00
0:00

Featured Today

March 22, 2024, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) and Northwestern Wildcats guard Boo Buie (0) react in overtime against the Florida Atlantic Owls in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the Barclays Center.
March 27, 2024

‘An Expensive Game’: March Madness and NIL Collectives Are Intertwined

At schools nationwide, collectives are fueling NCAA tournament runs and vice versa.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (22) waits to be announced in the starting lineup against West Virginia in a NCAA Tournament round of 32 game Monday, March 25, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
March 26, 2024

The Women’s Trading Card Market Is Overlooked. Can Caitlin Clark Change That?

Traditionally, women’s sports cards have been a marginal part of collectibles.
The Sports Illustrated cover signed by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, February 27, 2019, at Don & Charlie's, 7501 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale. Don Charlie S
March 24, 2024

Everything You Need to Know About the Ongoing ‘Sports Illustrated’ Saga

Understanding the strange state of affairs for the nearly 70-year-old publication.

Careers

Powered By

Careers in Sports

Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world.
Live Nation
Multiple - USA Careers
Adidas
Multiple - USA Careers
Spotify
Multiple - USA Careers

‘Good Morning Football’ Beginning Mysterious Timeout Before L.A. Move

Friday is the final broadcast of ‘Good Morning Football’ from New York.
March 28, 2024

Jets Owner Blasts ‘False’ Reporting From League-Owned Outlet

League owners and NFL Media rarely criticize each other.
March 28, 2024

NBA Wants to Cash in With Foreign Investors in More Ways Than One

Sovereign wealth funds can invest in NBA teams.
Sponsored

How Daily Fantasy Sports Solved NBA Fantasy

The remarkable growth of the #1 Discord sports server in the world.
March 28, 2024

Late Rush Keeps Three MLB Teams on TV, but Revenue Issues Linger

The Diamondbacks, Padres, and Rockies continue to navigate a post-RSN landscape.
exclusive
March 26, 2024

Threats, Demands, a Lawsuit, and a Website in Limbo: Inside the Chaos at ‘SI’

‘Sports Illustrated’ has new publishers, but the transition has been messy at best.
March 25, 2024

Inside the Proxy Fight for the Future of Disney (and ESPN)

Dissident investor Nelson Peltz is seeking two board seats in an upcoming election.
March 25, 2024

The Brian Kelly ‘Hit Job’ Kim Mulkey Ripped Is Barely About Brian Kelly at All

The article was hardly about Kelly at all.