New men's UEFA Champions League Deal for CBS (6 years, $1.5 billion) is latest example soccer has passed ice hockey in the U.S. as a major sport; Plus I answer your Mailbag questions
I don’t think I dispute that soccer generally is more popular than the NHL in the US, but the 625m number doesn’t include any of the 24 local market deals that carry the vast majority of the games. Also, while the sheer dollar number is quite impressive for the various leagues, the fact of the matter is that comparing the one hockey league of interest to the many leagues/competitions of interest for soccer isn’t really comparing apples to apples.
All that said, the ability to watch any soccer game I basically want from anywhere in the United States is quite an amazing difference from the 90’s
I agree with your thoughts on "chuckle fests". Clint Dempsey is my favorite player of all time but seeing him "chuckle" with Davies, Edu and Gooch didn't work at all for me. Maybe I'm just an old man who doesn't understand the sneakers-with-suits look and all the rest of the stuff they discussed.
I think CBS’s Champions League coverage is perfect this is very welcomed news. I love that studio crew and they always have pitch side correspondents to throw to
The tsunami of available soccer has been horrible for my life/soccer balance. I grew up with one, sometimes two, condensed games available each week. Soccer from Germany with Toby Charles and one English first division game (again, condensed to one hour.) I learned to watch all I could -- and I have trouble breaking that habit now. I sometimes sit at my desk watching two or three games at once on two computer monitors, with another on a TV.
While soccer total rights value is higher than NHL. I wonder how it compares on a per game basis?
You are so correct about the US being such a fine place to view all these soccer matches from all over the world. Whenever I find myself in Europe -- mainly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK -- my many local soccer friends are just in awe (and a bit envious) as to how many and what kinds of games I see on a regular basis in distant Ann Arbor. "How do you know all this stuff," they ask incredulously!
I don’t think I dispute that soccer generally is more popular than the NHL in the US, but the 625m number doesn’t include any of the 24 local market deals that carry the vast majority of the games. Also, while the sheer dollar number is quite impressive for the various leagues, the fact of the matter is that comparing the one hockey league of interest to the many leagues/competitions of interest for soccer isn’t really comparing apples to apples.
All that said, the ability to watch any soccer game I basically want from anywhere in the United States is quite an amazing difference from the 90’s
I agree with your thoughts on "chuckle fests". Clint Dempsey is my favorite player of all time but seeing him "chuckle" with Davies, Edu and Gooch didn't work at all for me. Maybe I'm just an old man who doesn't understand the sneakers-with-suits look and all the rest of the stuff they discussed.
Thanks for the link to the Rushin article. I always loved his work. He’s SO creative and witty. Maybe a pod interview with him sometime?
I think CBS’s Champions League coverage is perfect this is very welcomed news. I love that studio crew and they always have pitch side correspondents to throw to
The tsunami of available soccer has been horrible for my life/soccer balance. I grew up with one, sometimes two, condensed games available each week. Soccer from Germany with Toby Charles and one English first division game (again, condensed to one hour.) I learned to watch all I could -- and I have trouble breaking that habit now. I sometimes sit at my desk watching two or three games at once on two computer monitors, with another on a TV.
While soccer total rights value is higher than NHL. I wonder how it compares on a per game basis?
You are so correct about the US being such a fine place to view all these soccer matches from all over the world. Whenever I find myself in Europe -- mainly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK -- my many local soccer friends are just in awe (and a bit envious) as to how many and what kinds of games I see on a regular basis in distant Ann Arbor. "How do you know all this stuff," they ask incredulously!