Archive for The Media
MLS Viewership Remains Flat
Media Microscope: Why The MLS On Versus Needs To Happen
By Seth Vertelney, Goal
For the United States as a whole, the World Cup was a huge success: massive TV ratings, some relative achievement for the U.S. team, and perhaps most importantly, for a month at least, soccer created an immense buzz and became a part of the cultural zeitgeist.
Major League Soccer, understandably, is looking to ride this tidal wave of good vibes and make a splash of its own. (Sorry, couldn’t help the pun.)
Signs have been quite positive in 2010. Attendance is up, big-name players are arriving, and new stadiums are springing up across the country. There is still one aspect of the league that isn’t experiencing a boon, though, and that’s television ratings.
Viewership has remained flat on ESPN2, as MLS matches have averaged a 0.2 household rating through 14 games according to Nielsen. The 0.2 share, which translates to roughly 251,000 viewers per game, means MLS has lower numbers than, gasp….the WNBA.
GolTV To Broadcast Entire Toronto FC CONCACAF Group Stage
Toronto FC announced Friday that GOLTV Canada will broadcast the entire CONCACAF Group Stage schedule. All home games will be broadcast in High Definition.
Toronto opens the competition at home Tuesday, August 17 against eight time Mexican Primera Division Champion Cruz Azul. Tickets for that match went on sale to the public today, and can be purchased by visiting the team’s website www.torontofc.ca.
The club advanced to the Group Stage for the first time in their history after defeating CD Motagua 3-2 on aggregate. This morning, the entire schedule was announced by CONCACAF, all games will feature an 8 pm ET kick-off.
| Group A | Group Stage Schedule | |||
| Tuesday | August 17 | vs | Cruz Azul | MEX |
| Tuesday | August 24 | at | Arabe Unido | PAN |
| Wednesday | September 15 | at | Real Salt Lake | MLS |
| Tuesday | September 21 | at | Cruz Azul | MEX |
| Tuesday | September 28 | vs | Real Salt Lake | MLS |
| Tuesday | October 19 | vs | Arabe Unido | PAN |
GOLTV Canada continues their coverage of Toronto FC next week when the team travels to brand new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ on Wednesday, August 11. The club will face Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls in a 7:30 pm ET kick-off with Luke Wileman and Jason de Vos providing commentary.
