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MLS and ?New? Media (and the ice cream of the future)

By Rick Karcher, Michael McCann, Geoffrey Rapp, Greg Skidmore, and Howard Wasserman

The Sports Business Journal has an interesting article discussing DC United?s decision to develop and maintain its own website rather than use the centralized site created by the MLS (h/t to J Hutcherson over at ussoccerplayers.com). Why the move? Well, according to the article, one reason is the ?growing impatience among MLS teams as the league continues to develop a digital strategy for the future.? Since the expiration of its agreement with MLB Advanced Media nearly two years ago, MLS ?has never signed a new partnership or outlined a comprehensive digital strategy.?

A second reason? Like the New York Rangers, D.C. United feels it can do a better job than the league. The article quotes Doug Hicks, D.C. United?s vice president of communications: ?We?re anxious to move forward with online opportunities?We feel the best way to brand and communicate with fans is to do it ourselves.?

A third reason? Unlike the New York Rangers?and any team in the NHL, NBA, or MLB? MLS teams can opt out of using the league?s centralized site.

Ceding the right to MLS teams to operate their own websites does not put much of a dent in MLS' claim to being a single entity. Certainly not like the dent made by the designated player rule. But, it is interesting to see the MLS decentralizing its ?new? media while the NBA, MLB, and NBA are centralizing.

On a related note, when does ?new media? simply become ?media?? On a less related, but similar note, when do Dippin? Dots, ?the ice cream of the future,? just become ?ice cream?? Dippin? Dots were created in 1988. Are we in the ?future? yet? And, how old does a song have to be before it gets played on the ?oldies? station? Or, are there some songs that can never become ?oldies? (I don?t envision hearing, ?next on Oldies FM?Chubby Checker and a Nine Inch Nails rock block!). I wish I had answers. (Who says blogging isn?t a productive use of time??).

Full post as published by Sports Law Blog on October 15, 2008 (boomark / email).