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Media & Entertainment Law

: Sports Biz

MLS in Talks with Versus

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Apparently Don Garber hasn't learned any lessons from Gary Bettman and his disastrous hitherto disastrous television deal with Versus. Granted, the deal has looked substantially better since the playoffs began, but that hardly makes up for a regular season in which the league was essentially MIA on television. So how is this relevant to MLS?

According to a report in Broadcasting and Cable, MLS has opened discussions with Versus on a possible television deal beginning next season. Currently, the league's television partners are ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel. Fortunately it is the Fox contract which ends following the end of this season so the league is not stupid enough to put the ESPN contract at risk. Nevertheless, Fox Soccer Channel, while still having some distribution issues, is a much friendlier home for a soccer network than Versus would be. Soccer fans are used to going to FSC to get a soccer fix and it is natural to find MLS there. So, let's just hope that MLS officials are using Versus just to drive up the price of renewal with FSC.

HT: Sports Business News

Full post as published by Sports Biz on June 07, 2010 (boomark / email).