According to EPL Talk ESPN has picked up the English Premier League for the immediate upcoming season and will broadcast games starting on Saturday the 15th with the Hull City vs. Chelsea match. Immediate exposure for Jozy Altidore at his new team which will obviously benefit US soccer and another huge win for the sport in the United States. I've long wondered why ESPN didn't go after the league earlier with the success they had in the past with the Champions League. The timing of the games are perfect, I can't imagine there's anything else they could put in the 7:45 AM Saturday time slot and get anywhere near the ratings they'll get for the EPL. This has to be a winner for the Premier League as well with additional exposure in the US media market. This takes ESPN a step further towards being the true worldwide leader in sports.
The one negative is that it probably doesn't help MLS all that much. The EPL ratings will likely dwarf the paltry MLS ratings and give ESPN yet another reason to shift their soccer broadcasting allegiance toward the European Leagues. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the coming year. With the runaway success of the Barcelona trip to the US this past week (over 150,000 fans at two matches) and the Galactico era underway at Real Madrid I wouldn't be surprised to see a move to get the La Liga matches on in the US in English. As noted in the EPL Talk article there is already speculation that the Bundesliga could be making it's way to ESPN in the US as well.
It seems its not finalized quite yet, but what a fantastic day to be a soccer fan in the US. Hopefully the ESPN move will pressure FSC to move to Hi Def as soon as possible since I'm assuming the ESPN2 matches, like the Champions League, will be in glorious Hi Def.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment