Major League Soccer – does anyone really care anymore?

MLS Cup is happening on Sunday night in Toronto, business organizations, the field (it will be cold in the frozen north in the late night in November). 

 Look at the three daily newspapers of Toronto and Canada through the media and we need to know if anyone in the largest city in Canada is aware that compete for the championship this weekend. 

 I have done in the Football League a lot of things right, but it seems at a crossroads. It seems that the presence of known, terrible TV ratings, but the league continues to expand and develop.  

Can not decide the fate of the tournament on December 2, when the awards of 2018 and 2022 World Cup football. United States provides for this event in 2022, and the key to the future of Major League Soccer.

In 1999, and was named Commissioner Garber without major soccer league after spending 16 years with the National University football head of NFL International. Under the leadership of Garber, made multilaterally. In 1998 it was reported Multilateral about $ 34 million.  

One of the major decisions taken during the mandate of the Multilateral Garber in 2003 when it was my turn ruled that all members of their teams play in soccer, playgrounds, and facilities that will seat approximately 25,000.

Garber has insight into the football (which is the body responsible for football in the world) and the popularity of this sport in the United States to create a football Garber United Marketing, the marketing arm of major league football.  

Garber's first major decision, and the sum to buy the 2002 and 2006 World Cup for the rights of 40 million. Garber sold right next to Disney (ABC and ESPN). Garber sold the package ABC and ESPN's coverage included regular league games, a classic example of the use of sports ownership (World Cup) to benefit an entity other sports (Major League Soccer).

Garber and aims to create value to make the multilateral system to the property owner only of American football.

National Football League grand average of 16,675 fans per game, an increase of about 4%, is the third-best league ever. In Seattle, who play at Qwest Field (not to play in a football stadium is selected, and the use of pot and only a low pitch) of the average 36,173 fans per game, average attendance increases significantly in the World Tour. In general, play in the league to 78 percent, a respectable figure.

TV Multilateral were not good. Assessments of multilateral ESPN2 dropped 12% since last year (284,000.24 broadcast), and 2% from 2008 (253.000 0.25 transmission. Compared with estimates NBA ESPN2, and the NBA is to attract more viewers than multilaterally. Average ESPN2 from 258,000 viewers for the games of the NBA regular season this year, averaging 366,000 viewers for the race for IndyCar.


According majorleaguesoccertalk.com, and the assessment was on Fox Soccer 'flat', despite the terrible might be the best description.  

Saw the Fox Soccer Channel, MLS broadcasts, which aired mainly on Saturday nights, a list of 31 games for an average 53,000 viewers this season, and flat with last season. Galaxy Red Bulls game on Fox on August 14, which saw the first game for the Red Bulls, Rafael Marquez, center, FSC has been transmitted most watched game this season, with 144,000 spectators. To put that in context, and the audience was the game of football on Fox of the weekend opening of the 2010-11 between Liverpool and Arsenal, 291,000 viewers (airing PT/11am 08:00 ET on Sunday).

Toronto to host a multilateral one year only in the tournament for the fourth time. Vancouver joins the league next year, and Montreal next year. May Ottawa and Edmonton Multilateral be looking for the next five years. Garber admitted something Multilateral Canada and work well together, during his mandate from the league Tuesday.

"Well, I think that the expansion in Canada has become a Major League Soccer, and I do not think we will be in the league and we are today without the success of Toronto and the emergence of a culture of the club and its supporters, and I think that helps to drive our focus to be more and more authentic, catering to football fans .

"Toronto has helped to create an institution for us, and will be taken to a higher level even with Vancouver and Montreal in the coming years.

"(Vancouver Whitecaps owner) Greg Kerfoot is an active member of the Competition Commission to have, a man of football altogether, and I think it will help us, because it will be a very strong voice in the Competition Commission to have with his experience and thinking."We are actively participating in televised debates, and discussions on the renewal in Canada, and I think we will have a wider impact for broadcast multi-national and local parties to a multilateral Canadian team, both in the coming year and years to come.

"This will allow us to continue to take advantage of the passion in Canada for the sport. I said when I was in Toronto last month, and I think that the fans club of Toronto, with the full support of the country and help in many ways directly related to football fans with many local clubs, and this is I think it was a positive development for our University.

"We are certainly excited about being in Toronto. I have said many times before, and the city, and the ownership group, team and fans have earned the right to hold our game tournament, and I'm eager to be up there this week.

"Only a few important points, the Meeting of the American Council for football to take place during the week. American Football Foundation will have a board meeting at the end of this week, the Council will meet multilaterally, and we have about 600 or 700 of the sponsors, of the broadcast, and friends Sports converge on Toronto to celebrate our game tournament, and I think it's just a great way for us to say thank you to the city, and the team and its fans. "

Multilateral and two branches in the market and based in Los Angeles. With Red Bull is moving in a football stadium this year, especially (average attendance 18441, or 73 percent of energy) Garber focuses on the election has become the league 20 the right to vote based on the second largest market in New York.

"As I said before, is very focused and we are in our team in New York 20. We have been meeting with the city, we have to meet with the family Wilpon, the owners of the Cosmos name and brand. I've also been meeting with other stakeholders who expressed interest.

"We are very very focused on this process, and we hope to do something for the year 2013.

"The Red Bulls are very favorable to him, and believe that the location of rival will add more excitement to the sport and the University in this market, there are 13 million people in this city, and there are more than enough to go from two teams, especially if you're in New York and the other is based on the stadium across the river in the state of New Jersey.

"I'm not worried at all, for saturation, and I'm not worried about our ability to manage the 20 teams."
And the Colorado Rapids against the Dallas meet Sunday night in the Cup and multilateral, and follow-up to the game that do not involve teams from big markets and big players, a source of concern Garber refused.

"There is a Commissioner at any place is that any kind of wringing of hands when you have historical and legendary hit, because this debate will help to conduct the assessment and discovery.

"This happened with last year where they had the NHL record ratings for the Stanley Cup to them. Because they are two more teams historically, that were not there for some time at the end. The NBA and was certainly with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

"However, now we have a lot of people who buy season tickets in Denver, Dallas, Columbus and Salt Lake, and they are gaining fans who are building materials in your community. They (the Dallas and Colorado) deserve to be in the game of the league, and if they did things right, on the basis of our system, so they have the opportunity to do so.

"So, fortunately, we have a long-term relationships with partners, our Broadcast, who told you (journalists), they are often in the long term, so I do not sit there and worry about not getting the ratings right to lose a partner of transmission.

"I can say that I was in Denver on Saturday night and there were 17 000 people over there on * for F-29, and the crowd was great and I am proud of what we have achieved. Sold all the tickets in a period of six days. It's not part of a package season ticket.

"This proves that if you have a team right and the right're in the market, you can get people to watch the games on the market. Talking about the second question, perhaps Denver necessary push to revive what was a base is very strong in the early years of MLS fans.

Dallas is certainly an exciting team with an incredibly big players who are playing a game elegant. Players who were able to, I believe, represent the great diversity in the Major League Soccer, and I hope that Doug Quinn, a new president, is able to generate growth, a large crowd, and I know that the ticket renewals Dallas season far ahead of where they were in the past. His new season tickets are the following faster than it was almost in the last 10 years so I'm confident that these teams will do better with the seasons, great to have. "

During his visit to the state of the league to Garber did not run away when asked about the TV audience of the University of the terrible attraction. Remember alloy largest TV partner, ESPN focus of football in the World Cup. Multilateral ESPN television package because it is part of the World Cup. Good for multi-parties, and not so good for ESPN.

"We can spend more money collectively in the market for our broadcast of the game. It's changed the landscape here in the United States and Canada.

"We are working with the partners of our transmission to make sure we have the right to the deadline, to ensure we are producing the Games of the highest quality, all in high definition to provide more nights alone or in Windows, and hard work at all in their promotion.

"It is important to note that seven of our games on ESPN more event after the World Cup. While not grown ratings we have, as expected, and the overall growth and the number of radio programs for football, and the number of channels for soccer, and excitement of the public to the sport on TV and here in Canada is such that we feel very positive about what our future will be a TV picture.

"So at the end of the day, and spent a lot of time thinking about it, as do the partners of our transmission, but it is not an easy solution."
Comments Garber does not offer a lot of ideas, but pointed to last summer, which included the World Cup every four years, and saw some great football in American television. Maybe a little too much for the consumer, as far as what it feels like Garber.

"There are a lot of football on TV, so it is a double edged sword, people consume a lot of football this summer. They have a lot to football in the Premier League, La Liga, the Champions League.

"One of the challenges that the league is that we are only part of a much more competitive than the big leagues other in this country. They (the national championship again) compete against each other. We are competing against them, but half a dozen other football content providers, and we must find ways to move forward in the row with the right partners, at the right time, with the right players in this field. "

If New York becomes the league 20 franchises Garber believes that 20 is the right number for the tournament. What happens to the struggling franchise though? Dallas in the ability of 51 percent, and New England 57 percent, and Chivas USA (one of two teams based in Los Angeles) in 54 per cent of the three examples of privileges that are not so good at selling tickets. Garber also feel without moving about the election?