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Old 01-29-2024, 09:46 AM   #288
Jimmy Stang
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^ I will try and remain optimistic. The article does a good job of explaining why the logistics and costs of production are the toughest part. Having TSN, Sportsnet, Fubo, DAZN, even YouTube, etc. pick up games isn't the biggest issue - it is getting the product created so it can be picked up.

I am happy to pay for the product (as I have since day one), but I do think that wider exposure could be the silver lining in all of this. Maybe a network/service picks up some games and a bunch go on YouTube for free? If MediaPro/OneSoccer wasn't making money anyway, at least the league would be getting more eyeballs. To invoke a marketing term, it would be a bit of a "loss leader". Get people interested and then the value goes up, they buy tickets & merch, etc. I like how CBC had a few games during the inaugural season, and I always thought/hoped that MediaPro would sub-licence more matches to reach more eyeballs. Maybe they tried but there were no takers (likely, given the history of soccer on the big networks in Canada), or maybe they were holding out. But that seems to be at the centre of the disagreement with CSB.

I have always thought that MediaPro and OneSoccer must've cost a fortune to operate and how it could be sustainable (it wasn't, obviously), and it is a shame that it never took off like everyone had hoped.

While this is still very much an existential crisis for the league, and perhaps even a canary in the coal mine, there is also an opportunity to broaden the exposure for the league.
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