MLS Season Pass’s Downfall, but to Red Bulls’ Benefit?
The news of the ending of the MLS Season Pass is, in a way, a blessing in disguise for the MLS.
This statement might be a bit off-putting to some, but by gatekeeping access to watch games behind two paywalls, the customer would see more fans turn away and seek illegal streams to watch games like Messi versus Thomas Müller.
What is in it for the Red Bulls, one may ask?
Attendance is indeed low in the Sports Illustrated Arena for a myriad of reasons, but one could be that, in order to fall in love with the team, there is no way for a regular fan to see it without forking out a lot of money to attend a game.
In an article that I wrote about three years ago, back when I was a casual fan, I wrote:
“There are a lot of positives, but at the same time, there needs to be improvements. For me, had T-Mobile not given me a free code to stream this, I would not use it.”
The fee for the MLS Season Pass was about $15/month. While that in itself is not a bad deal, this comes on top of another cost of about $99/year. In essence, for the couple of months that the MLS Season is going on, the consumer might pay anything upwards of $23.25 a month to see a couple of games—with that same money.
There were many issues with the soft product as well. For instance, there were a few MLS Next Pro games, and it felt like an ELEVEN stream. The audio was poor in those games, while some stadiums were at best Division One. In the NCAA games ESPN+ carries, the audio sounds better.
For the Red Bulls, this might be a blessing because it would help improve the broadcast of their games.
Sometimes, the commentators for the first team didn’t improve the fan experience, as they were generally seen as second fiddles. This may have been because the team played poorly or lacked a star like Muller. Very rarely would a NYRB game include Taylor Twellman, who was poached from his role with ESPN to be the lead color commentator.
When they were open to anyone in the Tri-State area to watch, there was more emphasis on local or up-and-coming talent from stations like SNY or MSG, which are generally in every channel lineup. These would be available on Spectrum, FiOS, and YouTube TV, at no extra cost, as the customer would normally enjoy when watching teams like the Knicks, Rangers, Mets, Nets, Islanders, and the Yankees.
This would also associate the Red Bulls with a legitimate NYC team, as they would be watching the same channel and could easily convert.
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Categorized:National News Red Bulls