Will MLS eventually surpass the NHL in revenue?

[wjhl2009fan]

What's their average ticket price?

Not knocking Seattle for supporting their team, but it does cost significantly less to attend MLS games and there are much less games to attend than there are in the NHL.

And again, as I said earlier, MLS could increase their profits literally tenfold, and they'd still be bringing in even less money than the NHL. Does anyone really think that they have any chance on earth at doing that? And, even if they do, does anyone think that the NHL's profits would remain where they are at the moment and allow the MLS to catch up?

Ain't gonna happen, sorry. So long as MLS isn't the premier league in its sport, it will never be as big as the NHL or NBA or MLB.

They have some teams that do very well attendance wise but then there are some teams that are not doing well attendance wise o no i don't think they will catch up to the nhl anytime soon.

 

[nyrmetros]

NY vs philly last night at sold out Red Bull Arena.... There were roughly 1200 philly supporters at the game occupying 4 isolated sections.... What an atmosphere..... Organized away support truly is awesome. And I hate them.

 

[frivolousz21]

NY vs philly last night at sold out Red Bull Arena.... There were roughly 1200 philly supporters at the game occupying 4 isolated sections.... What an atmosphere..... Organized away support truly is awesome. And I hate them.

That is good for them. I bet Lacrosse and Arena Football have had some games like that. The Florida Panthers did for a SCF run and they have had attendance issues al biet a crappy team for so long, I remember Phoenix in the late 90s in the playoff vs the blues having wild rally towel sell outs. They are another market who struggles where hockey is irrelevant for the most part. the Red Bulls can do that but the rest of NY didn't care and the Nation didn't care at all.

The NHL is the least popular of the four majors and in Canada/US they get something on the order of 500-550 mil right now for national tv. Over 1 billion for national and local. MLS gets maybe 30-35 mil for national tv if Canada brings more than 5-6 mil.

that is just an absurd difference for a league many MLS fans think MLS is catching in a year or two or tha'ts how some felt in 2007.

The NHLs max possible attendance if every venue was larger would be far higher, in STL if we had 30,000K we would do 21,000-23,000 right now, especially since ticket prices could go down. MLS charges far less and has 2.5 less homes games.

I just get tired of these inflated numbers mls fans try to trumpet. Sorry not singling you out.

If your going to have a discussion or argument at least make it fair.

 

[nyrmetros]

The discussion is fair. Everyone here loves hockey, and some of us love soccer as well. No need to feel threatened. We want both the NHL and mls to succeed.... To complement each other.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

With those attendance numbers in Seattle you would think they will pass Toronto for the #2 spot behind only L. A. for revenues in MLS.

 

[nyrmetros]

Fox getting the world cup rights is very bad for mls.....

 

[Brodie]

Yeah, MLS is a little bit screwed. I'm sure Fox has pledged to go all out to get MLS in 2014, but there's not a lot of incentive for ESPN to keep them now.

 

[Jonimaus]

That is good for them. I bet Lacrosse and Arena Football have had some games like that. The Florida Panthers did for a SCF run and they have had attendance issues al biet a crappy team for so long, I remember Phoenix in the late 90s in the playoff vs the blues having wild rally towel sell outs. They are another market who struggles where hockey is irrelevant for the most part. the Red Bulls can do that but the rest of NY didn't care and the Nation didn't care at all.

The NHL is the least popular of the four majors and in Canada/US they get something on the order of 500-550 mil right now for national tv. Over 1 billion for national and local. MLS gets maybe 30-35 mil for national tv if Canada brings more than 5-6 mil.

that is just an absurd difference for a league many MLS fans think MLS is catching in a year or two or tha'ts how some felt in 2007.

The NHLs max possible attendance if every venue was larger would be far higher, in STL if we had 30,000K we would do 21,000-23,000 right now, especially since ticket prices could go down. MLS charges far less and has 2.5 less homes games.

I just get tired of these inflated numbers mls fans try to trumpet. Sorry not singling you out.

If your going to have a discussion or argument at least make it fair.

Ok you hate football, we get it.

 

[CommunistDayKare]

Yeah, MLS is a little bit screwed. I'm sure Fox has pledged to go all out to get MLS in 2014, but there's not a lot of incentive for ESPN to keep them now.

It's not like ESPN was giving them a lot of exposure anyways.

I had to really look just to see when their games were even on.

 

[Brodie]

Being on ESPN with a lack of promotion >>>> not being on ESPN at all for a league as young as MLS. The NHL can get away with being on Versus because it's the NHL and it's an established league... MLS won't.

That being said, I'd be surprised if Fox didn't commit to making a big offer for MLS rights in 2014. Could see it end up on FX if ESPN is really done.

 

[jdr016]

MLS will never have the best players in the world. Never. So that will prevent it's growth. I see it being much like the NHL though. Certain markets will do very well and over expansion will probably hurt it. Media coverage is a problem right now. Usually when a team is winning, it helps attendance and ratings. I don't see MLS teams benefiting from that.

 

[nyrmetros]

MLS will never have the best players in the world. Never. So that will prevent it's growth. I see it being much like the NHL though. Certain markets will do very well and over expansion will probably hurt it. Media coverage is a problem right now. Usually when a team is winning, it helps attendance and ratings. I don't see MLS teams benefiting from that.

So you can predict never ehh??

I never would have predicted that Gary Bettman would still be the NHL commissioner 17 years later...... Did you??

 

[IU Hawks fan]

So you can predict never ehh??

I never would have predicted that Gary Bettman would still be the NHL commissioner 17 years later...... Did you??

It's a fact that the top talent will never be in MLS. Stop ignoring it.

 

[KingLB]

It's a fact that the top talent will never be in MLS. Stop ignoring it.

The US just threw 1 Billion dollars to televise WC's that will be aired in the early morning for most of the US. If MLS could capture the US market, no other country in the world could keep up with TV/sponsorship money.

Saying never is to much.

 

[DelpoRafaKilla]

It's a fact that the top talent will never be in MLS. Stop ignoring it.

Brah, FIFA gave the World Cup to Qatar because they were afraid of what soccer would become in the us. Now with Fox/Sky sports/Newscorp their intentions are clear. Push the EPL as the premiere league of soccer, while destroying other domestic leagues. It's happened before.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

The US just threw 1 Billion dollars to televise WC's that will be aired in the early morning for most of the US. If MLS could capture the US market, no other country in the world could keep up with TV/sponsorship money.

Saying never is to much.

The big part is IF. And I'm saying, it won't happen.

Comparing the World Cup and MLS is just silly. The fact the World Cup's popularity has increased doesn't in anyway show that MLS will do the same.

After every World Cup, everyone gets into this huge discussion on whether soccer is gonna be the next biggest thing, and every year it dies down after the World Cup.

The fact is, Americans love 1 thing more than anything, and that's PATRIOTISM! They will get behind literally ANYTHING that they get to wave their flags and unite as a nation under. Whether that be figure skating, curling, volleyball, HOCKEY, track and field, and certainly soccer. The World Cup is essentially just an extension of the Olympics in this country.

Brah, FIFA gave the World Cup to Qatar because they were afraid of what soccer would become in the us.

Erroneous opinion. Most would say that Qatar bought the games.

Now with Fox/Sky sports/Newscorp their intentions are clear. Push the EPL as the premiere league of soccer, while destroying other domestic leagues. It's happened before.

Don't understand what you're saying here. Where has it happened before? Please explain, cuz I'm lost.

 

[nyrmetros]

Fifa did a disservice to mls by not tying in the world cup tv rights with the MLS rights... Fox's agenda is the epl. I like the epl. I watch a lot of premiership games, but mls has to come first in this country....

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Watch them have games on Fox Soccer Plus

 

[Brodie]

Nah, they're not stupid. They will likely use FX to show the majority of games in a similar manner to ESPN, while shifting some to FSC and perhaps the RSNs... Fox would be used in the same way ESPN used ABC. Plus, they can use this clout to improve FSC's standing on cable tiers.

It's a shame because NBC seemed to be in the peak position for landing it and they offer more platforms than anybody else. I know the timezones for these particular World Cups are poor, but letting this slip away is just silly. After 2014, when every game will be played in a favorable time zone, there's a chance for tremendous ratings in 2018.

 

[Rocket]

After every World Cup, everyone gets into this huge discussion on whether soccer is gonna be the next biggest thing, and every year it dies down after the World Cup

It doesn't remain the biggest thing (after the world cup) but continues to grow each year. These days over 200 non-world cup games are televised annually and average close to half a million, unheard of for soccer even 5 years ago. It's becoming more and more mainstream as more networks are getting into soccer and giving it serious coverage (CBS is the only holdout so far). Earlier this year, 3 club soccer games drew 2.5 mil on average on FOX. Nothing too earth-shattering yet but many soccer haters said club soccer will never get more than a mil to watch (only the world cup can). The sport will continue to surprise people in this country. And I'll bet MLS will too someday when they raise the salary cap significantly and bring in more Beckham, Henry type players per team or better caliber players and establish top-class youth academies. Having a generation or two worth of fans grown up with the league will also help. But I'm sure the haters will keep trying to discount the soccer numbers even 20 years from now, if there are some left by then.

 

[Rocket]

The US just threw 1 Billion dollars to televise WC's that will be aired in the early morning for most of the US. If MLS could capture the US market, no other country in the world could keep up with TV/sponsorship money.

Saying never is to much.

Unbelievable! To think even 10 years ago there were no bidders for the English language World Cup rights (2002 and 2006 package) and MLS' marketing arm SUM had to rescue it for $40 mil and buy time on ESPN to show those!

 

[frivolousz21]

Ok you hate football, we get it.

Why do you think that?

because I am using facts? It is what it is.

 

[Jonimaus]

Brah, FIFA gave the World Cup to Qatar because they were afraid of what soccer would become in the us. Now with Fox/Sky sports/Newscorp their intentions are clear. Push the EPL as the premiere league of soccer, while destroying other domestic leagues. It's happened before.

Yeah... what? Most idiotic comment in the thread so far. Qatar bought the WC, but don't worry, it wouldn't have gone to USA even if Qatar didn't get it.

 

[KzooShark]

I always come back to this from wiki when it comes to the topic of this thread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_...e_United_States_and_Canada#Revenue_comparison

The top four major leagues each have revenues that can be many times greater than the payrolls of less popular major leagues in the two nations. In terms of overall league revenue, the NFL, MLB and the NBA (in that order) rank as the three of the four most lucrative sports leagues in the world, with the Premier League of English soccer being in third or fourth place (depending on exchange rates, as well as what is counted as league revenue - calculating finances in European soccer is somewhat more complicated compared to US/Canada). The NHL is ranked in fifth place.
[edit] Revenue comparison
League Revenue (M) Ref
NFL $9,000 [16]
MLB $7,000 [16]
NBA $3,800 [16]
NHL $2,900 [17]
MLS $280 [18]

That tells me that MLS would be among the top 5 soccer leagues in the world (based on their difficulty in figuring European revenue) if it surpassed the NHL in revenue.

Such a thing is generations off, at best.

 

[chasespace]

Soccer is growing in America, there's really no debating that. Will it rival the EPL, Serie A, or La Liga? Unless massive amounts of money are poured into the MLS now, then not in this generation or the next(barring bankruptcy of the other leagues).