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Turner Sports and Champions League FAQ

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Turner Sports has revealed more details regarding their coverage plans for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for sports fans in the United States.

And as we predicted in May, there are big changes.

In order to try to parse through all of the questions, I’ve written the following FAQ to help. If there are any questions not answered below, feel free to let us know in the comments section and we’ll do our best to update the article to make it even more comprehensive.

Q: First, what’s the news? What do I need to know?

A: In acquiring the US English-language TV and streaming rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, Turner Sports will be the exclusive broadcaster of those games from the summer of 2018 through until the end of the 2021 season.

The most recent news it that Turner Sports has announced that more than 80% of games will be available via an over-the-top (OTT) paid-subscription streaming service, while fewer than 20% of games will be on TV each season.

The semi-finals and final of the Champions League will air on TBS or TNT. The Europa League final will air on TNT or TBS.

Turner’s UEFA Champions League coverage will include four live telecasts each week throughout the Group Stage (September through early December) – Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET – and two televised matches per week during the Knockout Phase (beginning in February) – Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 3 p.m. ET.

Q: Wait, what happened to the 2:45pm ET kickoff times?

A: Starting with the 2018/19 season, UEFA will have double-headers where there will no longer be games at 2:45pm ET. Instead, games will be scheduled for 1pm and 3pm ET on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the UEFA Champions League.

Q: What happened to FOX? Why won’t they have coverage?

A: FOX Sports lost the rights to the UEFA Champions League for the 2018/19 to 2020/21 seasons. FOX’s 2017/18 season will be their last as the broadcaster for the Champions League and Europa League in the United States.

Q: How many games does Fox actually air right now? During the group stage, I seem to remember they only provide 2-3 games a day.

A: On big matchdays, FOX usually has 4-5 games on via FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Sports Net and FOX Deportes. But they also sub-license games to ESPN, which air them on ESPN2 — so there can be as many as 6-7 games aired each gameday.

With Turner Sports, you can expect two games a day during the Champions League Group Stage and one game a day during the Knockout Stage.

Q: What details have been revealed regarding the commentators and talent that Turner Sports plans on hiring to broadcast the Champions League and Europa League to viewers in the US?

A: No details have been announced yet.

Q: What details have been announced about this over-the-top (OTT) paid subscription streaming service from Turner Sports?

A: The streaming platform hasn’t been launched yet, so very little is known. We can expect to see it launch during or prior to August 2018.

No details have been revealed regarding price.

Every single game of the UEFA Europa League will be on the streaming product except for the final on TBS or TNT. Approximately half of the UEFA Champions League games will be available exclusively on the streaming platform too.

Q: How is this any different than the current situation? You need FoxSoccer2Go in order to see all of the UCL games now.

A: The most dramatic change is for TV viewers. Currently during the Champions League group stage, you can expect to have as many as 12 games available per week on TV. With Turner, it’ll be four per week. Also, with the UEFA Europa League, FOX is currently broadcasting approximately 5-6 games during the Group Stage. With Turner, there’ll be zero Europa League games on TV until the final.

Q: What percentage of games are exclusive to FOX Soccer Match Pass today?

A: Currently, FOX Soccer Match Pass streams every single game of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. But once Turner has the rights beginning in August 2018, FOX Soccer Match Pass will no longer have the rights to stream the games.

Currently, there are approximately 2-3 Champions League games per week that are exclusive to FOX Soccer Match Pass. For the UEFA Europa League, there may be as many as 6 or more that are exclusive on any given matchday.

Q: How many households are TNT, TBS and truTV in?

A: One of the benefits of having the Champions League and Europa League on Turner is the reach of their TV networks. Here are the number of households each channel is in (as of the summer of 2017):

TBS: 91 million
TNT: 90 million
truTV: 87 million

Q: Did Turner say how many Europa Lague games they will be showing on truTV during the Group Stage and Knockout Stage?

A: Yes, the answer is zero. The only Europa League game that will be shown on television is the final, which will be on TNT or TBS.

Q: I don’t understand why UEFA and the Premier League are giving these bids to these channels and allowing them to do this in a country where they are trying to build new viewers to these competitions. What non-soccer fan is going to pay for a subscription? Couple that with what soccer fan wants to continue to be taken for a ride with these paid subscriptions.

A: It’s a valid argument. The reality is that Turner is paying approximately $60 million per season for these rights, so they need to figure out a way to be profitable in a very difficult TV market.

Turner is probably anticipating that it can attract new fans through the broadcasts on truTV and then convert them into paying subscribers for the streaming platform.

Q: It looks like the top UEFA leagues will be featured heavily on truTV. Besides, no one cares for CSKA Moscow versus some random team in Greece.

A: There are people who care about CSKA Moscow versus Olympiakos, but the most important thing to remember is that there will be a lot of big matches played in the Champions League that won’t be on television. If truTV prioritizes games featuring Real Madrid against another opponent plus Barcelona against someone else, that means it’s very likely that a few of the other games featuring big teams won’t be on TV.

For example, let’s take a look at the 2016/17 Champions League season and the schedule of Round of 16 matches. Remember that Turner will show two games per week on TV during the knockout rounds:

March 7, 2017:

Napoli vs. Real Madrid
Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich

March 8, 2017:

Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Dortmund vs. Benfica

In the above scenario, Turner (if they had the rights) would have only shown two of those games on TV, meaning the other two would be available exclusively on the streaming platform.

As you can see, it’s a very difficult decision. If Turner had the rights, the Arsenal-Bayern and Dortmund-Benfica games may have been available exclusively via streaming. And imagine how upset those fans would have been.

Q: I know most visitors to this site like streaming, but to me these developments are all a step back. In a few years, it’s not inconceivable that every soccer cup and domestic league will each require a separate subscription of some kind. Soccer fans will end up having to pay separately for everything just to watch soccer. This doesn’t include their spending for Netflix, Hulu and however they get regular channels. Eventually people will end up paying more for the same content (or less).

A: True. That’s the way the industry is heading very rapidly.

Read our article entitled It’s going to cost more to watch soccer after Turner’s Champions League deal for more insight.

Q: Are there any alternatives?

A: Yes, a major one is Univision who have the Spanish-language rights to the Champions League and Europa League in the United States. Univision will broadcast many of the games across Univision Deportes and UniMas, with the Champions League final being on Univision. You can expect that Univision will be putting many (or all) of the games not on television on UnivisionDeportes.com. If you don’t mind watching a soccer game with Spanish commentators, this could be an ideal solution for soccer fans.

Read more of our insight in our article entitled Univision Deportes poised to attract Champions League viewers turned off by Turner’s paywall.

Q: Are the highlights going to be free without a subscription online?

A: It appears that Bleacher Report will be airing the highlights on their website as well as social media.


Turner Sports’ uninspiring segment to promote Champions League

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This past weekend, Turner Sports had a short segment on their NBA show to promote the network’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League, which begins next summer.

In short, the attempt by Turner Sports was awkward, underwhelming and didn’t help fill the viewer with any confidence that the network knows soccer.

The duties of promoting the Champions League coverage fell to their basketball analysts with former player Charles Barkley stating on air, “Any sport that the United States sucks in, we (Turner Sports) should not be involved in.”

Is this what we can expect from Turner Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League next season? Let’s hope not.

HT @SunnySoCalRob25.

Stu Holden and Tim Howard join Turner’s Champions League coverage

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Former Premier League footballers Stu Holden and Tim Howard have joined Turner Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League as studio analysts, the broadcaster announced today.

Turner Sports will simultaneously utilize two fully-integrated studios – in Atlanta and Los Angeles – throughout its coverage of the UEFA Champions League. Howard, a current MLS player, will contribute to UEFA Champions League studio coverage on Wednesdays, with Holden regularly appearing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They will join previously announced host Kate Abdo and Steve Nash, along with additional commentators and special guests, throughout the season.

Additionally, Fernando Perez, a former MLB player with media experience as a MLB Network contributor and Vice correspondent, will be on site for B/R Football at select matches throughout the season, delivering a firsthand account of the unique atmospheres that surround the world’s game.

Howard, a veteran U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper and current member of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids, also has extensive international experience with EPL clubs Manchester United (2003-07) and Everton (2006-16). Howard spent a decade with Everton, amassing more than 400 appearances. Prior to Everton, he spent three seasons at Old Trafford with Manchester United.

SEE MORE: B/R Live reveals pricing and plans for Champions League and Europa League coverage

Holden notched two stints in the Barclays Premier League, first with Sunderland (2005) and later Bolton Wanderers (2010-14). In 2011, he earned Bolton Wanderers “Player of the Year” honors. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and raised in Texas, he won two MLS Cups in his home state while a member of the Houston Dynamo.

Turner’s UEFA coverage will include the upcoming UEFA Super Cup – Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid –Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 3 p.m. ET, available on both B/R Live, TNT, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV.

SEE MORE: Schedule of Champions League games on US TV and streaming

Prior to working for Turner Sports, Howard was a co-commentator for several Premier League matches on NBC. Howard is a complete unknown when it comes to analysis in a studio, so it’ll be interesting to see how he copes. His appearances as a co-commentator on the Premier League coverage were underwhelming, but that was several years ago so it’s possible he may have grown more into the role as time has passed by.

Holden, while working with Turner, will continue as a FOX Sports employee after his impressive co-commentary work for the American broadcaster during the World Cup.

For Holden, it’s a smart move given his knowledge of the game and the fact that FOX Sports is out of the European club soccer business except for the Bundesliga. It’s an opportunity for him to increase his exposure among a new audience, and to share with viewers his knowledge of the game where he was perhaps held back at times when he was at FOX Sports.

TNT and Univision herald big changes to Champions League

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With the US media rights for the UEFA Champions League having changed hands, we say goodbye to FOX Sports and ESPN Deportes’s coverage of the world’s greatest soccer club competition and hello to TNT and Univision Deportes who are preparing for their first-ever broadcasts of the UEFA Champions League group stage.

But what can we expect to see?

First, this season’s Champions League tournament features double-header games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so instead of all of the games kicking off at 2:45pm ET, we’ll have a set kicking off at 12:55pm ET followed by the second set beginning at 3pm ET.

Second, Turner Sports has gone all-in on streaming a vast number of UEFA Champions League matches, so the number of games in English-language that’ll be on television will be far fewer than what we experienced previously where games would be spread across FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Sports Net. Instead, there’ll be one game shown in English on TNT from 12:55pm ET followed by another one at 3pm ET. The remainder of games not on TV will be on B/R Live. Even the televised games will be on B/R Live too.

Third, while Turner Sports is focusing most of its attention on streaming, the Spanish-language Univision Deportes channels are going all-in on television. In the prior rights cycle, games in Spanish-language were beamed on FOX Deportes and ESPN Deportes. But under Univision, many timeslots will have three different games shown on television at the same time across Univision (simulcast on Univision Deportes Network), UniMas and Galavision. Meanwhile, all of the games will be available via the Univision Deportes en Vivo app.

Fourth and finally, TNT will give a debut to Oguchi Onyewu on their pre-match coverage of the UEFA Champions League coverage that begins at Noon ET on September 18 and 19. Kate Abdo will host the studio coverage from Turner Studios in Atlanta, joined by Carlos Bocanegra as Tuesday’s guest analyst and Tim Howard as the guest analyst on Wednesday. Stuart Holden will serve as host/analyst for B/R Football’s studio coverage originating from Los Angeles, alongside analyst Steve Nash both days, while Fernando Perez will continue to provide field reports from Europe.

So what will all this look like for the first week of the UEFA Champions League group stage to air on September 18-19? Here’s the TV/streaming schedule as of press time (subject to change):

 

All kickoff times listed are in Eastern United States timezone:

 

Tuesday, September 18

Barcelona vs. PSV Eindhoven (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 12:55pm, TNT, Univision, Univision Deportes Network, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV and B/R Live

Inter Milan vs. Spurs (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 12:55pm, Galavision, fuboTV and B/R Live

Liverpool vs. Paris Saint-Germain (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, TNT, Univision, Univision Deportes Network, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV and B/R Live

Monaco vs. Atletico Madrid (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, UniMas, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and B/R Live

Schalke vs. Porto (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Galavision, fuboTV and B/R Live

Brugge vs. Borussia Dortmund (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes Network stream) and B/R Live

Red Star Belgrade vs. Napoli (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes stream) and B/R Live

Galatasaray vs. Lokomotiv Moscow (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes stream) and B/R Live

 

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

 

Wednesday, September 19

Ajax vs. AEK Athens (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 12:55pm, TNT, UniMas, Univision Deportes Network, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV and B/R Live

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Hoffenheim (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 12:55pm, Galavision, fuboTV and B/R Live

Real Madrid vs. AS Roma (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, TNT, Univision, Univision Deportes Network, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV and B/R Live

Manchester City vs. Lyon (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Galavision, fuboTV and B/R Live

Valencia vs. Juventus (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, UniMas, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV and B/R Live

Benfica vs. Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes stream) and B/R Live

Plzen vs. CSKA Moscow (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes stream) and B/R Live

Young Boys vs. Manchester United (UEFA Champions League Group Stage), 3pm, Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes stream) and B/R Live

Winners and losers from Champions League TV coverage in U.S.

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This season’s UEFA Champions League tournament will be the biggest change for soccer fans in the United States since the games moved from ESPN to FOX Sports in 2009.

The big changes mean that there are some big winners and losers. Here’s our breakdown of who will win and lose based on the massive changes:

 

Biggest winners

1. UEFA. While there will be far fewer Champions League games on English-language television in the United States, the biggest winner will be UEFA courtesy of many games being televised on the over-the-air Univision channel. The network has an estimated national reach of 182,330,440 Americans, making Univision the largest U.S. broadcast television network by total market reach.

That will translate into massive TV ratings for the Spanish-language broadcaster. And looking at the schedule for the first week of the UEFA Champions League coverage, the prognosis looks good given that the games will feature Barcelona-PSV, Real Madrid-Roma and Liverpool-PSG.

The end result should be record-breaking TV viewing numbers for UEFA in the United States.

2. Spanish-speakers (and bilinguals). Starting this season, the UEFA Champions League has moved from sporadic coverage on FOX Deportes and ESPN Deportes to more games on Spanish-language TV than ever before. Under the new deal, at times there’ll be up to four UEFA Champions League matches airing on TV at the same time on different Spanish-league channels: Univision (simulcast on Univision Deportes), UniMas and Galavision.

Whether you’re a Spanish-speaker or not, Univision is the go-to destination for the UEFA Champions League on TV.

3. Soccer fans. On each matchday, the UEFA Champions League will now feature double-headers beginning at 12:55pm ET and 3pm ET. That translates into more opportunities to watch live Champions League matches than ever before instead of, like in the past, picking and choosing which 2:45pm ET kickoff to watch.

More soccer is always a good thing especially when it comes to the UEFA Champions League.

4. fuboTV subscribers. Out of all of the legal streaming services available, fuboTV has a significant advantage in that it includes all of the TNT and Univision TV channels streaming the UEFA Champions League games as well as access to Univision Now so you can stream whichever games you can’t see on TV. fuboTV offers a free 7-day trial.

Unfortunately, Sling TV is in a dispute with Univision so none of the Univision channels are available via the popular streaming service. None of the Univision channels (including Galavision) are available on PlayStation Vue. And YouTube TV still isn’t available nationwide.

One alternative is to subscribe to a TV or streaming provider that offers TNT, and then subscribe to B/R Live separately for $9.99 per month.

 

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

 

Biggest losers

1. Manchester United fans. When was the last time a Manchester United UEFA Champions League match was not televised in the United States? In previous rights cycles, the worst that United supporters had to experience was a match on FS2, which in itself was a rarity. But the first Manchester United Champions League game of the 2018/19 season won’t be shown live on television anywhere in the United States — not on TNT nor the Univision networks. The only option is to stream the game.

2. Non-streamers. If you don’t have a reliable Internet connection, you’re unfortunately going to miss out on a lot of Champions League soccer this season. But if you have a TV and a WiFi or hard-wired Internet connection, consider the following tips on how to stream games to your TV.

3. Pubs and bars across the country. In previous years, finding pubs and bars that showed Champions League games on their TV sets was pretty straightforward. Most establishments had FS1 and FS2. But now pubs, bars and supporters groups nationwide will need to be doing their homework ahead of games to see if they even get some of the channels that will air the games.

Analysis of Champions League coverage on TNT and Univision

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With the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League Group Stage kicking off this week, most soccer fans in the United States had their first taste of soccer coverage from TNT. Dominant Spanish-language TV broadcaster Univision Deportes also aired their first Champions League games including some of the more high-profile matches on the over-the-air Univision channel.

But how did both broadcasters do during a week that we’ve been anticipating since we first broke the news that Turner Sports and Univision had acquired the rights?

Let’s go through the highs and lows of week one:

HIGHS

1. Univision’s excitement levels. Univision’s commentary for the Barcelona-PSV Eindhoven game, just as one example, was in stark contrast to TNT. While TNT used the English-language world feed featuring the soft-spoken but highly qualified Simon Brotherton, Univision featured commentators Luis Omar Tapia, Hristo Stoichkov and Diego Balado who were more passionate and energetic with a style that was far more synonymous with the exciting brand of football that Barcelona delivered.

With TNT electing to feature Barcelona-PSV and Real Madrid-Roma as their two most high-profile games across Tuesday and Wednesday, that gave the edge to Univision Deportes who have commentators that can tap into the high energy levels that the soccer fans expect for such exciting teams as Real Madrid and Barcelona.

At the same time, the better English-language commentators were calling other games this week. Tuesday, it was Clive Tyldesley and Clive Allen for Inter Milan-Spurs. And on Wednesday, Martin Tyler and Danny Higginbotham called the Young Boys-Manchester United match.

In previous seasons, this wasn’t a problem because most of the Champions League matches featuring the best commentators were featured on broadcasts that included Premier League teams playing European opposition on FS1 and FS2. This week, both Inter-Spurs and Young Boys-United weren’t on English-language TV but were relegated to B/R Live instead meaning that most of us missed the better announcers.

While the games on TNT were entertaining, they didn’t feel as exciting as the Univision broadcasts. The fact that the world-feed included solo commentators didn’t help either (Brotherton for Barca-PSV and Kevin Keatings for Real Madrid-Roma).

 

LOWS

1. What happened to TNT? During the first few weeks of their UEFA broadcasts, the analysis from the TNT studio talent was a breath of fresh air and tight. But on this week’s matches, they seemed to be all over the place. Perhaps it’s the change of dealing with so many huge matches being played at the same time across two windows where there’s so much to talk about with so little time due to the incessant commercials. But, at the same time, the chemistry wasn’t as good this week. There were awkward pauses. And just like their predecessor FOX Sports, there weren’t any memorable points they raised. TNT’s level of analysis was pedestrian at best.

For example, in one segment, the panelists debated the rankings for the top 5 clubs in Europe right now. The whole idea of debating such a topic is preposterous (and just filler) anyway, but the analysts persevered and shared their opinions. But then one of the pundits who disagreed with the rankings asked how they were compiled, to which Kate Abdo replied she had no idea except that it was based on “criteria.” Nash laughed at the rankings and jokingly called it out as clickbait, which is exactly what it was, but it was quite an inappropriate remark given that’s what Bleacher Report is best known for in their short history.

When watching the Champions League on TNT, the feeling I’m getting is that I’m missing out on all of the major storylines and goals from the other games. Part of the reason is that when the televised game has ended and it returns to the studio, the scores for all of the games are displayed in a graphic on-screen. But then the show descends into the pedestrian analysis and it takes too long to get to the highlights of what we want to see for the other games. And even then, not all of the highlights are shown.

Part of the issue is that we’ve been accustomed to FOX’s style of banging through the goal highlights of the other games immediately after the final whistle. But at the same time, we’re almost missing out on FOX’s MultiMatch 90 broadcast which was a godsend during the Group Stages and is sorely missed.

2. Production flubs. No one likes to make mistakes especially when a network is trying to establish credibility as a relevant soccer broadcaster. But after gameweek one, there have been a couple of embarrassing mistakes. First up was on Tuesday where an on-screen graphic identified analyst Oguchi Onyewu as Carlos Bocanegra.

Second, even worse, was following a fantastic interview with Pep Guardiola when the on-screen graphic for the upcoming game mentioned “Manchester United vs. Lyon” (see below). All of the soccer fans know however that it should have read “Manchester City vs. Lyon.” That’s a juvenile mistake that even FOX Sports wouldn’t have made, which says a lot and should send a warning sign to the TNT producer that mistakes like that cannot happen. Hopefully these are mistakes that can be easily prevented in the future.

3. Lack of energy from TNT. Out of several huge moments this week, arguably the two biggest ones were Liverpool’s late win against PSG on Tuesday followed by the rare red card for Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday. But in both instances, the first reactions from the studio talent to these two incidents were very flat. After the thrilling Liverpool 3-2 PSG game, you would expect to hear the voices of the talent filled with excitement when the game switched immediately back to the studio. But it was rather humdrum.

A similar reaction happened on Wednesday during halftime when Kate Abdo and the studio talent revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo had been sent off. The reaction should have been complete astonishment and incredulity. Instead, the lack of urgency in the voices of the talent was plain to hear. It wasn’t until the post-match that the studio team got really into the consequences of the sending off.

In particular, the one person who has the least amount of energy in his voice is Carlos Bocanegra. There’s no passion in what he talks about, and his delivery sounds so monotone.

On the other hand, the one person who has the most energy is Stu Holden, but then his time is sometimes limited particularly during halftime analysis where the flow of the show is interrupted by one segment that’s from Atlanta (with Kate Abdo hosting) and then the next segment with Holden from Los Angeles, but the time for deep analysis is too short.

Based on what we saw this week, Turner Sports has a lot of work cut out for them. Having the two hosts for the broadcast of the UEFA Super Cup worked fine, but it now appears to be a little overwhelming for the viewer when the broadcast is trying to cover eight games per day via a combination of two hosts, three analysts and tons of commercials. On top of that, the broadcast is trying to be too jokey as well as trying to force in social media posts. At the end of the day, it might be that Turner Sports is trying too hard, and just needs to take a deep breath and focus on the basics — good analysis, keeping the viewer updated on the important storylines and giving us the goal highlights of the other matches. After all, it’s not rocket science.

Soccer fans facing fewer choices in Champions League Round of 16 on TNT

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Turner Sports have followed through on their promise to only broadcast one UEFA Champions League match per gameday for the knockout stages of the competition that begins on February 12.

While it’s often a dilemma for soccer fans to decide which game to watch in the Knockout Round because they’re both played at the same time each matchday, TNT has made the decision for you.

Instead of featuring the showcase game on TNT and using one of their other TV networks to broadcast the other match — like FOX Sports did with games on FS1 and FS2 — you’ll only get to see one game on TV.

To date, Turner Sports has only televised Champions League games on TNT, and have resisted the temptation to use their other TV networks to show games (although one of their executives recently admitted to World Soccer Talk that it could be a possibility in the future).

When the Champions League returns to action on February 12, TNT has elected to broadcast Manchester United against Paris Saint-Germain instead of AS Roma-Porto FC. And on the following day, it’ll be Spurs-Dortmund instead of Ajax-Real Madrid, which will certainly upset the legions of Madridistas in the United States.

Of course, all of the matches will be available via Turner’s Bleacher Report streaming service — as well as in Spanish on the Univision Deportes networks, but TNT’s decision to stick to its commitment of televising one match per day in the Knockout Round is going to upset a lot of soccer fans.

The decision to select Man United-PSG and Spurs-Dortmund instead of Roma-Porto and Ajax-Real Madrid won’t generate tidal waves of angst, but the challenge for TNT will be on other matchdays in the Round of 16.

For example, should TNT choose to televise:

• Liverpool-Bayern Munich or Lyon-Barcelona on February 19?
• Atletico Madrid-Juventus or Schalke-Manchester City on February 20?

So far, it appears that TNT is electing to broadcast the matches featuring the Premier League teams on matchdays while the more Spanish-centric teams such as Real Madrid and Barcelona are favored on the Univision channels.

The big question for Turner Sports and Bleacher Report is this, however. Is B/R Live ready to handle the surge of traffic in the Round of 16 from fans wanting to stream games? B/R Live has encountered huge problems with NBA Pass and the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson golf event.

As of press time, here’s the preliminary TV schedule for the next round of the UEFA Champions League (all kickoff times listed are in the Eastern United States timezone):

 

Tuesday, February 12

Manchester United vs. PSG (UEFA Champions League Round of 16), 3pm, TNT, Univision Deportes Network, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV and B/R Live

Roma vs. Porto (UEFA Champions League Round of 16), 3pm, streamed via B/R Live and Univision Deportes app (use your fuboTV credentials to watch games via Univision Deportes stream)

 

Wednesday, February 13

Spurs vs. Dortmund (UEFA Champions League Round of 16), 3pm, TNT, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue and Sling TV and B/R Live

Ajax vs. Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League Round of 16), 3pm, Univision Deportes Network, B/R Live and fuboTV (free trial)

 

Mo Edu interview: Finding his voice on TNT’s coverage

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Editor’s note: In our Mo Edu interview, we cover a wide range of topics about his time in the chair doing UEFA Champions League coverage for TNT, and we cover other related topics too.

It was only 2019 when Maurice Edu formally announced his retirement from professional soccer, but in that short time, he has already worked for FOX Sports and TNT in covering everything from the US Men’s National Team to the UEFA Champions League.

Typically, former pro footballers take more time to settle into the world of broadcasting, but Edu has hit the ground running. With a professional soccer resume that has included Stoke City, Rangers, Toronto FC and Philadelphia Union, as well as the national team, Edu has plenty of experience to draw upon as you’ll learn in this Mo Edu interview.

While in Atlanta, I sat down with “Mo” Edu to chat about his life as a broadcaster. Here’s the Mo Edu interview in its entirety:

 

Mo Edu interview

Christopher: What team did you grow up supporting as a kid? Were you into soccer at a young age and which teams did you follow?

Maurice (Mo) Edu: Yeah, at the moment it’s sucks to be saying it, but Arsenal.

Yeah, I grew up an Arsenal fan. It’s one of the first things that I played for, in my youth days was a team in California called Arsenal. And when I was growing up, there weren’t that many games on TV. It was hard to get games on TV. And my dad, he coached within the same club Arsenal. And so one of the parents on his team, they would record the games for us and so he’d bring them home. And so that was the first team that I watched consistent games of and kind of got into them, and then since then just been supporting them.

But obviously as you grow up and you start to watch more games, obviously you’re attracted to certain styles of play and certain players. And so I’m still an Arsenal fan, but obviously Messi is the best player I’ve ever witnessed and best player I’ve ever played against. So there’s that natural attraction to watching Barcelona and seeing just him, wow, on a consistent basis.

Christopher: So you’ve done an incredible job in terms of just improving in the short period of time, with doing tons of reps, but your tactical analysis and your observations are really on point.

Mo: I appreciate that.

Christopher: Is that something that you learned from any mentors? Or is that you observing, or?

Mo: Yeah, from a tactical standpoint, I try to just call it how I see it. How I articulate it or things that I’m a little bit more focused on, I think that just comes from reps and learning from the people that I work with it. Stu (Holden) has been involved in this for awhile, so before I initially got my feet wet, I talked to him a lot about what his experience was like initially. The process in terms of prepping for games and all that kind of stuff, but the tactical stuff or just anything that comes out of my voice is just my opinion. Just how I kind of see the games and my interpretation of what I see from teams, what I think football should look like.

And I think the biggest thing that coming into it and then also still now is just making sure that growing, I want to continue to grow. I don’t want to plateau. I want to continue to… Whether it’s presenting myself in a different way or in a better way, a more consistent way, continuing to grow over the course of this experience for me.

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

Christopher: Do you have a preference to being the studio analyst or co-commentator?

Mo: I think initially I always thought studio, but then I called a few games and I was like, “Man, being in the venue,” and that’s the closest you’re going to get to playing. Being able to soak up the atmosphere and take in the stadium and as a player, sometimes you don’t get to fully appreciate what the atmosphere is like because you’re tuned in and zoned into what’s happening on the pitch and the next play and just being dialed in to the moment.

So that part of it, I thoroughly enjoy being in a stadium, being able to bring my own personality. When you’re calling a game, your personality has to show completely through your voice, which I struggled with in the beginning. So to answer your question, which do I prefer? I’ve done a lot more studio, so that’s become a little bit more comfortable for me, but I enjoy both. I thoroughly enjoy both. I love being in the studio, the banter sometimes back and forth. I’m a person who talks through facial gestures and expression, so that part I think helps me to come across the way that I want to come across. But again, calling a game, the big moments, the big plays, some of the bigger games, that part of it, it’s hard to replicate.

Christopher: Yeah. Especially when it’s live.

Mo: Yeah.

Christopher: You’re talking about being in the moment versus, say, half time analysis or post-match analysis where you’re given time to reflect. It’s not that spontaneous reaction.

Mo: You get that genuine feel. You’re wowed by a play, you’re wowed by a goal, you’re wowed by a special moment and it just comes off very authentic and genuine because as you said, you don’t have time to prep for it or to sit there and think about it and take notes. It’s just boom, spur of the moment. How do you feel? Convey that emotion and what you’ve seen as quickly as possible. The biggest thing for me is I want to come across as me. I don’t want to sound like anybody else. I don’t want to be per-se “a broadcaster.” So I want to be me. I want my voice and make sure that it shows through and that my personality shows through. But obviously I want to make sure that I’m doing a good job of it.

Christopher: Yeah, the viewer then can better relate to someone who’s talking about human emotions rather than someone who sounds robotic or being just canned or cliched. It’s someone giving their heartfelt opinions or observations that we can feel… that the viewer can really take as being authentic. And it does make a big difference.

Mo: Yeah, and I mean it’s no knock on anybody else. For me personally, I don’t think you’d probably ask anybody who’s in this space, and that’s probably important to all of them because you want to separate yourself from everybody else, right? There needs to be something about you that is different.

And for me personally, I just want to make sure that my voice is always authentic and is true to me. I don’t want to come across sounding like anybody else, I want to just come across sounding like me.

SEE MORE: Read and listen to more classic soccer interviews from our archives

Christopher: You often get picked on on the show. It’s banter, whether it’s Kate passing you up. It’s fun for the viewer. How is that chemistry built? Is that something that you guys got hanging out together a lot? And are you always the one who gets picked on? (laughs)

Mo: (laughs) No. I’m definitely not always the one that gets picked on. I know what it is. I think on camera maybe they take advantage of that, but no, it’s a good group to be a part of. And I’ve known Stu and Tim (Howard) for a while and then I’ve known Kate more recently than the other two.

But it’s a good group to be around. And for me, I think that’s what helped me early on is being around and working with people that I’ve known for a while, it helps to ease your nerves, to make it a little bit more of a comfortable environment for you to just be yourself. But it’s fun. The banter, I’m glad that it’s coming across well on camera, but when we’re sitting here watching the games or prepping for the show, it’s on a consistent basis. It’s just non-stop.

We all chime in on it. And the thing that I think is special about this group is that we genuinely enjoy each other’s company and I hope that that translates and conveys itself on camera as well.

 

Have any questions or feedback about our Mo Edu interview? Let us know in the comments section below.


Tim Howard and Stu Holden on TNT’s Champions League coverage

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In an exclusive sit-down interview with Tim Howard and Stu Holden, the two former US Men’s National Team players discussed with World Soccer Talk a variety of topics related to TNT’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League.

Specifically, Tim Howard and Stu Holden addressed:

• Their thoughts on TNT weaving a lot of basketball into their soccer TV coverage,

• What makes B/R Football different on TV than FOX Sports and NBC Sports,

• The chances of Tim Howard and Stu Holden working together again after TNT’s contract ends, and

• How they’ve tried to balance the TV coverage from the mainstream to hardcore audiences.

Both Tim Howard and Stu Holden opened up quite a bit to share their opinions, which will give a lot of soccer fans a better understanding of why and how their coverage of the UEFA Champions League is different than anything we’ve seen before.

TNT’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League continues through May 2021.

 

Christopher Harris: How different is it working for B/R Football versus say FOX and NBC in terms of your experience? Is it a different feel to the environment of working for Turner and TNT and B/R Football than it is for those other broadcasters?

Tim Howard: Look, I think it’s hard to compare, to be quite honest. When B/R and Turner got the rights to the Champions League, they wanted to do it right. And that’s why they brought the talent in that they did and the production levels are incredibly high. Again, it’s hard to compare other than the fact that we wanted to give the American audience a new outlook on what European football could be, and I think we’ve done a good job at that.

Stu Holden: I think having worked on the Champions League for FOX previously, it’s definitely a different philosophy in the way that we’ve been covering the game. I think with B/R — and mixing that with Turner and their long experience in TV and things like Inside The NBA, which is one of the best shows on TV. B/R is geared towards a younger audience and very social media driven. I think trying to marry the two has been an interesting challenge but also one I think that we’ve enjoyed because it’s allowed us to have some creativity. And not that one way is right and one way is wrong but having covered it at FOX, it’s a little bit more editorial based.

And this one I think has allowed, in a different way, personalities to show a little bit more free flowing. I think we have a lot of input in how the show is put together. And for me personally, it’s been fun. I felt like I’ve grown, that we’ve all grown together as a group and the chemistry on-air with the more shows that we do. And I personally feel from year one to year two, it’s almost been night and day. And how we’ve been able to put the product out on-air.

Christopher: I think it seems like a lot looser. So it doesn’t seem to be very teleprompter driven. It seems to be unrehearsed, almost unscripted. Is that by design?

Tim Howard: I think it’s by design and what it allows us to do is to freestyle and get our personalities out there. We all have the soccer knowledge. The game itself will give us the answers and the clues. But from being non-scripted, it just gives us an opportunity to showcase who we are and give our experiences as it lends itself to Champions League.

Stu Holden: It’s a fun process. I think in the beginning you look at, as we head into a match day, we put together a structure and we have an idea of what we want to talk about in each block. And everybody’s contributing ideas and we pull video and we have stuff that I think are the main key points that we need to make sure we’re getting every single week. But then beyond that, it’s we’re going to leave four or five minutes for you guys to chat.

And if Tim wants to go, if Mo wants to go, I don’t know what they’re going to say. They don’t know what I’m going to say. Kate doesn’t know. Kate knows what we’re all thinking coming in. But it’s not like we’re sharing each other. And I think that’s where you get the most genuine conversation, which is what we want to be. We don’t want to be a rehearsed. This is ABCD, you go, I go, we go. I want to react off of what Tim says. And if I don’t agree, I won’t agree with him, but if I do and then I’ll add. And I think that’s where you produce the most genuine and authentic moments that the viewer can relate to.

Christopher: It seems more spontaneous. Sometimes there are flubs because it seems to be more live, but there’s more of a human aspect to it. Whereas some other broadcasters are very… reading off teleprompter and it feels very robotic.

Tim Howard: Well I think what we do ultimately, we are friends off camera as well and we talk about soccer off camera. It’s basically taking the chat that we have in the car or on the airplane or in on our chat groups and just putting a camera to it. It’s all very organic and holistic and we think that it just flows better.

Stu Holden: And I think you see a lot of times we’ll either be laughing, coming out of break or going into break. And it’s weird because you have to remind yourself when you’re talking to an audience on TV they’re not… You can’t be so inside jokey, but still you want them to see that you’re having a good time because that’s who we are, that’s what we’re doing. And it is a reminder at moments when we’ve been cracking a joke at each other and it’s three, two, one.

But it’s okay to bring that on to air sometimes, I think because to your point flubs, people flub talking in real life. We do these things and I think it humanizes you a little bit more to the audience and they can see that they get to connect with you. And I hope that the viewers feel the same way we do about, especially year two and obviously it’s a little disappointing that it won’t be beyond year three. But we haven’t changed the way that we view the show and how we work and all the work we are putting into it. We still have the same commitment.

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League on US TV and streaming

Christopher: And year one seemed to be trying to figure out what worked, what didn’t work. Year two, it seems to be pretty solid and you have a quartet that’s in one studio that we know consistently. And then (looks at Tim), you’ve been able to be here on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which makes a big difference. I think that the end product is something much better.

Tim Howard: Well, I think that Stu touched on it… trying to marry B/R which is very social driven, which is what the new audience craves. That’s what America craves now, and that’s the younger generation who’s coming into this and starting to support the teams that they love. You have to figure out your footing on how you marry those two things. And I think we’ve done a good job of that. But ultimately that was going to take a little bit of time.

Stu Holden: Right. And adding to what Tim said, I like that B/R and TNT have put themselves out there, especially in year one and said, “Let’s try something.” At the end of the day people get so up in arms about… Okay, we tried the two studios and it was a challenge for all of us, it wasn’t great at times. We tried to go very social driven and I think we’ll be honest and open about the fact that we made mistakes, but we’re trying to do the right things. I don’t get the anger that people have some times of like, “Oh, how could Turner do this? You’re ruining the game we love.”

We’re all covering the sport, we’re just trying to bring something a little bit fresh and new. And I would say, and also give credit to the people behind the scenes in that, recognizing that some of that didn’t work and coming back. And I think finding a happy medium between what works on TV and what works on social and still trying to have social and fun light elements. But still paying most important to what actually matters most, which is at the game. None of us are bigger than the actual game itself. It’s about adding color and analysis where we can to make this feel bigger.

Christopher: And personally, I think some of the angst or some of the criticism came not so much from the coverage, but more so in terms of not all the games being on TV. With FS1 and FS2, you could guarantee that the games would be on TV. Here you’re forcing people to change, to go to B/R Live for some games.

Tim Howard: No one likes change we’re human, everyone fights back against change. But the fact of the matter is this is where our viewership is going. And we all do it.

Stu Holden: I have 90 subscriptions now, I think. (laughs)

Tim Howard: It was back when people got cellphones, I would never get rid of my house phone. Now no one uses a house phone and now it’s all about cable. All of my friends go, “I’m not going to pay for cable. And I’ll just get everything and stream it online.” That’s the way it’s going, so you can push back but ultimately we’re doing the right things in terms of where we’re getting and where we’re putting our content.

Christopher: What are your thoughts about the way that Turner’s woven in basketball into soccer coverage? Talking about comparisons between Sadio Mane and some NBA players. The recent interview with Neymar, the first two questions were basketball related. It’s heavy into basketball.

Tim Howard: Well again I think when we talk about Turner using basketball as a balance. We love the fact that our sport is a crossover sport. We love the fact that Steph Curry is going over to Paris and getting presented with a jersey and taking his time to watch soccer because he loves soccer. Those are the things that should be celebrated.

This is a global game. There’s a bunch of purists out there who may not like that. But the fact of the matter is it is cool. Soccer is cool. It was in the doldrums 30 years ago and now it’s… the biggest athletes in the world either are soccer players or want to pal around and rub elbows with soccer players. So like that’s a good thing.

Stu Holden: And I think Tim you used a key word there, purists. And I think soccer purists, I would consider us all soccer purists. We’ve all loved the game, we’ve followed it, we’ve watched it, we know the ins and outs. And I think we have a tendency to not want to let other people into our game, this is how we know it. But the reality is this, soccer is, it’s still an emerging sport in the United States. You look at viewership across NBA, NFL, baseball, they’re all substantially higher than where soccer is right now. Even though the Premier League are doing great numbers and Champions League Final, et cetera.

But it’s still a fraction of, I think of what it can become. And to draw new fans into the game, I think you have to find touch points culturally. Touch points among pop culture where you look at basketball and there is a lot of cross over. I don’t know about you, Tim, but I’ve met other athletes from other sports that will watch soccer and they know it, but they don’t know it to the level that we do, but that’s okay. It’s our job to educate them in a friendly way.

Expose them to the sport in that type of way and still not shut that viewer, that hardcore viewer out of the conversation. And still talk to them in a different way where you’re doing your tactics and your video breakdowns, et cetera. And I think it’s important to try and talk to the larger fan base and a guy that might be switching it on at the bar and saying, “Oh, cool. Neymar likes soccer, basketball” Yeah.

Christopher: Especially when it’s TNT, it’s not on a sports channel. It’s an entertainment channel.

Tim Howard: Yeah. Sure.

Stu Holden: Yeah.

Christopher: Do you think there’s any chance you guys might work together again in the future for the same company once the Champions League is over with?

Stu Holden: I hope not. (laughs)

Tim Howard: What he means by that is, he’s desperate. (laughs)

I mean you never know which way the wind’s going to blow. But, of course when you look at myself and Mo and Kate and Stu we all have history and so anytime you can work with good people if you’re open to that opportunity, without question.

Stu Holden: And I think for me, having now been in TV for six, seven years and working with Alexi and guys like Warren Barton, Eric Wynalda, the guys that I didn’t play with. It’s been fun for me.

A number of younger guys are emerging in the TV world and I love working with all the other guys. There’s a nice blend of some old and some new and it just provides a different type of perspective and I think different type of on-air chemistry as well.

Christopher: How hard is it to know that you’re losing the Champions League but to stay at the same level of the analysis and watching the games and providing some great content or great stories or opinions?

Tim Howard: It’s not difficult at all. We love this game. We love talking about it and pontificating over it. And again, we love football. It’s silly to call it a job because we enjoy it with it. We don’t control the business side of things. We don’t control how that operates. When we show up, we’re passionate about it because we genuinely care. So it’s a really simple answer for me.

Stu Holden: I mean undoubtedly there’s a bit of disappointment when the news is announced because I think all of us have really enjoyed this experience. I know all the people that have worked so hard on it here at TNT. I’m not going to get into the politics of a three-year cycle with rights. It’s tough because you start to really invest in your product and we feel like we’re hitting a nice stride. And then you find out year and a half later the product is going to be gone from the network. But to Tim’s point, it doesn’t change the way… None of us are walking in here and saying, “This is our last year and a half, who cares? Let’s not do the tactical analysis and let’s just throw the games up.” No, that’s not the case at all.

I mean, as a football fan, I would be watching this regardless. I’m fortunate enough to be able to cover this and this be a job. So, I consider myself lucky for that fact and who knows, hopefully we’ve all worked together again. Hopefully we all work again on this product at some point down the line. And the fact is in another three years, it’s going to be with somebody else.

Christopher: Right. It’s a small world.

Stu Holden: … Who knows where it will be.

Turner discuss losing UEFA Champions League rights to CBS

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With CBS acquiring the Champions League English-language rights for seasons 2021/22 through 2023/24, the president of Turner Sports recently described his disappointment at losing the rights renewal.

“Our goal wasn’t to let it go,” said Turner Sports President Lenny Daniels. “We really did have a five, six, ten year plan and now we just have to start over.

“UEFA fits perfect with B/R Live. We love it, we love them, we thought it was great. We made a very significant offer to renew it. Somebody else found that they could offer significantly more than our significant offer and they wanted it. So good luck, we’ll see what happens.”

A source to World Soccer Talk said that CBS Sports paid $110 million/year for the rights. In comparison, Turner Sports were reportedly paying $60 million a year.

When asked about the challenge of trying to develop momentum for coverage of the UEFA Champions League on TNT especially when Turner Sports found out it had lost the rights for the next three-year deal 18 months into its current deal, Daniels went into more detail.

“Yes. I think [UEFA] know it and then we know it. I think everybody knows it. There’s a reason they do three year increments. They have an agency called TEAM who actually does it for them. I don’t think they think it’s the best way to operate either. It’s really hard.

“I mean, we’re not even halfway through [our three-year rights deal] and we [were] already bidding on the next one. It makes it really difficult. So I think [UEFA and Team] are going to look at that and figure out a way to fix it. But there’s a very technical reason why they have to do it and how they actually connect with all the clubs that are out there.”

Daniels shared the example of TNT’s rights deal with the NCAA tournament that runs through 2032. Such a long-term agreement allows his teams to invest the time and resources necessary to do the best job at covering that competition.

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

Looking to the future, Daniels is keeping his options open to rights deals that are attractive to his audience.

“Bleacher Report will look for a different type of audience,” explained Daniels. “They have a different voice, and they’re trying to reach a different group of people. And so for that we will look at different types of rights that may come up.”

“It’s interesting because it’s hard to advertise in soccer, and it’s hard, especially with UEFA, you can’t really produce it the way we would produce it here in the States. It’s produced as a world feed. There are a lot of different things you have to look at when you deal with a league like that, so you have to be driving towards something else.

“In our case, we were trying to, obviously, drive subscriptions through B/R Live. But you have to take a very unique point of view, a longterm view, as to if that will work and how much money that’s worth doing. And we had a very specific way of looking at it, and we bid for it, and CBS bid what they thought.”

When asked about some media companies having ulterior motives where they can lose money on the rights they purchase because they’re driving towards commerce or something else, Daniels replied, “Absolutely. We’re jealous of Amazon all day long. I mean, they’re driving towards a different thing that we don’t have. Hopefully, now with AT&T, we have that. And I think that’s what you’re going to see, and a direction that we’re going to go, is to look at how we drive strategies across this company. Whether it’s HBO Max, whether it’s driving people to sign up for broadband, whether it’s reducing churn, there’s a whole host of things that you could do across the AT&T portfolio that will allow you to bid more aggressively for rights than if we were just trying to buy them for a cable network, for example.”

Turner Sports have eyes on MLS rights

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In shocking news this week, Turner Sports have told UEFA that they have opted out of its UEFA Champions League contract, meaning that the U.S. broadcaster will not broadcast the remainder of the 2019/20 Champions League and Europa League games, as well as the final 2020/21 season of its current UEFA contract.

The news means that UEFA has to find a broadcaster who is willing to air the English-language games in August to complete the 2019/20 season, as well as the full 2020/21 season.

CBS Sports, who acquired the rights for the 2021/22 season onwards, are likely to be the leading contender to acquire the rights, but the timing of Turner’s decision to opt out is unfortunate. There have been no UEFA club games since March. However, Turner Sports and Bleacher Report waited until mid June to notify UEFA of their decision.

Current Spanish-language rights holder TUDN will continue to broadcast the Champions League and Europa League games on U.S. television.

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

In related news, Turner Sports have dropped hints that they’re very interested in bidding for the rights to the next Major League Soccer media deal. The current rights cycle with FOX/ESPN/Univision expires at the end of 2022. And World Soccer Talk understands that discussions have already taken place.

At a recent industry conference, a high-ranking Turner Sports executive name-checked MLS as an upcoming rights deal that interests her company, adding that soccer is still a priority for them, citing B/R Football and B/R Live as two examples of how they’re still very focused on the sport. The conference happened before COVID-19 impacted the sports world, but the audience that watches Major League Soccer games certainly skews younger, which would be appealing to Turner Sports and the B/R Football brand.

Another reason why MLS would appeal to Turner Sports and their parent company AT&T is that the new streaming service HBO Max needs live sports to be a serious competitor against rival streaming services on the market including Hulu, Disney+, Peacock Premium, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

B/R Football Champions League: Behind-the-scenes video tour

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One year ago, World Soccer Talk traveled to Atlanta to interview Turner Sports and Bleacher Report about their UEFA Champions League coverage as well as to film a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary. And then COVID-19 happened, putting a halt to Champions League matches in mid-March 2020.

Several weeks later in June 2020, we learned that Turner Sports had opted out of their Champions League contract, and returned the rights to UEFA, who ultimately sold them to CBS Sports.

As a result, we never did release the behind-the-scenes video. Until now.

While Turner Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League is in the past, our memories of their work is still fresh in our memories. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this brief video that shares a glimpse into what the environment at TNT Studios was like, and where the broadcasts were filmed.

Subscribe to our free YouTube channel for more videos.

WarnerMedia, Turner a quiet candidate for next MLS rights

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WarnerMedia MLS Rights

AT&T’s media entity WarnerMedia is in the mix for at least a piece of the MLS rights.

In fact, WarnerMedia showed interest in acquiring the U.S. rights to the English Premier League. However, NBC extended its deal with the EPL in November through the 2027/28 season. Since then, MLS appeared as the next big media rights package up for grabs.

Among the likes of ESPN, FOX, and CBS, WarnerMedia has interest in acquiring at least a piece of MLS’s domestic rights.

WarnerMedia’s bid for Premier League rights fell just short. Yet, it was not for a lack of financial resources. With the monetary means still available, WarnerMedia can direct these to other potential rights. Ergo, Major League Soccer.

Our sources at World Soccer Talk indicated that WarnerMedia and its subsidiary, Turner Sports, are dialed-in on MLS. The current MLS rights deal expires at the end of the 2022 season. WarnerMedia eyes up at least a piece of the rights starting in 2023.

WarnerMedia and Turner’s Soccer Coverage

WarnerMedia’s bid for Premier League rights likely included multiple linear channels. Additionally, the media conglomerate included the potential of multiple streaming services. As things stand, the Discovery-AT&T merger awaits regulatory approvals. Even then, HBO Max and Bleacher Report remain streaming options for MLS.

The Discovery piece was probably more critical for European rights, such as the Premier League, as Discovery Networks have significant experience broadcasting soccer in Europe. Experience is something that WarnerMedia lacks in terms of European soccer coverage.

Many soccer fans dismiss Turner Sports because of the difficult 19 months they had broadcasting UEFA club competitions. In reality, WarnerMedia changed significantly since then. Moreover, Turner’s coverage of European competitions does not terribly bother or interest most MLS fans.

In fact, Turner’s millennial-centric approach to coverage could be attractive to some of MLS’s target audience. This is especially applicable in places like Austin and Nashville, which of course have relatively new clubs.

However, one caveat is for the broadcaster to avoid branding all of its coverage with the “B/R Live” moniker. Not only is that brand damaged, but it serves to trivialize the coverage. The Turner Sports name has much more residual name ID and credibility among sports fans. This includes a number of American soccer fans.

Turner vs. The Competition

One important note in this discussion is that Turner Sports does not broadcast any college football currently. Despite a rich history in the sport including the SEC, PAC-10 and Big 12, ESPN and FOX have a strangle on college football. Of course, this makes WarnerMedia and Turner a more attractive potential partner for MLS.

Additionally, outside of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the provider does not broadcast college basketball. Turner  lost virtually all its golf coverage as well and does not broadcast the NFL.

Turner Sports does broadcast the NBA, MLB and NHL. However, most programming conflicts that hobbled MLS and soccer in general through the years happened due to carriers prioritizing NFL or college football. Therefore, Turner is ideal for Major League Soccer.

The Next MLS TV deal

The package that MLS is offering broadcasters beginning in 2023 differs greatly from previous years. One major gap is that, in this go-round, the rights do not include the USMNT and USWNT. But, in its place, MLS has an exciting new summer tournament, the Leagues Cup. Additionally, the deal, expected to find a suitor in early 2022, features matches from a new third division. The league, known as MLS Next Pro, includes both MLS reserve teams and independent clubs.

MLS will presumably also include matches from its MLS Next youth academy program in the package.  MLS Next is two seasons old now. Therefore, it was not included in the previous negotiations for MLS rights.

WarnerMedia and MLS Rights

Here is a quick primer of what WarnerMedia covering MLS could look like:

  • A weekly weekend match broadcast on TNT or TBS. This could slot in on a Sunday evening and feature full studio wraparound coverage. Compare it to how Turner broadcasts the NBA and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments. Or, WarnerMedia could go the millennial-feel route like they did with UEFA club competitions. One thing they should do for sure is market the broadcasts as “Turner Sports” or “TNT or TBS” instead of “B/R Live.” TruTV remains an option if needed for spillover matches or due to broadcast conflicts.
  • Turner produces a weekly magazine program that airs sometime during the week on MLS. This is something ESPN has failed to consistently deliver on its years broadcasting the league, with many stops, starts and stops again on various MLS-related bumped programming. The program could be broadcast on either TBS or TNT.
  • HBO Max splits streaming for MLS with another partner (presumably either CBS or ESPN’s streaming components). HBO Max as a streaming service is far more reliable technologically and stability-wise than the clunky B/R Live used on European club coverage from 2018 to 2020.
  • In order to keep Bleacher Report viable and attractive, MLSNext Pro matches are sent to that streaming service with a once-a-week carve out for either broadcast on TNT/TBS or HBO Max.
  • Leagues Cup is shown on multiple networks during the summer using the full thrust of Turner and WarnerMedia’s bandwidth. Only sports programming conflicts will likely be with the MLB as the competition will likely coincide with the NHL and NBA offseason. Imagine Turner showing different Leagues Cup matches on TNT, TBS and HBO Max in a single night.
  • MLS Next, the youth competition could be broadcast occasionally on Bleacher Report. Broadcasting youth competitions has its own legal framework separate from professional or college competitions, so we assume MLS and potential media partners make all of the required legal clearances on this.

What does the Turner Sports deal mean for U.S. Soccer?

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What does the Turner Sports deal mean for U.S. Soccer?

The US Soccer Federation (USSF) has sold their English-language broadcast rights to WarnerMedia, whose sports coverage is anchored by Turner Sports for the period that spans 2023 to 2030. This package includes US Men’s and Women’s National Team home matches, She Believes Cup, any potential USSF-hosted men’s national team competition (most likely in 2025) and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, one of the oldest domestic club cup competitions on the planet. The question is, what does the Turner Sports deal mean for U.S. Soccer?

This deal is the first made individually by US Soccer in two decades, without the bundling of rights with MLS via Soccer United Marketing. The announcement will mean that absent acquiring away rights to individual US matches, or signing a deal with Concacaf, ESPN will not broadcast any US Soccer matches after 2022 for almost four years. FOX Sports’ coverage will be limited to major tournaments. CBS will continue to broadcast the Concacaf Nations League, including US matches until the end of 2023.

Recovering from the Bleacher Report debacle

While many soccer fans in the United States associate Turner with the botched B/R Live coverage of UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, (coverage that ended prematurely as the rights were transferred to CBS Sports during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic), the broadcaster has lots of positive experience in broadcasting sports.

The B/R Live experiment failed, and our sources indicate that this go-round with soccer, WarnerMedia and Turner Sports will be much more traditional with their coverage. The B/R Live branded UEFA coverage was designed to be edgy and appealing to younger fans, but it instead turned off many long-standing soccer supporters.

Presumably the move of rights to WarnerMedia beginning in 2023 will have a completely different feel than the UEFA coverage. For starters, sources indicate to us that WarnerMedia plans to use its own talent on the broadcasts rather than a world feed. Secondly, with the pending merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery networks, additional soccer experience and knowledge will be brought in-house to the merged entity.

Soccer experience overseas and in women’s soccer

It’s often forgotten in the US market, but Discovery is a major player in sports broadcasting including soccer on the European continent.

In addition, Turner did broadcast women’s soccer matches from the US in the early 2000’s, including several Atlanta Beat matches that featured Cindy Parlow Cone as a star player. Parlow Cone is now the President of US Soccer and was involved in the negotiation of this deal with WarnerMedia.

Turner Sports’ advantages over ESPN

It’s almost certain that the types of broadcast windows and bumper coverage US Soccer will find on WarnerMedia will be far superior to ESPN, which has recently taken the approach of often shoehorning programming in-between other sports. The production value and talent could also be superior to FOX Sports’ coverage, given Discovery’s experience and Turner’s own outstanding NBA, NCAA Basketball and MLB coverage.

One of the complaints recently voiced to me by a US Soccer insider about ESPN’s coverage of US Soccer, was how the She Believes Cup, an annual women’s national team competition, was given poor time slots and limited bumper coverage by ESPN. It’s ironic that a week after a US-New Zealand game was bumped up to ABC, ESPN has lost the rights to the competition.

ESPN’s inability to commit to linear programming before and after US Men’s National Team (USMNT) qualifiers as well as CBS Sports’ use of streaming to exclusively air USMNT qualifiers has created a desire among many fans for broader national team coverage on linear TV. With the announcement that TNT or TBS will televise approximately ten matches each year, TNT and TBS can provide the types of broadcast windows ESPN and CBS have failed to provide in the last six months.

What does the Turner Sports deal mean for U.S. Soccer?

Additionally, frustration about the promotion and visibility of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup has reached a boiling point among many fans. WarnerMedia has the bandwidth to really promote the competition. Turner Sports’ experience with the similarly-formatted NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (a property they share with CBS Sports) also could help in how they broadcast the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Some concerns do persist with this deal. As of press time, HBO Max is a streaming package that is not sports-specific. For many soccer fans, it’ll mean subscribing to another new streaming service. Plans start at $9.99 per month.

An additional concern is that WarnerMedia does not own its own over-the-air broadcast network, so every match will be on cable or streaming, a marked change from a recent era when FOX over-the-air network and ABC have televised US National Team matches, including friendlies, on both the men’s and women’s side.

Overall though, despite whatever qualms some fans have about WarnerMedia and Turner Sports, this deal is likely a positive development for not only the broadcaster and US Soccer, but for fans as well. WarnerMedia is likely to put substantial effort into the broadcasts, and to air matches on linear television with a robust streaming component.

U.S. Soccer announce new TV deal with Turner Sports

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U.S. Soccer announce new TV deal

U.S. Soccer has announced a new TV deal with Turner Sports. It’ll bring the U.S. Men’s National Team and U.S. Women’s National Team games to a new English-language home beginning in 2023.

Under the terms of the 8-year deal from 2023 through 2030, Turner Sports will air games across TNT/TBS and HBO Max. In total, it’ll include more than 20 United States National Soccer Team matches each year. TNT or TBS will televise approximately half of those matches. All of the games, even if they are on TV, will be available live and on-demand via HBO Max.

Specifically, Turner Sports will broadcast the following types of games exclusively via English-language from 2023 through 2030:

— National Team friendlies,
— send-off matches and special events leading up to and following the World Cup and Olympic Games,
— U.S. Open Cup games, and
— SheBelieves Cup, among additional events involving the Women’s and Men’s National Soccer Teams.

It’ll also include U.S. National Team World Cup qualifiers. Since the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) is expected to automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup as one of the hosts, the World Cup qualifiers will apply to the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) as well as the World Cup qualifiers leading into the 2030 men’s World Cup.

WarnerMedia’s streaming strategy

This year is the final one under the U.S. Soccer current deal, signed in 2015 between FOX Sports, Univision and ESPN.

While WarnerMedia has two prominent television channels (TBS and TNT) to choose from, WarnerMedia also has many streaming options to choose from. WarnerMedia owns Bleacher Report and HBO Max. The latter will be adding NHL, so the addition of USMNT and USWNT games makes sense.

At the same time, WarnerMedia is close to finalizing a merger with Discovery. The merged mega company (to be named Warner Bros. Discovery) will likely launch its own streaming service in late 2022 or early 2023 to compete against Disney+ and Netflix. Discovery already has a Discovery+ paid streaming service. That merger is scheduled to be completed in April 2022.

US Soccer’s need for a new media partner

When World Soccer Talk spoke with US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone last month, she explained what she was looking for in a new media partner.

“We’re looking for a [media] partner that has a broader vision than just our national teams because US Soccer is a lot bigger than just that.”

Turner Sports’s agreement with US Soccer also includes the US Open Cup, a historic competition that’s in dire need of a boost. Having a new media partner such as Turner Sports could give the competition the coverage and exposure it needs.

Turner Sports also interested in MLS

The rights to the US national team is one thing, but Turner Sports is also interested in acquiring the rights to Major League Soccer, which are up for bid this month. As early as February 2020, executives from Turner Sports expressed an interest in the rights to MLS.

MLS is attractive to Turner Sports because the audience skews younger than traditional American sports. Plus, Turner Sports has a lot of airtime available to broadcast games, given that it doesn’t have college football.

Now it’s MLS’ turn

The news will certainly raise eyebrows at Major League Soccer headquarters. Last May, US Soccer decided to end its partnership with Soccer United Marketing in order to sell the rights by themselves. By doing so, the Federation would receive a greater share of the TV revenue that it previously split with MLS.

Last week, MLS Commissioner Don Garber was optimistic about what the split means for U.S. Soccer:

“I think it sets up U.S. Soccer to be on their own, like any property would want to be when they have the capability to be able to manage their rights,” said Garber. “I wish them the best. I truly do. I’m a board member and I want nothing more than for them to be successful.”

Now it’s Major League Soccer’s turn to finalize its own new media deal, which is projected to close by the end of this month.

What about Spanish-language rights?

As of press time, no decision has been reached regarding Spanish-language rights. Oftentimes, those deals are done separately, and are announced after the English-language rights are completed.

Spanish-language rights are important for a number of reasons. Firstly, they compete directly against English-language rights. For example, English-language broadcasters could lose a large share of their audience for key games. That can happen if the Spanish-language broadcast is more accessible (i.e. on over-the-air television instead of streaming). Secondly, the Spanish-language audience is growing rapidly in the United States, as it continues to break new viewing records.

With the merged TelevisaUnivision looking for rights to boost its ViX+ paid-streaming service, it will be one of many major contenders.

What does this mean for U.S. Soccer?

The fact that U.S. Soccer was able to complete its own media deal in-house without MLS is an important milestone. For the past 17 years, US Soccer bundled those rights with Major League Soccer. This happened via the MLS marketing entity, Soccer United Marketing. We’re still awaiting the news about Spanish-language rights, but reports are that the English-language deal is worth approximately $200 million, which — once the Spanish-language rights are added — will be more than what US Soccer got previously.

It’s worth noting that the revenue that U.S. Soccer earns from Turner Sports will go directly to U.S. Soccer instead of being split with MLS.

The new deal gives U.S. Soccer an opportunity to build on the success of the USWNT and USMNT, as well as to grow the US Open Cup. In doing so, more of that revenue will go into the Federation than before.

Photo credit for U.S. Soccer announce new TV deal: John Todd/ISI Photos / Getty Images






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