''MLS on ESPN'' is the branding used for television presentations of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

properties, including ABC and

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

. Major League Soccer on ESPN debuted in 1996, the league's first season, and ended in 2022 when MLS moved all of their coverage to

Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancesto ...

. From 1996 to 2006, the weekly soccer match on

was called ''

MLS Soccer Saturday Major League Soccer has been broadcast live in the United States nationally since the league's inception in 1996 and in Canada since 2007. As of the 2023 season, Apple Inc. is the primary global rights holder and will stream every regular seaso ...

'', but in the new contract, that was replaced by '' MLS Primetime Thursday''. For the 2009 season and beyond, the Thursday telecast was replaced by a variety of primetime games on Wednesdays through Saturdays. Beginning in 2009, until 2019, as part of ESPN's far-reaching strategy of moving sports programming to ESPN, all matches - including

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

- were aired on either ESPN or ESPN2.

History

On August 4, 2006, ESPN reached a comprehensive multimedia agreement with

Soccer United Marketing Soccer United Marketing is the for-profit marketing arm of Major League Soccer which primarily deals in the promotion and sanctioning of professional soccer in the United States. In 2016, Soccer United Marketing was also chosen as the exclusiv ...

(SUM) for the rights to Major League Soccer through 2014. As part of the eight-year agreement, ESPN2 televised 26 regular-season and three playoff MLS matches each year, all in primetime on Thursdays. Highlights of the agreement included: *ESPN2 airing 26 regular-season MLS matches, primarily on Thursday nights. *ESPN2 airing three MLS playoff matches. *ABC airing one regular-season MLS match, the

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star ...

, and

. (replaced by ESPN from 2009 to 2017; returned in 2019) *Televised coverage of the first round of the MLS Draft. *MLS telecasts re-aired in full or abbreviated versions on any ESPN media platforms *Extensive footage rights for all ESPN media platforms such as ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of American cable and satellite television network ESPN. The show covers various sports teams and athletes from around the world and o ...

'',

ESPNEWS ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News", stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns ...

ESPN Motion ESPN Broadband is a business unit of the ESPN company - itself a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. This unit focuses on providing sports content to users over a high speed internet connection. It is divided into five areas: ESPN Motion, E ...

ESPN360 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (w ...

, etc. *ESPN producing and being solely responsible for the content, whereas, they had not been able to do that in the past. Also in 2007, ESPN2's coverage of MLS included new on-screen scoreboards, similar to those used on other sports telecasts. In 2008, another new score graphic was debuted, this time in the upper left hand corner of the screen. ESPN joined forces with

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

and

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...

to broadcast over 100 MLS games (combined), live and exclusive, from 2015 and 2022 in its succeeding media rights deal. In 2023, MLS will move their inventory of games to MLS Season Pass, and the

family. ESPN will not televise MLS matches for the first time since the league's inception in 1996.

Technology

In addition, ESPN added numerous production enhancements to the telecasts through the years. They included: *SkyCam: A common element during ESPN's NFL and MLB telecasts, SkyCam will return after making its debut in 2005 on select ABC and ESPN2 telecasts. The device provides an aerial view of the field, giving the viewer a unique angle to appreciate the development and speed of match action. *MLS Wired: Telecasts feature use of the unobtrusive microphones, worn by select coaches and players, to capture some of the compelling in-game interactions and conversations. *KickTrax *HD: Beginning in 2007, all games aired in high-definition.

Criticism

ESPN was accused in 2011 by Soccer America writer Paul Kennedy of putting more emphasis on overall negativity and the more violent aspect of MLS games (such as two confrontations, two challenges and a player nursing a bloody head in its first six shots) in "Greatest Highlights of the Month" segment for their intermission reports.

Personalities

References

External links

MLS at ESPN.com
{{ESPN on ABC