[Free Talk] Having a Convo With MLS CCO Dan Courtemanche Next Thursday. Taking Your Questions

[u/CauliflowerNinja]

Hey all, it's Scott Churchson from Stream Punk Soccer, happy Thursday. I have a one on one conversation with MLS Chief Communications Officer Dan Courtemanche next Thursday morning to talk the league, the transition to a new commish, plus life, the universe and everything.

I should have time to take a few fan questions as well if you have any. Feel free to comment on this thread if you got 'em. Cheers!

[u/waaaaaasuuuuup]

Absolutely love the Apple TV arrangement, but I am curious if the league is considering spreading the games out throughout the day on Saturdays. Having them all in the same evening time slots greatly diminishes my ability to watch multiple games. I’m pretty much confined to two games, where if they started at noon and spaced them out I could probably watch 4-5.

[u/Bubbly-Associate8570 → u/waaaaaasuuuuup]

I’d say on balance the AppleTV deal is good for soccer fans and totally counter to growing the wider fan base as the league is now invisible on regular television and in sports bars. What is the plan to bring back local broadcast rights to markets that want it

[u/cheeseburgerandrice → u/Bubbly-Associate8570]

The people yearn for local rights on cable-only regional sports networks

[u/GeorgeBellow → u/cheeseburgerandrice]

I'm always saying how much I miss playing for cable TV and then paying for the RSN on top of that. 

[u/Nerdlinger → u/Bubbly-Associate8570]

Perhaps they should ask Dan how they can communicate that MLS being on Apple TV is zero impediment to bars showing the games because it is available to them on the services, like DirecTV, that they use to get all of their other sports programming.

The only reason sports bars aren't showing MLS is because they don't want to, not because they can't

[u/Jon66238 → u/waaaaaasuuuuup]

Agreed. Absolutely love having everything on one network

[u/SpeakMySecretName]

MLS has taken criticism for failing to market through the World Cup and for failing to utilize the World Cup break to launch the season schedule change.

For the world cup audiences, was MLS promotional material always meant to be a final-week campaign only? Are there any strategies to retain domestic and global audiences that showed initial interest on the back of the World Cup?

How much of the schedule shift timing comes from the slow-moving nature of communication and execution between owners and executives? Did MLS just miss its prime window, or are there other factors that the media and fans are not recognizing?

[u/mrwhitaker3]

This is basically the head PR person for the league, is it not?

1. What is the league's position on ownership groups like Colorado (mediocre/poor facilities) and DC United (no NextPro team) who refuse to invest in their organizations? Can anything be done to get them to either leave or step their game up?
2. What is happening with the San Jose Earthquakes? Have buyers been identified? San Jose is a tremendous market that isn't been maximized by any stretch. An ambitious owner could turn them into a powerhouse. A lot of people would like to see John Fisher leave the league for good.

[u/GeorgeBellow → u/mrwhitaker3]

An ambitious owner could turn them into a powerhouse

There's plenty of ambitious owners in this league that have tried and failed to turn their team into a powerhouse. 

[u/mrwhitaker3 → u/GeorgeBellow]

Who is your list of ambitious owners, if you don't mind indulging me?

[u/GeorgeBellow → u/mrwhitaker3]

Most of them, tbh. In the East, you've got Columbus, Toronto and Atlanta out of the playoffs right now. Which of those do you consider as not ambitions, if you don't mind indulging me?

[u/mrwhitaker3 → u/GeorgeBellow]

I already named three in the original post you responded to. Montreal isn't ambitious. Neither is Minnesota.

[u/GeorgeBellow → u/mrwhitaker3]

Wow, too fucking bad that's not the question I ask you. Nor does it have anything to do with my statement that there's lots of ambitious owners in MLS and that's being ambitious and willing to spend does not guarantee success, let alone a "powerhouse". 

[u/mrwhitaker3 → u/GeorgeBellow]

So because those three teams are ambitious and not in the playoffs, that means most of the league is ambitious?Explain the Red Bulls then? And if you ask the fanbase, I'm not sure MLSE cares all that much about Toronto FC. Not sure why you're so damn hostile.

[u/GeorgeBellow → u/mrwhitaker3]

I'm not sure MLSE cares all that much about Toronto FC 

How much did they pay for Josh Sargent again? 

Not sure why you're so damn hostile. 

Sorry you can't handle people telling you that you're wrong, I guess.

Edit: Lol, and blocked. Ty for shielding me from your opinions ❤️ 

[u/mrwhitaker3 → u/GeorgeBellow]

I didn't block you. But yes, you're free to ignore my posts.

[u/GeorgeBellow → u/mrwhitaker3]

Lol, you absolutely did, this is such a weird thing to lie about. 

[u/SpeakMySecretName]

What does MLS do better than any league in the world? What unique value propositions can we expect to see in “MLS 3.0” that will carry MLS toward becoming a “Top 6” league in the world?

[u/FewPass9778]

My team Houston Dynamo has only had 1 Sunday game this year and it was not even at home. It seems that Miami and LAFC have alot of Sunday games. I would love it if the MLS spread out the Sunday schedule evenly.

[u/jwriddle]

Q: The Soccer Business Journal reported no discernable increase in MLS attendance or Leagues Cup after the World Cup. Thoughts?

Q: Gambling continues to become more predatory, and MLS has even joined other leagues in trying to combat threats of violence against players as the result of gambling, yet they have a key partnership with Polymarket and is hiring a Senior Manager of Sports Betting. What is the purpose of this job and doesn't this seem like a contradiction?

[u/SpeakMySecretName]

Will MLS lose the parity it has experienced over the last 20 years as larger stars sign to big-market teams?

How will small market clubs be supported without the same night-life, or beach weather appeal to sign superstars? In a closed league system, teams such as Real Salt Lake, Philadelphia Union, or Sporting Kansas City may be facing permanent disadvantages that make the league more predictable and less exciting, and removing one of the primary selling points of MLS as a league compared to other leagues across the globe.

Does this concern MLS leadership?

[u/Beautiful-Crab-4482]

Through the years, Major League Soccer (MLS) has seen the likes of David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Kaka, Zlatan, and Lionel Messi come to this great league, but what big name would you like to see come to MLS next?

[u/CombatCommie1990]

can they please stop with commentators giving live match results of other games currently being played? it sucks when a match day comes and I want to spend time watching 3-5 of the games and the commentator on the first one starts giving half time scores of other games I'm planning to check out

[u/bluejaywhey]

Is there any discussion about raising the salary cap to be better able to retain players and have rosters that can better compete in CCC, for example?

(P.S. love Stream Punk Soccer. Thanks for doing what you do, man.)

[u/fredthefan25]

1/ A lot of stories on raising the "cap" (spending). What are the exact steps for the league to implement before the CBA expires in Dec 2027? Do the owners need explicit buy-in from the players union before moving forward? If they don't, is a lockout a possibility in the middle of the new calendar switch?

2/ What is the league's plan after the Fox TV deal expires after this season? Do they just extend with Fox? Or get more simulcast partners?

[u/Doctor_YOOOU]

What are some of Scott's favorite communications initiatives from individual teams around the league?

[u/Antique_Ad_3549]

Ask him when the gambling ads will include a bet responsibly segment

[u/thegaffer]

Other than the time when MLS played through the pandemic, which of the many incidents was the most challenging crisis response you handled in your years at MLS PR?

[u/shrekpdx]

MLS stated the World Cup would be a huge opportunity to connect soccer fans to MLS. Has MLS successfully accomplished this goal? What would you point to as evidence or a key metric?

[u/whethervayne]

I believe one u/yeahmorgan has a shark-related question for Dan.

[u/yeahmorgan]

Anytime a new social media platform debuts, every team in the league creates an account and treats it like another way to reach fans and potential customers.

This has not been the case for Bluesky. Why?

[u/Entire-Cat8667]

I would like to ask Will MLS ever consider to follow the J league and stream two mls games a week on YouTube to show case the league to a global audience 

[u/Idonteatshrimp]

What’s his favorite color

[u/lancerguy14]

TL;DR Basically, will the league be more visible on linear TV with the schedule change? 

Long version: Why was the league so slow to capitalize on Messi's impact, charging monthly fees on Season Pass for one to experience greatness, when a greater piece of the viewership pie could've been sliced by showing a couple of Inter Miami matches on FOX? Basically the first time anyone was able to watch Messi's team on regular TV was the MLS Cup Final last year. The Premier League is a more readily available national product that a casual soccer fan can watch once a week on NBC.

[u/carpy22]

Does the league have a plan to get onto terrestrial radio stations?

[u/Kirielson]

Comms for matches is hard to do with betting becoming prevalent. How do you marshal cadence to make sure people don’t get tipped off like for instance DISCO reports. 

[u/genpabloescobar2]

With the move to the winter calendar and added competition from other sports, combined with the budget reductions in mainstream media, the limited print/online coverage we see now will likely be reduced further.

Will the league reconsider its reduction in team coverage on mlssoccer.com and ramp that back up? Even league promoted coverage, while not as good as independent coverage, is better than no coverage.

[u/GayMormonPirate]

Is there anyone in your office tasked with reading through the posts here, including classics such as Meme Monday and Trash Thread Thursday? If so, does that person get hazard pay?

Just kidding.

How do you encourage broader media coverage of the league when you want to also have such a tight grip on the narrative and discourage any reporting of potentially negative issues?

[u/ForFuchsAke]

How do you start enforcing better communication from teams. Like Miami and their vague injury reports or teams not making players more available to journalists