Beyond the 90 Podcast

Here are my thoughts on this latest video pod on CBS Sports signing a deal with US Soccer as the exclusive broadcast partner of the US Open Cup.+

A lot to unpack after a busy few days in Florida soccer.

Canada finished third in the CONCACAF Nations League, which was recently completed, but my view is Jesse Marsch has the most talented first XI in the region, though I would concede the overall depth (1-30) of the Canadian player pool doesn’t quite match that of Mexico or the USA. So should they have done better?

Or was it down to some poor officiating?

In this video, I will discuss why the USMNT can’t take a night off or a tournament off when they face opponents from within their own Confederation no matter how big or small they are.

We’re privileged to be joined by USL Senior VP for USL League One, Lee O’Neill to discuss the impact of the Promotion and Relegation announcement on USL League One, local derbies, rivalries, smaller markets and neighborhood clubs.

This was a uniquely insightful discussion!

USL has turned the tables on MLS NP

We cover week 3 of the USL Championship from coast to coast.

The US Men’s National Team fell to Canada in the 3rd place match of the 2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League. The Final Score was 2-1 for Canada. Watch the video and share your thoughts in the comment section.

I admit I for one in 2022 endorsed the MLS deal with AppleTV and believed it would be a boon for the league. But first anecdotal evidence and now the heavy-duty emphasis on it in the business press (places like Bloomberg, the Athletic and Puck News) have put much more focus on not only the lost exposure for MLS but the opportunity costs for its clubs as other leagues, notably NWSL and USL pick up new domestic followers. Not just in terms of national TV and sponsorships but in terms of local linear deals as well.

I should be noted, internationally the Apple deal has given MLS a point-of-access it didn’t have so perhaps it’s sacrificed domestic success for relevance abroad? Either way it’s worth more discussion.

Would love comments on this.

For points of reference, a year ago, I gave this anecdotal evidence and it’s only intensified since then:

* MLS fans have more access to content than ever thanks to Apple and those who subscribe have geeked out creating the sort of culture around MLS that the league long-needed. It’s fostering the sort of healthy day-in, day-out culture that in particular the English football leagues have been able to create among their (mostly suburban or gentrified urban center folks which is similar to some of MLS’ target audience) American fans. This gives MLS a fighting chance against the Premier League among the most committed soccer fans in the nation. To these fans, USL often doesn’t exist or in some cases is beneath them as they tend to focus on the “major league.”

* Casual fans in the US, I note unfortunately have largely checked out of MLS since the Apple deal kicked in. While Messi has been huge for the league globally, his arrival in MLS hasn’t quite had the impact I had hoped among casual Americans fans and ESPN viewers who make up the bulk of sports diehards. Messi doesn’t do the variety shows or the late night talk show circuit the way David Beckham did or even someone like Neymar I suspect would. For many of those I talk to USL is now a viewing option. Last year with USL exclusively on ESPN+ and ESPN2 this didn’t quite play out the way it has this season with USL on average having 2-3 matches a week on CBS’ FAST channel Golazo! Network in addition to broadcasts on CBS over-the-air and CBS Sports Network. Quite honestly, as someone who doesn’t normally watch the Golazo! Network, I did not understand the reach it has particularly among cord-cutters until USL started appearing on the channel. Anecdotally, I know of close to a dozen people who have started following USL this season because it’s on that channel and truthfully that has directly impacted some of the editorial choices we’ve made in what to cover on this platform… Golazo! is free and easy to access via PlutoTV or Paramount+ compared to the relative hoops you have to jump through (and cost) of Apple TV+.

* Multiple soccer professionals who’ve chosen to watch the free matches offered, and not subscribe to Season Pass tell me they have increased their USL consumption since last March. Now this is an important point to note - while I had bought the commentary from MLS proponents that “ no one watches” on FOX and that the numbers on FOX are irrelevant in actually talking to people around the game, I am finding at least among soccer professionals, if a match is on FOX, that subset generally watches on FOX and not Apple. And that subset includes many people who don’t have an MLS Season Pass subscription but choose to take advantage of any free match on FOX - because it’s an easier access point (or perhaps really more comfortable as an access point) for them than even the free matches on Apple.

So what in fact has apparently happened is another application of the law of unintended consequences. Interest and casual viewing of USL has gone up thanks to MLS’ Apple deal- from virtually zero outside of fans of USL clubs in 2022 (sorry, but this is the reality of how many people nationally cared about the USL Championship or League One, two seasons ago when MLS was still on ESPN and ABC) to an unquantifiable number currently, but certainly a tangible one which shows remarkable growth.

My last video on the first round proper of the 2025 US Open Cup, previewing the second round of matches next month.