[MY VIEW] Fox made a preemptive strike to garner the English-language World Cup rights from FIFA away from ESPN in a deal more than four times greater thanESPN’s current deal with FIFA and more than 10 times the deal SUM, MLS’s marketing arm, struck to ensure that the English-language rights went to ESPN in 2002 and 2006. Fox’s move drew immediateconsternation from many fans concerned about what it would mean to MLS and how soccer will generally be treated on American television.

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