Commentary

MLS Direct Kick kicks off with free previews

By Paul Kennedy

Major League Soccer’s Direct Kick television package will be available March 2-9 for free on its three providers -- DirecTV, Dish and In Demand -- covering the first 15 games of the 2013 season.

The season-long package will again be available for $79, the same price as last year. Fans can watch up to 236 MLS regular-season matches and select playoff games (subject to local blackout restrictions) during the 2013 season. For the first time, the cable package will include same-day replays for those who have missed games. Commercial establishments can purchase the package for a flat rate of $100.

All 323 games of the 2013 season will be available between the MLS Direct Kick package and national broadcast partners ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, NBC Sports Network, NBC, UniMas, Univision and Univision Deportes.

BRICK HOUSE PUSH. Indianapolis’ NASL expansion team has received more than 2,000 season-ticket deposits for its 2014 start, Indy Pro Soccer President Peter Wilt will hold a series of events to continue the push to build the biggest and most supportive fan base in the League. On March 7, Indy Pro Soccer and Slaughterhouse-19 BYB, an affiliate of the Brickyard Battalion supporters group, will co-host the first “Build the Brick House Party” at the Stacked Pickle. Slaughterhouse-19 BYB will be registering new members, and the team will be taking $25 per season-ticket deposits to all sections including the Brick House, the supporters section at Carroll Stadium on the campus of IUPUI.

RED BULLS' RADIO DEAL. All New York Red Bulls games will air live in Spanish on ESPN Deportes Radio Nueva York 1050 AM. The transmissions will have 30-minute pre- and post-game shows. M&E Productions owns the club's Spanish-language rights. Robert Sierra will lead the Red Bulls coverage along with Jorge Clara.

WORTH VIEWING. MLSSoccer.com's redesign prompted XI Quarterly's Mike Rodriguez to examine the league's website through the years from its launch in 1997 as MLSNet.com to its new version -- the eighth in 17 years. (It wasn't until 2010 that it adopted its current name.)
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1 comment about "MLS Direct Kick kicks off with free previews".
  1. Ivan Mark Radhakrishnan, February 28, 2013 at 4:32 a.m.

    THE MARKETING OF SOCCER-AMERICA IS ATROCIOUS! / Adding ‘free-previews’ to $79 and $100 viewing simply makes Television Audiences even more suspicious of the Product! / Please, Adopt The Single League Table Qualifying System for Soccer-America’s Development and Marketing and change the – if you must splash the cash – buy-in to SMART INNOVATION including The FIRST GOAL RULE / the New Points System. YES! WINNING Clubs will earn 3.5 or 3.O Points! YES! Losing Clubs will earn 1.5 or 1.O Points! YES! Clubs in a SCORE-DRAW will earn 1.5 and 1.O Points! And, YES! Both Clubs playing-out a ‘safe’ and kind-of FIXED NO-SCORE DRAW will get ZERO POINTS! This is how SMART SOCCER IS DEVELOPED AND MARKETED. The only thing ‘free’ is a FIXED NO-SCORE DRAW. After that EVERYTHING IS HIGHLY-CHARGED AND CHARGED FOR!

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