NASN soccer radio network expands with 'MLS Tonight'

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Feb 27, 2013

By Paul Kennedy

So what do you want to do when you grow up?

Trevor Hayward started his own soccer radio network. The 25-year-old New Yorker launched the North American Soccer Network, an Internet soccer broadcasting network, in 2011 and NASN Radio, the first 24-hour American soccer radio channel.

"I saw a huge need for media coverage of American soccer in particular," says Hayward, who has a background in audio and video technology and worked in the music industry. "There were some podcasts out there, but it was a new technology. There was no cohesive, independent network."

NASN, says Hayward, is a place for soccer fans to have a radio network of their own, "call-in shows, discussion shows, which didn't really exist."

NASN is building on the success of such shows as "The Best Soccer Show" with the launch of "MLS Tonight," a four-hour show 8 p.m.-midnight ET every Saturday night during the MLS season.

The show will consist of four one-hour blocks with a pair of hosts for each segment. The segments will feature news and analysis and in-stadium reporting, as well as listener call-ins and interaction. Hosts will include Jason Davis and Jared DuBois, hosts of the "The Best Soccer Show," and Garret Cleverly and Jon Arnold, hosts of "MLS in 30."

NASN Radio has expanded rapidly, but Hayward would still like to have shows on every MLS club and expand live programming from its current total of 14 hours a week.

According to Hayward, who says MLS has very very supportive of NASN's endeavor, the network's 2013 SuperDraft coverage and USA-Guatemala World Cup qualifying coverage have drawn the largest audiences. For the latter, coverage attracted 30,000 listeners and viewers.

NASN isn't the only soccer radio network out there. SiriusXM FC was launched in 2012, but it's a subscription-based model.

Hayward says his goal is to build a better ecosphere for soccer fans and get the content right. He hopes to find title sponsors for each of the shows, plus network sponsors.

NASN podcasts are available on iTunes, and the radio network is available on mobile devices via Stitcher and TuneIn. NASN has developed a free iPhone and Android app for radio listeners that should be able to download shortly on the Apple App Store and on Google Play Store.

The app will allow listeners to download or stream all NASN audio podcasts, read the latest network news, view a schedule of upcoming live broadcasts and stream all NASN video podcasts in the app.
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