MLS Season Pass broadcast team expands with 31 new hires
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jan 30, 2023
A second round of on-air personalities has been named for the MLS Season Pass broadcast team Apple and Major League Soccer are assembling for the new venture that launches on Wednesday.
The new hires include many names familiar to MLS fans ...
• Play-by-play: Dre Cordero, Keith Costigan, Matt Cullen (French), Kevin Egan, Mark Followill, Adrian Garcia Marquez (Spanish), Adrian Healey, Eric Krakauer, Jorge Perez-Navarro (Spanish), Francisco X. Rivera (Spanish), Mark Rogondino, Sergio Ruiz (Spanish), Tyler Terens, Callum Williams.
• Match analysts: Patrice Bernier (French), Eduardo Biscayart (Spanish), Brian Dunseth, Danny Higginbotham, Cobi Jones, Devon Kerr, Jaime Macias (Spanish), Francisco Pinto (Spanish), Heath Pearce, Lloyd Sam, Ross Smith, Carlos Suarez (Spanish), Jamie Watson.
• Studio hosts: Stefano Fusaro (Spanish), Kaylyn Kyle.
• Studio analyst: Shep Messing.
• Rules analyst: Christina Unkel.
The first slate of 17 broadcasters who will work on MLS Season Pass was announced on Jan. 10.
MLS's new subscription service will carry every MLS game and broadcast them around the world without blackouts. Apple and MLS will carry every MLS game in English and Spanish, requiring them to hire play-by-play and color announcers to cover the 14 games that will be played most weekends (most of Saturdays). In addition, French broadcast teams will cover each of the three Canadian teams.
All announcers will work on-site. Each game will include pre- and post-game shows. Each matchday will feature a whip-around show to cover the Saturday evening window. Most games will kick off at 7:30 p.m. local time.
The 2023 season kicks off on Feb. 25 with 13 games.
Good Lord, I just read those names of the game analysts...You've got to be kidding. Maybe we need do to a NASL type of move, that pertains to bringing over WHOLESALE good game analysts from Europe, made up of retired greats to give some real game insights...
We are still 50years behind in quality game analysis....Since I don't to watch MLS soccer as steady diet, but if I did watch , I would turn off the volume and listen some 'heavy metal, Yardbirds, Led Zep, Animals, Hendrix....etc.
Blues is more appropriate.
Bob, they all come from the Blues, but I do listen to John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Lightning Hopkins and that crowd. I also like listening to one of my favorite albums by Love, "Forever Changes' and Spirit, Kinks ,Stones and Jethro Tull... :)
Only when I was older and learned more about music (I was a drummer) did I suddenly realize that all my favorite bands were blues-based.
Before I only knew what I liked to hear and didn't see any connection.
What I am listening to today is Queen, Santana, R&B, CCR, Gloria Estefan, Selena/Jennifer Lopez, Santana, and Motown. (Also Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Fur Elise.)
I am going to load Black Magic Woman, Midnight Special, and Conga right now!
That's great Bob, drumming. Watch Gene Krupa , Buddy Rich and Ginger Baker of Cream, hell of a drummer. He went to Africa and lived with a tribe and learned a beat ,an extra beat not known in the west, but that's why Cream was a great band with Eric Clapton. I think our taste in music is very similar. Love Motown,Marving Gay, and all those groups...You know what is so cool about our Generation, although I'm a little older than you and Ships but not by much, is that we grew up having inexperienced the beginnings and morphings of rock and roll all the way up to the present and also having the experience of modern soccer of the past 50years...So many of our SA posters have never seen some of the great stars play...
It is funny but the most popular song when I was going to college was Loui Loui, then it morphed into 'Satisfaction' and for me now it is "Give me Shelter' by the Stones..
I actually got in to the blues in mid60's when I began to read who wrote many of the Stones songs, as well songs by other English groups. Although , I have to admit in the 60's, I was listening to black stations while at the pool during the summer time and people would change the station back to white format. But I think in the late mid60's I was listening to nothing but soul stations that play soul music and I still do when I find it.
Will be amazing having Cobi Jones do game analysis for LAFC games. I'm sure their fans will love it!
I will miss our San Jose Earthquakes telecast team.
Oh man...the best part of Charlotte FC (everything included) was Jessica Charman. I was amazed the first time i heard her...she was fantastic. I hope that she finds a great landing spot. Apple TV is missing the boat if they don't hire her.