Soccer has never been an easy sell in the States, although the MSL has been making steady progress. But it’s still an also ran compared with baseball, American football, basketball, [ice] hockey and even golf.
Soccer has never been an easy sell in the States, although the MSL has been making steady progress. But it’s still an also ran compared with baseball, American football, basketball, [ice] hockey and even golf.
So how does on sell the World Cup given that the US may not get beyond the group stages and the games will not be available in prime time? The time zone in South Africa is six hours ahead of the US East Coast, meaning games are in the daytime. Even so, ESPN is confirming its long-term investment in the game by giving the World Cup more than 85 hours of programming beyond games, more than triple what it aired in 2006. It’s all using 300 staffers in South Africa, doubling the number in Germany. Unlike 2006, no games will be done by voice overs from its base in Conneticut. One driver for ESPN is that it is using the Cup as a launch pad for its new 3-D channel.
ESPN argues that American exceptionalism on soccer will eventually be overcome. Such a dominant global sport is bound to percolate into the US. I’m just back from a trip to the US and I am always reminded of the subtle differences, even in language. Top audience shares in 2006 were 3.1 per cent of all US households on ABC for ‘marquee’ games. Of course, 3 per cent of US households is still a lot of people.
ESPN’s inevitability argument is somehwat undermined by the fact that it is not going to use US commentators (sometimes mocked on the internet) but will mainly use foreign voices. This perhaps suggests that soccer appeals most in the US to immigrants or expats, whether they are Anglos or Hispanics. At college level, it is often seen as way of meeting legal requirements that offer equal sports opportunities and facilities to women.
If the US progreses in the competition, that might stir up more interest. But that wouldn’t necessarily be in the interests of the English team.