Knowles: USL Clubs Go for Local TV

Two USL Championship clubs announced in the last few weeks that they have signed deals with local television networks to broadcast their games. Phoenix Rising and The Miami FC both agreed partnerships to put them on cable TV, with the Rising announcing their deal on January 25th and The Miami making their announcement on February 10th. These two deals appear to run through 2025 and the 2023 season, respectively. Each club hopes it will expand the team’s footprint in their local area. 

Phoenix Rising’s deal is the longer lasting of the two recent announcements. The club struck a partnership with Arizona’s Family, a network that serves the city of Phoenix and its surrounding conurbation. According to the press release, a new Sports and Entertainment Network under the Family banner will broadcast 28 Rising games live. Six of these matches will also be shown on the Family-owned local news stations, KTVK and KPHO. With even basic cable covered in this deal, the reach of USL soccer is growing to new households, and hopefully new fans.

Beyond the live coverage, included in the press release was the news that special games from Phoenix’s first six years will be replayed on the channel frequently. This could possibly be as important for building the club’s fan base: while access to live games is key, the ability for people to get a context for the sport in Phoenix is huge. Every replay of a historic match provides that to fans who might be new to soccer or just new to the area. Rising is a regular playoff competitor and supporting a team that wins in your own backyard could appeal to many fans. Past storylines along with in-season coverage helps people understand the value of returning players, rivals across the league, and which matchups have been hard for a club in recent seasons.

Arizona’s Family is a Gray Media Group station. Gray Television is a publicly traded company based in Atlanta, Georgia. KTVK specifically was a previous ABC-affiliate based in Phoenix, which has since become independent. KPHO is still the local CBS-affiliate, despite its current ownership group. Gray Television also owns a local channel, KPHE, affiliated with the Spanish-language LATV network; although, no mention of a Spanish-language broadcast was included in the press release from Phoenix Rising. 

Turning our attention to South Florida, The Miami’s press release announced a partnership with CBS Miami. The local channel also covers Miami Dolphins games among its sports broadcasts. The Miami’s statement included that “the majority of… home and away matches” will be available both on the station WBFS and via streaming on their website, CBSMiami.com. Alongside this information, the club and station announced their broadcasters for live games: the team includes Ricky Lopez-Espin on color commentary, David Gascon on play-by-play, and Lauren Markwith as the sideline reporter.

Ricky Lopez-Espin highlights this announcement. He has covered the USL Championship for ESPN on their usual streaming arm, ESPN+. This writer has more than once mistaken him for highly esteemed commentator Devon Kerr, also previously of ESPN+, but who has recently moved onto AppleTV’s new Major League Soccer broadcast team. Lopez-Espin brings a wealth of knowledge from his soccer career, during which he played for the Creighton Bluejays in college, and professionally for Real Salt Lake in MLS and Fort Lauderdale in the USL League 1. It should also be noted for our purposes that the Miami-native had a stint with the Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 team during his college offseason in 2017. 

David Gascon has a more diverse sporting background, covering many competitions for multiple outlets. Lauren Markwith played soccer for the University of Miami in college before representing Guatemala internationally. She has also done previous broadcast work, offering analysis for the NWSL, ACC Network, Inter Miami, and the Washington Spirit, according to the press release. As noted in the copy, Miami’s “longest-tenured” soccer team should have an engaging group of presenters for their games on local television. 

While all USL Championship matches are available via streaming with a subscription to ESPN+, no information is immediately available on the Tampa Bay Rowdies website regarding local television coverage. Games have previously been shown on the Hearst Television stations MOR-TV, thisTV Tampa Bay, and estrellaTV Tampa Bay. Fans of the Green and Gold in the Tampa Bay area will need to purchase an ESPN+ subscription to have access to all the home and away games if they are interested in watching live. 

Having an option for fans without a subscription to a particular streaming service could be a crucial step to building your local followers. While some people feel they are being asked to buy into too many different subscriptions as it is, others simply don’t know how to navigate the new streaming landscape many of us find ourselves in. Older people in particular may not be savvy enough to work a device that would have them scroll through apps instead of the channels they grew up with. Lower league teams have one job whose import is above all else: expand the fan base. More fans means more people that will think of the Rowdies when they want to watch live soccer, have grandkids in town, or just have a free weekend. 

It’s unfortunate that we appear to be in a middle period between cable and streaming where some people have access to one, while others have access to another, and fewer have access to both all the time. This certainly creates headaches for those whose business is getting their sports franchise in front of new eyes. Inevitably, leaving off one option will mean excluding some number of potential fans. It should be a priority to make sure this gap in coverage is filled quickly.

In the locales of Phoenix and Miami, gathering at a friend’s house for the Big Game will no longer be an exclusive right of the Big Four sports in America. Soccer has come to town and whether they’re home or away, whether you have tickets or not, whether you stream or have cable, you can watch it live. Those in lower leagues especially should leave no stone unturned in their search for new supporters of all ages, and the Rowdies must get themselves back on TV.