MLS commissioner Don Garber has been watching the U.S. Open Cup, and he’s not at all happy with what he’s seen.
Speaking at a U.S. Soccer board meeting on Friday, Garber was up front about his disappointment with the presentation of this year’s Open Cup.
“From our perspective, it is a very poor reflection on what it is that we’re trying to do with soccer at the highest level,” said Garber. “Some of the games that we’ve been playing in are on sub-par fields. I would say that they’re not games that we would want our product to be shown to a large audience. So frankly, I’m not all that disappointed that the audience is small.”
Garber also repeated a very common complaint seen online heading into Open Cup match days.
“The games are hard to find,” said Garber of a tournament whose games have been broadcast on a hodgepodge of Bleacher Report Football, CBS Sports’ Golazo Network or U.S. Soccer links on YouTube, team-run streams on Eleven Sports or club websites (and in some cases, radio only). “I’m telling you as an actual viewer, the reaction from our ownership, from our team presidents and even our fans in terms of being able to find the games.”
Garber concluded with a blunt assessment. “I appreciate the enthusiasm about it, but we need to get better with the U.S. Open Cup. It’s just not the proper reflection of what soccer in America at the professional level needs to be.”
USSF chief commercial officer David Wright, who was presenting updates on the Open Cup to the board, acknowledged that U.S. Soccer’s oldest tournament needs work.
“I think we concur,” said Wright. “We understand that the Open Cup is not where we all want it to be, and we’re committed to getting there. It also takes resources… it is a natural opportunity to take a step back now, particularly that we’ve got a renewed interest from media partners, which I think is a critical component to this.”
Broadcast troubles grew in 2023
In most of its recent history, the Open Cup has been difficult to follow. However, last year’s tournament saw every game available to stream on ESPN+, alleviating two of the main issues fans and stakeholders have had this year. While some streams didn’t include enough cameras or ideal viewing angles, it still represented a high water mark for the Open Cup.
U.S. Soccer’s broadcast deal with ESPN ended this winter, however, and the federation’s new partnership with Turner Sports saw a move away from that straightforward broadcasting model. Issues over where to find the games should be alleviated to some degree in the upcoming round of 32, with U.S. Soccer confirming that all 16 games will be streamed either through Bleacher Report Football, CBS Sports Golazo Network, or U.S. Soccer-run broadcasts.
However, in the first three rounds — which represent the bulk of the Open Cup’s games — Turner selected just eight games from each round for Bleacher Report Football broadcasts, leaving significant gaps in coverage. Teams have often been left to figure out a solution, which in some cases have been borderline incomprehensible or were otherwise too glitchy to follow with ease.
Wright’s presentation contained some positive news. Broadcast issues notwithstanding, the Open Cup has shown some remarkable growth, with a 178% year-over-year increase in unique viewers during the first three rounds of the tournament.
David Wright provides updates on the @opencup including significant increase in engagement, value, and upcoming inaugural Open Cup Summit. pic.twitter.com/sW2MzUVyjs
— U.S. Soccer Comms (@ussoccer_comms) May 5, 2023
U.S. Soccer plans on holding a U.S. Open Cup summit this summer with the stated aim of improving the event while maintaining that growth. Broadcasting issues — whether in terms of best practices, proper resources, or finding a dedicated partner to focus on the tournament from start to finish — figure to be top of the to-do list.
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