FSC Drops the Ball – AC Milan/LA Galaxy Friendly to be Shown on Tape, NOT Live

As I begin writing, the AC Milan v. LA Galaxy friendly match is entering the 59th minute.  A lot of you probably don’t know that, simply because you can’t see the match.  There are feeds available, which is how I’m watching the game, but I am not exactly having the most enjoyable time.  The feed I have is choppy at best, and it wasn’t easy to find.  To make matters worse, the MLS match tracker is nearly ten minutes behind the actualy match time.  Given that this is a match between the marqee club in MLS (whether you like that or not) and Italian giants AC Milan, why isn’t this match on live TV outside of the LA area?

The fact that Fox Sports West, the local Fox Sports station for LA and the rest of the West Coast, is broadcasting the game live has me quite confused.  Given that FSW and Fox Soccer Channel are essentially the same company, why isn’t this match being broadcast nationally?  A quick check of the schedule showed FSC was running Fox Soccer Report from 10 to 11 P.M. followed by a replay of WPS Sunday, Sky Blue FC v. Chicago Red Stars.  I’d like someone from FSC to explain the logic behind that one for me.

What makes the concept even harder to swallow is that Fox Soccer Channel will be showing the match tomorrow night at 8 P.M.  While I understand that the late start time makes the ratings for any live match difficult to come by, it can’t be much worse than the lineup FSC went with.  With that in mind, would the 8 P.M. on a Monday ratings really take that much of a hit?  I can’t stand watching a match where I already know the outcome, so I wouldn’t have been watching tomorrow.  What’s the point?  If I want to see the goals, I’ll just hit up YouTube tomorrow morning.

I’ve been one of ESPN’s biggest critics recently, and have often used FSC as my shining example of a company that gets it.  Now I find myself doubting that, albeit just a little bit.  My fellow livebloggers over at the 24th Minute would have you believe that this decision is largely due to the death of Beckhamania.  While that may be a factor, I can’t help but believe that it is minor.  Beckham is still a big draw in MLS, even if the numbers are smaller than they were before.  AC Milan is an even bigger draw than Beckham.  It simply makes sense to carry the match live.

If I come of slightly confused, that’s because I am.  Carrying this match live just plain makes sense.  Rights issues weren’t in the way, as far as I know.  Perhaps this match being the throw-in piece to Beckham’s loan extension left MLS in the awkward position of not wanting to publicize it, but I highly doubt that.  Just about all publicity is good for MLS right now.  So why didn’t they make sure this game could be seen by more people?

Since you probably missed the match, I won’t spoil the outcome.  Enjoy the FSC “rebroadcast!”