TV Deal: Local Fans Put Back Together

Columbus Crew SC announced improvements to their TV deal last week. The big takeaway? Fans in the 75-mile radius around the team will be able to watch the team without a subscription to Time Warner Cable (TWC).

The change makes right a very clear wrong done to fans. Two years ago outgoing GM Mark McCullers put the exclusive rights deal with TWC. It was one of these things that broke out of local coverage and went national in how it locked out fans.

Making matters worse - instead of working with fans upset and not able to watch their favorite team, Crew officials went on the attack. Fans (along with writers, bloggers) were told that the deal was great and to stop being critical.

Ultimately, contract architect McCullers was shuffled out months ahead of time and the team and fans took their medicine for two years. Until this past week.

For fans, the deal was evil - no doubt. But was is all the way awful for the Crew? Was what happened any different than other markets? McCullers wasn't trying to be a jerk to fans, he was just doing what sports teams do to become the all powerful entities they are today.

The NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL didn't become what they are by being "fan friendly." They do it by trying to convert you into their own personal ATM machine. Have you stepped back and took a critical look at things recently? In fact, The deal the Crew made with TWC was not all that different from what the LA Lakers, one of the largest sports franchises in the world, have with the cable giant.

We'll see how things work out for the team this year. Will a measurable percentage of fans stay home to watch the games instead of fill the stadium like late season last year? After all, that is one of the reasonings behind a blackout deal. Will fans bother to watch on TV or will the numbers be about the same? Remember; Non-nationally televised MLS is strange in that more fans are at the game than watch on TV.

Looking back, the biggest mistake the Crew made wasn't the actual deal. It was the way the reacted to fan complaints. Fans don't like to be told how to feel, especially in an aggressive fashion.

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(I hope they refrain from herding fans towards what to do / how to feel in an icky passive fashion as well.)

This is how we imagine #CrewSC Season Ticket Members reacting to getting their cards in the mail this week... pic.twitter.com/LnvAWVbJ9U

— Columbus Crew SC (@ColumbusCrewSC) February 17, 2016

The Advocate's Devil

There are moments in time, moments when the rampaging crowd is armed, liquored-up and encouraged by a modicum of righteous indignation, that scream out for some poor misguided soul to step directly into the path of the blood-sacrifice seeking horde. I come in peace. Please don't kill me.

Recent events regarding The Columbus Crew have conspired to turn the (usually cynical-at-worst) Crew fan base into a mob of Twitter, Facebook and blog posting demons. The vitriol spewed throughout social media, vitriol aimed at The Crew and Time Warner Cable, is certainly merited in many regards. Yet, if recent events: TV contracts, a new owner, a new coach and a seemingly more competitive and enjoyable team to watch on the field are viewed without seething hate and anger, very interesting mid and long term implications for The Columbus Crew, their fans and their partners can be seen.

The most obvious of these "implications" is The Columbus Crew having a television broadcast partner who is just as interested in seeing the team succeed as the organization itself. Pre and post game shows, multiple replays of each Black and Gold game and a regional marketing push can only be a good thing. A multi-year contract lends depth to the above facts.

A less obvious advantage to our Crew is what Time Warner Cable buying the broadcasting rights means to TWC, besides the hoped for profits. They are a business, right?

To make the purchase of broadcasting rights a net positive, TWC must find ways to leverage The Crew brand and draw more customers to their service. It goes without saying that soccer is at the core of this broadcast partnership; so, soccer must be at the core of all efforts to leverage The Columbus Crew brand.

Put down your pitchforks, Uzi's and hyper Twittering fingers for a moment and think about some of the things that TWC could do with, and alongside, The Crew game broadcasts. The list grows rather quickly.

How about a high school game of the week sponsored by TWC, The Crew, Barbasol, etc?

How about Ohio's College Game of the Week?

What about the new Dayton affiliate?

Perhaps broadcasts of the highest level youth club matches. Say...U16 and above age groups, things like state cup semi's and final, Crew Academy games, there are loads of potential matches.

Add to those local possibilities other desirable national and international soccer related opportunities, and Time Warner Cable in Columbus, Ohio and the region has a very real chance to create a unique space within their portfolio of channels. This "unique space" would be attractive to thousands, if not tens of thousands, of potential new customers, as well as TWC's existing base.

The above thoughts are of little solace to the many Crew fans who are currently missing out on watching The Black and Gold on TV. And indeed, Time Warner Cable may not have the slightest intention of doing any of those things. Undeniably though, a creative, forward looking company will have already begun to plan how to leverage the purchase of broadcast rights to our Columbus Crew. If TWC executives are creative and forward looking they will have already come up with these and many more ideas.

I cannot speak for the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans reading this blog; but, I do believe that many of you would switch to Time Warner Cable if the company leverages The Crew brand and the popularity of soccer across all demographics. Crew fans, The Crew and TWC would end up singing Kumbaya down by the Scioto River in the intimate 35,000 seat Crew Brew District Stadium, on Saturday nights, as the sun sinks in the west and The Black and Gold destroy the latest in a long line of over-hyped, over-priced, no-talent City's, United's, Galaxy's and FC's.