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| MLS Primetime Thursday | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Starring | JP Dellacamera Rob Stone Glenn Davis John Harkes Kyle Martino Allen Hopkins Alexi Lalas Tommy Smyth Julie Foudy |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 2 hours (2.5 hours select games) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ESPN2 (2007–2008) |
| Release | 2007 (2007) – 2008 (2008) |
MLS Primetime Thursday was the weekly presentation ofMajor League Soccer games onESPN2 for the2007 and2008 seasons. The program was presented byAdidas.
ESPN and MLS had previously had a contract whereESPN2 televised live games, usually on Saturday afternoons. Under the arrangement, no rights fee was paid, and MLS controlled production, advertising, and promotion.[1] Time slots varied under the deal, secured bySoccer United Marketing's providing of rights to theFIFA World Cup.[2]
For the 2007 season, an eight-year deal was signed with an $8 million rights fee. ESPN added several features in an attempt to improve presentation—high-definition broadcasts, a sky-cam for some matches, a virtual offside line, a ball tracer, a sideline reporter, and three commentators. For the inaugural season,2006 FIFA World Cup announcersDave O'Brien andEric Wynalda served as play-by-play and analyst, respectively, withAllen Hopkins serving as thesideline reporter.[3]Tommy Smyth was later added as a co-analyst.[4]Glenn Davis andRob Stone filled in for O'Brien on occasion.[5]
For the 2008 season,JP Dellacamera andJohn Harkes replaced O'Brien and Wynalda as the lead team[6] with Davis, Smyth, andJulie Foudy occasionally filling in.
Following the 2008 season, ESPN discontinued the Thursday programming, citing lagging ratings[7][8] and hoping to find better lead-in programming. It was replaced by theMLS Game of the Week, which rotated among a variety of nights and time slots.[9]
After averaging 223,000 viewers during the 2006 season,[1] ratings increased slightly in 2007, to 289,000 viewers, including a regular-season high of 658,000 viewers forDavid Beckham's second regular season match. However, ratings dipped to 253,000 in 2008. Attendance often lagged, with few sellouts for the weeknight matches,[10] with marquee clubLos Angeles Galaxy unable to host home matches at theHome Depot Center on Thursdays due to its agreement withCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills.
| Preceded by | ESPN2 Major League Soccer MLS Primetime Thursday 2007-2008 | Succeeded by |
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Owners:Walt Disney Company (80%);Hearst Communications (20%) | |||||||||||||||||||