D.C. United latest MLS club to sign local streaming deal

D.C. United believes FloSports will provide fans with deeper access and more storytelling beyond star player Wayne Rooney. Photo: getty images D.C. United believes FloSports will provide fans with deeper access and more storytelling beyond star player Wayne Rooney. Photo: getty images D.C. United believes FloSports will provide fans with deeper access and more storytelling beyond star player Wayne Rooney. Photo: getty images

D.C. United has become the latest MLS club to cut the cord locally, after it signed a four-year deal with FloSports last week that gives the Austin, Texas-based streaming service exclusive rights to the team’s local game broadcasts.

FloSports’ newly launched soccer platform, FloFC, will be the only place for local fans to watch 21 of D.C. United’s 34 regular-season matches next season; the other 13 will appear across MLS’s national television partners. FloSports will have both English- and Spanish-language broadcasts, the latter of which the club has not had in recent years.

The deal follows a slew of local streaming agreements signed by MLS clubs in the past year (see chart). Previously, D.C. United had a deal with Sinclair, with games appearing on a local ABC affiliate that it signed in 2016. The team also previously spent 19 years on NBC Sports Washington.

Chicago Fire Platform: ESPN+ Term: 3 years Rights: Exclusive media partner (all mediums, all languages) LAFC Platform: YouTube TV Term: Multiyear Rights: Exclusive English-language media partner (all mediums); club retained Spanish-language TV rights Orlando City SC Platform: YouTube TV Term: Multiyear Rights: Exclusive English-language streaming partner; club retained local TV rights Real Salt Lake Platform: KSL Term: Multiyear Rights: Exclusive English-language streaming partner; club retained local TV rights Seattle Sounders Platform: YouTube TV Term: Multiyear Rights: Exclusive English-language streaming partner; club retained local TV rights

Seth Bacon, MLS senior vice president of media, said that for these deals, “the litmus test is the impact on the fans — would it be better for the fans?” he said. “After talking with FloSports and hearing their plan for more storytelling and providing deeper access than fans will have had before, we think it will be really positive.”

D.C. United, which opened Audi Field last season, feels the deal is a pathway to galvanizing its fan base.

“When you look at clubs that have success, there is a deeper connection between them and fans — a lot of that comes from the content outside of the matches that showcases the culture of the team,” said Sam Porter, the team’s senior vice president of business and legal affairs. “FloSports has a passion and commitment to really tell the D.C. United story while providing access that fans haven’t had before.”

While the plans are still being finalized, that is likely to include pre- and postgame coverage, footage from training sessions, and in-depth, behind-the-scenes access to coaches and players beyond just star forward Wayne Rooney. It is expected that the subscription cost to D.C. United season-ticket holders and supporter group members will be $6 a month, with others paying $8.99.

The deal will also bring another first for the club — a rights fee tied to its local TV rights. While Bacon, Porter and Mike Levy, the VP of global rights acquisitions at FloSports, would not comment on the financial terms of the arrangement, industry sources said that it was worth more than $13 million to the club over the four-year commitment.