-"Helping to Bring The World's Sport to American Shores"
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"My Nielsen Rating" Campaign by Soccertes Nielsen Ratings. Those are two words that always send a shiver down my spine. Only a non-soccer fan in America can blindly and unwisely ask, "Why?" My answer lies in the very definition of a Nielsen Rating. It is the thorn in MLS� side; the cross that MLS must bare; the bolder that MLS is carrying on its uphill climb to respectability and a spot in the American sports landscape. At the end of this season MLS� deal with ESPN and ESPN2 expires. MLS Commissioner Don Garber is fighting an uphill battle to renew a contract with the television networks that is as good if not better than the one it has now. In 1996 and 1997 MLS had to buy its airtime on the ESPN networks. Under its current arrangement the costs and revenues are shared between the league and television networks. Now it seems that do to the low ratings that MLS games have attained, the television networks are considering everything from having MLS once again buy its air time, to reducing coverage of MLS games, if not dropping coverage all together. While MLS ratings have increased a modest 4.2% on ESPN2 and 11.1% on Telemundo, the drop in MLS ratings on ESPN (-20.4%) is enough to make the television networks cautious on televising future MLS games. Soccer, and specifically MLS, has never been befriended by the average American or by the American media. Last year ABC decided to reduce MLS coverage to just 2 games; MLS Cup and the All-Start game. This year Garber has expressed displeasure in how the Spanish-language station Telemundo treats our MLS. "I will forever be frustrated by the treatment we receive from our broadcasters on Telemundo," says Garber. "... I find it frustrating, and it makes me pretty angry, that we have a relationship with a broadcaster that allows its on-air folks to trash us" MLS and Telemundo will also be discussing the renewal of their contract at the end of this year. So why am I mentioning all this? We�re fans of MLS. We want to see it succeed. We want to see soccer grow as a professional sport in this country. We want soccer to be respected by the American media and our soccer-bashing neighbors. Unfortunately, buying tickets to games may not be enough and we are slowly seeing our soccer coverage diminish, little by little. We need to go a step further, especially now. We need to show the American media just how many soccer fans, and more importantly MLS fans, exist in this country. I don�t know anybody who has a Nielsen Box. Every time my friends or I watch an MLS game, our vote to the television networks, letting them know that we follow MLS, is never noticed. This is why I�m proposing that we, as fans of MLS, start a new campaign. We�ll call it "My Nielsen Rating" Campaign. There are two parts to this campaign. It may come easy to some and it may be tedious for others. But this campaign will show what kind of fans we really are and it will show the media what MLS fans are really made of. Now before you roll your eyes and say, "Oh God, not another one!" Please read the whole article. The first part of this campaign calls for us to each write a letter to the television networks such as ESPN, Telemundo, ABC, and Fox Sports. Entitle this letter "My Nielsen Rating." This letter should basically say that though we do not have a Nielsen Box, we want the television networks and the sponsors that advertise on their stations to know that we watch the MLS games that they televise. We appreciate their coverage of MLS and we will continue to watch the MLS games they cover. This letter should be typed and signed. It only needs to be written once. Make multiple copies of this letter keeping the same message and only changing the name of the station to which you are sending it. Give the television networks something tangible. Some hard proofs that there is an MLS fan out there watching the games being televised on their network. The fact that a fan took the time to write a letter and mail it to a network speaks highly of its content and importance. A letter is more powerful than 10 emails. So send the letter to the networks and let your voice be heard and your vote count. The second part of this campaign calls for us to send an email each time an MLS game is televised to the television network that has televised it. This does not have to be hard and can take only 5 minutes of our day. The hardest part is coming up with the original message; the initial email notifying the television station that you watched the game and thanking them for their continued coverage of MLS. Again, in the Subject type "My Nielsen Rating." And let them know that you do not have a Nielsen Box, but you want them to know that you watched their coverage of MLS. Put some thought and meaning into your email. Save it as a word document and everyday after a game is televised on a station, copy and paste that document into an email and send it to the station. This will not have the same effect as a written letter being sent to the station itself, but it�s our way of not letting the TV stations forget about us. Please do this on a consistent basis. I know. There�s nothing original about any of this. This sending of letters and emails to TV stations has been mentioned many times before on all message boards and MLS supporter web sites. At the risk of beating an issue into the ground I will bring up this matter again because I feel this is something important that all MLS fans must do together and we must do it now, before the season is over and TV contract negotiations have ended. This is one time that Don Garber and MLS could really use our help. We, the fans, can amplify Garber�s voice and empower his negotiations; We can be the angels in his corner as he fights for a television contract. I truly believe that there are more soccer fans out there that don�t have a Nielsen Box than those that do. Because of that I�m sick of seeing that my vote for MLS coverage is never noted and never counted. But most of all I�m sick of seeing Fly-Fishing and the Rodeo winning TV spots on ESPN over MLS games! Below I�ve inserted a sample letter and email that we can send to stations to let them know of our support for Major League Soccer. I know I�m not the most eloquent and motivational writer around, and I�m sure that there are people out there that can write better than I can, but I hope this letter and email sample can give you an idea and help you write your own letters/emails. Feel free to use the same letter/email I wrote, but I suggest you modify it somewhat to include your own personal thoughts and feelings. LETTER: RE: My Nielsen Rating Dear__________ First let me thank you in advance for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read this letter. As a fan of soccer, and most importantly Major League Soccer, I would like to convey my appreciation for (STATION�S) coverage of MLS games. I watch your televised games every chance I get and I especially make it a point to never miss a (ENTER YOUR LOCAL TEAM) game. Unfortunately since I don�t have a Nielsen Box my vote in favor of televised MLS games is never noted by (ENTER STATION). That is why I�m writing this letter to you today. This letter represents my Nielsen Rating toward your MLS coverage. It is to serve as evidence that there is an MLS fan out there, that you were never aware of, that�s watching (STATION) when you�re televising an MLS game. As you may already know, soccer is the World�s sport followed by billions of people across the globe. It is the biggest youth sport in the US and it is the fastest growing sport among our youths! With the existence of Major League Soccer and the Women�s United Soccer Association one can easily see how professional soccer is one of the fastest growing pro sports in America. Realizing these facts I hope that (STATION) will continue to broadcast soccer, especially MLS games, on its station. Your commitment to the coverage of this great sport and Major League Soccer is noted by the thousands of soccer fans that do not have a Nielsen Box, and I am one of them. I will continue to rely on (STATION) for my soccer coverage and I thank you and your sponsors bringing soccer into my home every week. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this letter and thank you for your continued coverage of soccer events and MLS games. Sincerely, EMAIL: RE: My Nielsen Rating Dear__________ First let me thank you in advance for taking the time to read this email. As a fan of soccer, and most importantly Major League Soccer, I would like to convey my appreciation for (STATION�S) coverage of last night�s MLS game between (TEAM 1 & TEAM 2). I watch your televised games every chance I get and I especially make it a point to never miss a (ENTER YOUR LOCAL TEAM) game. Unfortunately since I don�t have a Nielsen Box my vote in favor of televised MLS games is never noted by (ENTER STATION). That is why I�m writing this email to you today. This email represents my Nielsen Rating towards last night�s coverage of the (TEAM1 & TEAM 2) game. It is to serve as evidence that there is an MLS fan out there, that you were never aware of, that�s watching (STATION) when it�s televising an MLS game. Thank you for your coverage of soccer and especially MLS. I will continue to rely on (STATION) for my soccer coverage and I thank you and your sponsors bringing soccer into my home every week. I look forward to your next televised MLS game. Sincerely, Well I hope this shows that I�m not just full of hot air. I�m not looking to preach how we should support MLS and then look dump this work on others, and neither should anyone else. I�m ready to share in the work and burden that is required to show our support for MLS. Don't rely on others to support MLS, let's rely on each other; because if MLS doesn�t have us then it�s got nobody! Please send your letters to: ABC Sports ESPN Television To send your emails visit http://www.geocities.com/fanunited/TVstns.htm |
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