The document provides information about advertising opportunities with Major League Soccer (MLS) teams and leagues. It summarizes that MLS has 20 teams split between Eastern and Western divisions across the US and Canada. It also outlines the MLS regular season and playoff format, as well as details about the engaged MLS fan demographic and strong social media presence on game broadcasts. The document promotes aligning brands with MLS to leverage the engaged young male audience.

1. MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
A guide to local advertising opportunities

2. A WORLD SPORT AT HOME IN THE U.S.
WEST
Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Sporting Kansas City
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
EAST
Columbus Crew SC
Chicago Fire
D.C. United
Montreal Impact
New England Revolution
New York City FC
New York Red Bulls
Orlando City SC
Philadelphia Union
Toronto FC
• The MLS is comprised of two divisions: the Eastern and
Western
• The MLS now features 20 total clubs, 17 from the U.S. and 3
from Canada
Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs connect with consumers.

3. • Major League Soccer teams each play 34 matches
during the regular season.
• Post-Season brings the best teams to the forefront:
• The MLS Cup playoffs start with the top
teams seeded in regards to total points
playing for a chance to compete on a neutral
field for the MLS Cup Championship
• The FIFA World Cup is a special event that occurs
every four years. Men’s and Women’s teams
participate in this international soccer competition
contested by the senior national teams of the
members of FIFA.
GAMES, POST-SEASON & THE WORLD CUP
A GREAT SUBSTITUTION FOR YOUR BRAND
Align your brand with this popular sport all season long.

4. SOCCER HEADLINES
GOOOOOOOALS & More…
Your message goes further when coupled with the buzz of MLS.
• The Portland Timbers defeated Columbus Crew SC by a score of 2-1
to win the 2015 MLS Cup, its first title in team history. Timbers
midfielder Diego Valeri was named game MVP, in part for scoring
Portland’s first goal just 27 seconds into the game.
• Both top-seeded teams entering the playoffs, FC Dallas and the New
York Red Bulls, failed to make the MLS Cup. Each was knocked out
in the semifinals; Dallas losing to Portland (5-3) and New York falling
to Columbus (2-1).
• Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco earned the MLS MVP Award for the
2015 season. In just his first season after coming over from Italian
club Juventus, Giovinco broke the MLS record for most combined
goals and assists in a season with 38. Giovinco led all MLS players
with 16 assists and 22 goals scored.
• Two new clubs joined MLS with the commencement of the 2015
season in March: New York City Football Club (FC) and Orlando City
Soccer Club (SC). Starting in 2017, four more teams are slated to
join (bringing the league to 24 clubs; 12 in the West, 12 in the East):
Atlanta, Los Angeles FC, Minnesota United FC, and Miami.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

5. MLS soccer attracts a young and well-educated audience.
THE SOCCER FAN
Source: Scarborough USA Plus Research, Au14-Oct15, Total Survey Area, Adults 18+ Target: Sports watch cab TV
pst yr : Major League Soccer (MLS) Population: 245,403,097 Qualitative Population: 11,905,855
64% are homeowners
63% have a
college education
55% are married
16%
23% 22%
19%
12%
9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Age Base: Adults 18+
Men 68%
Women
32%

6. The Walking
Dead
2015 MTV
Video Music
Awards
First Take
At Midnight with
Chris Hardwick
Pretty Little Liars WWE SmackDown
• ESPN drove Twitter activity throughout their 16 game
season with 366k tweets in 2015 and ESPN2 logged a
further 315k tweets for their 25 game coverage.
• MLS attracts a younger audience with 33.2% falling in the
M18-24 demographic for a ESPN2 sample of social game
ratings.
• ESPN aired the MLS Cup on December 6, 2015 and
garnered over 123k tweets and over 19 million impressions.
• 48% of people who tweeted about MLS on these networks
also tweeted about other TV programs, of which 87% were
on cable.
• Savvy marketing plans leverage the engagement of the
social audience by extending their message into
complementary programming.
1. Source: Millward Brown Digital + Twitter, December 2013
Source: SocialGuide Inc. Affinity Report: Jan 20145– Dec 2015 MLS Soccer Pulled 2/4/16.
NETWORKS & PROGRAMS
SOCIAL TV ENGAGEMENT
People who tweeted about MLS also tweeted
about these:
GENRES CATEGORIES
 Special
 Drama
 Comedy
 Talk
 Reality
 News
 Sports Talk
LEVERAGE THE “SOCIAL” BUZZ IN YOUR AD SCHEDULE
Programming with a strong social presence increases ad recall by up to 33%.1
SOCCER SCORED BIG LAST SEASON
ON TWITTER.

7. SPORTS FANS ARE ONLINE
SPORTS FANS ARE WATCHING VIDEO ACROSS ALL SCREENS
40% have checked out sports content online.
Source: eMarketer. Most Sports Fans Have Yet to Gear Up for Games on Mobile. April 2015.
SIXTEEN PERCENT
of consumer sports content
is through a mobile device28%
22%
21%
WATCH HIGHLIGHT CLIPS
WATCH A GAME ON MOBILE
DOWNLOAD SPORTS APP
The most common online sports interactions:
ONE-FIFTH
of sports fans follow stats
via a “game tracker” online

8. Your Customers, Delivered
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
REGULAR SEASON
Sunday, March 6th
to
Sunday, October 23rd
Target Demo: M18-34, M18-49, M25-54
Major League Soccer is celebrating it’s 20th year in operation and shows no sign of slowing
down as major cities around the nation are vying for a club. This will be the last year as a 20
team league as expansion continues in 2017 with Atlanta, and 2018 Los Angeles and Minnesota
joining the league. The Portland Timbers are defending the MLS Cup in 2016 while the New
York Red Bulls are the defending Supporters Shield winners. 2016 marks the debut of coverage
on FS1 with 30 games set to air on Sunday evenings. ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to air
games, mostly on Sundays as well. MLS Social analytics for 2015 saw 366k tweets over 16
games on ESPN with the majority of the social activity attributed to a young, male 18-24 year
old. The Regular Season runs from March through October with the playoffs airing into
December.

9. LEARN MORE
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