I wrote a bit last week about how soccer doesn’t have the TV commercial breaks that we see in the NBA, NFL, MLB or college sports, but it does put the primary sponsor’s logo on its uniforms. My question was which was preferable, but I should have foreseen that here in America we would find a way to combine the worst of both.
I ran home for lunch today (I went with the leftovers, thanks for asking) and while I was eating I flipped on ESPN and caught a few minutes of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona. I watched for about 25 minutes before coming back into the office and during that time there wasn’t a single timeout or commercial. I know this is standard for soccer, but it was quite a bit different than the NBA playoff broadcasts I’ve been watching for the last few weeks. The purpose in both cases is to make money, of course, but the presentation is very different and it made me think about which path I prefer.
