Sunday’s season opener between the Red Bulls and FC Dallas is undoubtedly exciting in its own right. As the anticipation grows for the start of the 2012 regular season, the first Legends viewing party of the year and the club’s quest for the MLS Cup, it’s important that fans remember one more thing – this is a historic day in the history of Major League Soccer.
The 3pm ET kick off signifies not only the start of the Red Bulls’ season but also the very first broadcast of an MLS game on NBC Sports, the league’s newest broadcast partner.
While fans can expect to see the same traditional take on a soccer broadcast, NBC coordinating producer Pierre Moossa told MLSsoccer.com’s Simon Borg that a new feature will work its way into the match.
According to Borg
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NBC will be keeping it simple save for one major change. Color analyst Kyle Martino will be situated between the benches instead of up in the booth. The goal is to combine his tactical game analysis with new information he’s gathering on field level.
The insider approach is not entirely new to NBC, as it utilizes the same function for NHL games that takes you “Inside the Glass” with reporter Pierre Mcguire.
NBC executive producer Sam Flood told Borg the idea may have seemed abstract at first, but it eventually evolved into an industry standard.
“It’s the template everyone uses in hockey,” Flood said. “What was first thought as a wacky idea from America is now the gold standard for covering hockey.”
What are your thoughts leading up to the first MLS game to air on NBC?
