It’s a remarkable day here in the U.S. when ESPN is outbid for anything, but every soccer broadcast contract has implications for the USSF, both men’s and women’s national teams, and the MLS.

What Fox’s apparent outbidding of ESPN for the World Cup rights in Russia and Qatar means for fans in the U.S. is up for debate. It depends on whether the telecast presentation in 2018 looks more like what you get on Fox’s soccer specific channels or what we got with the Champions League semis on FX and the final on Fox’s main broadcast channel. For those reading outside the U.S., what we got was a dumbed-down primer on the sport that looked as if no one in the U.S. had ever watched it and an American football studio host (Curt Menefee) in charge of the pre-game show.

Fox Sports has seven years to clean up its act, but given the precedents the network has set for other American sports (NFL, baseball, college football), let’s say I’m not optimistic. Fans should be prepared to be talked down to unless the division gets serious and puts its regular Fox Soccer team up front — and even that’s not a cure-all. Even with Fox Soccer’s redesign, it’s still piping in Sky feeds, so the announcing is good but it’s a marked contrast to low-fi feel of the pre- and post-game shows. 

What it means for the MLS may be more crucial: ESPN has a statement out saying its commitment to the sport will not change, but fans are always wary, noting what happened to the NHL when its sport was no longer on the Connecticut-based network: highlights were de-emphasized on SportsCenter, etc. ESPN had put forth a drastically improved product for both the Euro 08 tourney and last year’s World Cup. I imagine Bristol will now put resources toward trying to snatch more Prem rights from Fox as well as the Champions League. The MLS package is now split between two other networks — ESPN & NBC — and whether the lack of international TV rights means a downgrade in its treatment is a fear we’d be fair to have.