Sky Sports, the UK TV giant, will televise two Major League Soccer matches per week. The news was broken on Twitter by ESPN MLS analyst and commentator Taylor Twellman.
Although no details have emerged from either MLS or Sky Sports, this move will help bring TV exposure to the biggest soccer media market in the world. This move will bring exposure and actual credibility of MLS level of play to people in the United Kingdom.
One problem for viewers in the UK is the time of the matches. The United Kingdom is 5 hours ahead of the East Coast, as well as 8 hours ahead of the West Coast. The earlier matches during the US day would accommodate the fact that most night matches in the US would be shown live in the early hours of the morning in the UK.
The move comes on the heels of the increased amount of "star" signings by MLS clubs such as England legends Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, as well as other big name players such as Kaka, David Villa, and Giovinco.
MLS matches have started to gain interest in other countries. In Ireland, some LA Galaxy matches are shown due to the star power of Robbie Keane. Italian TV showed many MLS Playoff matches last winter as well. It was also said a couple of weeks ago by Orlando City owner Flavio Augusto da Silva that there was a bidding "war" in Brazil for the TV rights and that an announcement would come before the season.