Tonight's MLS Cup kickoff; Why so late?

TORONTO – It’s cold in Toronto. And it will be colder at 8:55 p.m. ET when the teams finally kickoff today.

I wasn’t completely opposed to Toronto’s selection as MLS Cup final site. It was certainly a bold choice. But as the city supports MLS, embraces soccer in general and regularly fills its swell grounds at Exhibition Place, I say it was worth the risk of some poor weather. So, three cheers for you Canucks, eh?

But when you set the kickoff time for 9 p.m., that adjusts the calculus of it all.  It’s not quite as solid of a choice in my mind when you factor in that time.

So, why is MLS starting its most important annual match so late? Read on ... 

This is where it’s tricky. Major League Soccer officials will tell you quietly that going up against a Sunday night NFL game isn’t ideal, but it’s palatable, at least. Going up against a full slate of NFL contest … that's a big ol' no-no! That’s a recipe for awful ratings.

So, what about a Saturday final? That’s a non-starter; broadcast partner ESPN won’t even consider squeezing out one of its cash-cow college football broadcasts for the MLS Cup.

The other thing to consider is that an 8:55 p.m. start is pretty late for those East coast TV sets, whose viewers may be getting a little sleepy by the second half. On the other hand, it’s a 7:55 kickoff in Dallas, a 6:55 kickoff in Colorado and a nice, comfy 5:55 early-supper kickoff for viewers along the West Coast. 

Sure, they could get whatever slot they wanted, any time of their choice, on one of the smaller networks. Fox Soccer Channel, for instance, would play ball. So would Versus, if the league opts to go that way next year rather than / in addition to FSC.  But both of those networks have a much smaller national footprint, so that's probably not the way to go either.

This is a case were their are two types of solutions. Imperfect, and even less imperfect.