Phil Schoen was the play-by-play commentator, while Ty Keough and Bill McDermott provided color analysis; Roger Twibell was the studio anchor and was joined by Revolution defender Alexi Lalas, who also performed the national anthem with his electric guitar.
[11][12] The final reached an estimated audience of 1.6 million viewers, exceeding league expectations but falling short of other sports programming from that day.
[14] The 1997 MLS Cup was also broadcast on ABC in the United States, where it was watched by an estimated television audience of 2.2 million viewers, setting a record that would stand until the 2016 final.
[15] Bob Ley[16] replaced Phil Schoen, who served as the sideline reporter for 1997 only, as play-by-play while Ty Keough returned as a color commentator.
For the second time in three years, play-by-play announcer Phil Schoen and color commentator Ty Keough called the ABC broadcast, who were joined by field reporters Seamus Malin and Bill McDermott.
[20] The television broadcast drew a 1.2 national rating and reached an estimated 1 million households, a 33 percent decrease from previous finals.
The English broadcast was led by play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards and color commentator Ty Keough, who were joined by studio hosts Rob Stone and Alexi Lalas.
[36][37] The Spanish broadcast comprised play-by-play announcer Roberto Abramowitz and MetroStars coach Octavio Zambrano as color commentator.
[40] The English commentary crew once again consisted of Jack Edwards for play-by-play, Ty Keough with color analysis, and other programming hosted by Rob Stone, who was this time, joined by Dave Dir.
[40] The Spanish broadcast was transmitted over secondary audio programming on ABC and was headlined by play-by-play commentator Hammer Londoño and color analyst Hernan Pereyra of Radio Unica.
[42] Bad weather at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. led to a 57 minute long rain delay in the first half of the 2002 All-Star Game.
Ernesto Motta returned from the previous cup's Spanish-language broadcast, working alongside color analyst Robert Sierra.
English play-by-play commentary was provided by JP Dellacamera with color analysis by Eric Wynalda, reprising their roles at MLS Cup 2004.
Highlights of the agreement include: The 2006 MLS Cup was again televised in the United States on ABC in English and Spanish using secondary audio programming, earning a Nielsen rating of 0.8 and an estimated audience of 1.24 million.
[56][57] English play-by-play commentary was provided by Boston-based sportscaster Dave O'Brien and color analysis by Eric Wynalda and former U.S. men's national team coach Bruce Arena.
ESPN added several features in an attempt to improve presentation—high-definition broadcasts, a sky-cam for some matches, a virtual offside line, a ball tracer, a sideline reporter, and three commentators.
[62] ESPN would join forces with Fox Sports and Univision to broadcast over 100 MLS games (combined), live and exclusive, from 2015 and 2022 in its new media rights deal.
Currently, English-language national MLS broadcast rights in Canada are held by the TSN networks through a five-year deal first renewed in 2017.
[65] English play-by-play commentary was provided by Boston-based sportscaster Dave O'Brien, reprising his role from the 2006 broadcast, and color analysis by Eric Wynalda and Julie Foudy.
[70] For the 2008 season, JP Dellacamera and John Harkes replaced O'Brien and Wynalda as the lead team on ESPN2[71] with Davis, Smyth, and Julie Foudy occasionally filling in.
[76] Following the 2008 season, ESPN discontinued MLS Primetime Thursday, citing lagging ratings[78] and hoping to find better lead-in programming.
[87] ESPN covered the match using 19 cameras and several digital features, including player tracking statistics and an offside line displayed on instant replays.
[89] In February 2011, the TSN family of networks (in which ESPN owns a 20% interest) announced a six-year deal for national MLS broadcast rights in Canada.
All NBC telecasts included pre-game and post-game coverage, with the network intending to promote its games during broadcasts of its other major sports properties, such as the Olympics.
The league instead signed an agreement with Fox Sports to serve as its U.S. broadcast partner, beginning with the 2015 season in a shared rights deal with ESPN.
With NBC acquiring the broadcast television rights to the Premier League in 2013, significantly more coverage of the English top-flight was added to the site.
Also starting in 2015, Viernes de Fútbol is the first and (as of 2016) only exclusive broadcast of any major professional sports league in the United States and Canada on a Spanish-language television network.
[120] The ABC broadcast featured Jon Champion as the play-by-play announcer and Taylor Twellman as color commentator, along with Sam Borden as sideline reporter and Mark Clattenburg as rules analyst.
[122] The UniMás broadcast featured commentary from Luis Omar Tapia, Diego Balado, Ramses Sandoval, and Daniel Nohra.
[125] The top viewing markets included Portland, where the match garnered a 11.7 rating, Greenville, North Carolina, Seattle, and New York City.