This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

After this season, Major League Soccer won't be on the Fox Soccer Channel any more. And that's a good thing for MLS fans, because the league has just signed a deal with NBC that will put a few games on the broadcast network and a lot of games on what is soon to become the NBC Sports Network on cable.

Financial terms of the three-year deal were not announced, but it marks a significant improvement in MLS' television exposure.

"This is fantastic for the league," said Trey Fitz-Gerald, Real Salt Lake's director of public affairs and broadcasting.

A total of 49 regular-season and playoff games will air on the NBC broadcast network and Versus, which will be rebranded as the NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2. The deal will put two regular-season and two playoff games on NBC — the first time MLS has been on a broadcast network in a decade.

But the big news for MLS fans is the cable component. Versus/NBC Sports Network will telecast 38 regular-season games (up from 31 on FSC) and three playoff games. Combined, that's 40 regular-season games — an increase of 22 percent from what FSC is doing this year — and five playoff games.

What's far more important, however, is that Versus/NBC Sports Network is available in twice as many homes as FSC — 76 million as opposed to 38 million.

"Our new partnership with the NBC Sports Group is a significant step forward for Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "The NBC Sports Group is world-renowned for its award-winning coverage, superb broadcast quality and promotional expertise. We are excited to be part of NBC's ambitious plans for soccer, and look forward to reaching a considerable audience on multiple platforms."

The contract also calls for NBC and Versus/NBC Sports Network to each carry two matches featuring the U.S. men's national team each year.

The new deal does not affect MLS' ongoing contracts with ESPN and Univision; NBC has taken over and expanded FSC's portion of the coverage. It also doesn't affect local coverage of MLS teams, except that fewer games will be available for local telecast.

How many of those games will feature Real Salt Lake remains to be seen, however. MLS' television schedule this season is heavily weighted toward the Los Angeles Galaxy, the New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders, with other teams — including RSL and last year's MLS Cup champion, Colorado — making very few national appearances.

"Certainly, the breadth of this package would make it seem logical that there will be more national games for everybody," Fitz-Gerald said. "But at the same time, the league and the television partners are going to do what they feel they need to do to improve ratings."

And that means you're going to have a healthy diet of New York, L.A. and Seattle.

"We're hoping that we can still perform at the high level we have on the field, and that that would warrant additional national games for what we think is the most attractive style of play in the league," Fitz-Gerald said.

MLS joins the NHL as a Versus/NBC Sports Network staple. And the new owners of NBC Universal, Comcast, have made it clear that their primary goal for NBC Sports is to establish the cable channel as a strong presence that can rival the more established cable sports networks.

Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Sports Group, told The Salt Lake Tribune that was "key" because cable is "where all the money is."

In a formal statement, Lazarus said, "MLS is a perfect fit for our new group, and we are uniquely positioned to help grow soccer in the United States with extensive coverage on NBC Sports Network, significant programming on the broadcast network and our growing digital platforms."

MLS is, of course, hoping that the move to NBC will help the league attract new fans.

One of the big areas of opportunities for us is the cross-promotion we'll see on the various NBC properties," said Fitz-Gerald, pointing to the possibility that MLS games will be promoted on NBC's Sunday night NFL broadcasts as one example. "Along with the doubling of households, that will increase our exposure."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.