The LA Galaxy is preparing for their first home game of the season, and play-by-play broadcaster Joe Tutino is ready to call the action on the pitch for his 28th season with the club. It's just going to be a little different than it's been past seasons.
In 2023 all MLS matches have a set of broadcasters as part of its MLS Season Pass — a departure from prior seasons, in which ESPN+ carried local broadcasts for fans outside those local markets. But the new Apple TV streaming services allows viewers to opt for local radio feeds to replace the TV team working the match — meaning Tutino can be heard by Galaxy fans who can't get to Dignity Health Sports Park for this Saturday's match against the Vancouver Whitecaps at 7:30 p.m. PT — or perhaps for those who are purposefully staying away as part of planned boycotts.
During away matches, Tutino can be heard via the LA Galaxy’s YouTube channel.
During an Apple TV-streamed match, viewers can click on the audio icon and select "Home Radio Feed." It's designed to sync to the match to provide fans a more home team-friendly element of the viewing experience, and it's something Tutino admires.
A familiar voice for fans
“I think it's great, it gives the fans the option of having their hometown call," Tutino said in an interview with The Striker.” I think that's a really good opportunity for all fans that are there listening, watching, it gives them that convenience to be able to watch and maybe have a familiar voice.”
Before MLS decided to move its games to Apple TV, Tutino was part of Spectrum SportsNet’s LA Galaxy coverage and did play-by-play radio when matches were nationally televised. Tutino has been with the club since the Galaxy's beginnings as he was the club's Public Address announcer during their first season.
Tutino participated in an interview for a broadcasting role in October for MLS Season Pass but didn’t hear back from Apple. “As far as I'm concerned at that time, I was going to be involved and I never receive a phone call back," he explained. "So things change."
However, he’s delighted to have his radio broadcasting role solely on the Galaxy.
“I don't know exactly what changed, but I'm happy to be with the Galaxy and broadcast all Galaxy games," he noted. "That was probably most important to me than broadcasting somebody else's games. And to me, I'm still with the Galaxy and I'm very thankful for that.
“In terms of getting ready for this game, this home opener for the Galaxy, I'm preparing no different than I have in the past,” added Tutino. “The technicals have already been worked out because we've done a couple of preseason games already and those have been picked up. One was the dry run and the other one, fans were able to listen to and so I believe things will just go seamlessly going forward here.”
In addition to the Apple TV stream, fans can find the audio feed on Sirius XM.
'It feels like it's been forever'
It’s been four months since the Galaxy last played at home and Tutino is ready to experience that gameday feel at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“It feels like it's been forever," he said. “I go out there and watch training and have meetings with some of the folks in the office there, it just seems like forever since we've had a real game at the stadium and it's unfortunate that, the Rose Bowl game, Mother Nature had a lot to do with that and we didn't get the season off like we wanted to get it off.”
With the LA Galaxy having to start the new campaign winless on the road, LA will try to get their first victory of the season on Saturday. Tutino is ready to see fans come onto the grounds to watch the Gs for the first time in 2023.
“In terms of playing back at the home of the Galaxy, I'm really looking forward to meeting the fans as they come on in and saying hello to a few beforehand, as many as I can beforehand and hopefully the club has the performance,” he stated.
A unique venture with Apple
Tutino has seen the evolution of broadcasting in MLS during his time with the Galaxy and the partnership between MLS and Apple is something he views as a positive for the league. “I think it's great, I think it's unique. Apple is a today product. In other words, is there it's present, it's part of our lives everywhere,” he said. With Apple TV on almost every device, it allows for MLS games to be easily streamed with MLS Season Pass all across the globe.
Regional sports networks are struggling, evinced by Diamond Sports Network (the parent company of Bally Sports) filing for bankruptcy Tuesday, as reported by AP News. Tutino thinks Apple’s approach, holding the streaming rights to an entire league, could springboard the future model for sports in America.
“I think a lot of the other major sports leagues in this country are looking," Tutino said of the Apple/MLS arrangement, "because as you see with some of the news happening around the entertainment business, the broadcast business, we see what's happening right now with certain other properties that are having to find money, going through bankruptcy and things like that, the landscape is changing and I think Major League Soccer having a home at a place like Apple is only a positive."
Sports leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB rely on regional sports networks as part of their current broadcasting and streaming mix, and will have to decide their TV futures going forward. MLS Season Pass provides all the games and content related to the league for fans to consume regularly, making Apple TV a hub for viewing MLS. Tutino believes that mold could be what those other leagues pursue.
“I think everybody's looking at [MLS Season Pass] right now. I think everybody's looking at this and probably internally saying this is going to be their future going forward,” he said. “I can see where the other sports will adapt or maybe embrace this way going forward.”
With MLS Season Pass having a set rotation of broadcasters for all games, yet also a radio feed for local voices like Tutino, it could soon be the norm rather than exception in a changing sports world.