The WNBA is part of the NBA and by contract they had to move the WNBA game off ABC to another station. Golf (on ESPN) also has pretty much the same deal.
MLS buys time on ESPN/ABC and so they were the odd man out with no protection in their contract.
It's not the first time this happens to MLS either. I remember doing the SAP broadcast on ABC when Robert Kennedy's plane dissapeared. They sent the All-Star Game to ESPN so News could take over.
Cheers!
Robert.
PS: I sneaked a peak at the ratings for the last game on ESPN2. The one that was televised at 1:30AM pulled in an 0.11 rating which translated to 95,000 homes.
In a message dated 6/6/04 12:59:49 AM, rtwingconspiracy@earthlink.net writes:
What really frosts me is that if it was the reverse, you would NEVER see
the MLS game break into anything! I was out all day and taped the "game"
so I could come home later and watch it. Much to my surprise I come home
and see the match on at 9PM pacific.... I really hope we get a deal for
2-3 games a weekend on FSW and dump ESPN/ABC.