Host Jessica Kleinschmidt talks with Apple TV MLS broadcaster Jake Zivin. Kleinschmidt and Zivin discuss Lionel Messi’s MLS debut, working MLS games for Apple TV, developing chemistry with Taylor Twellman, and more.
Here’s the full breakdown.
- 1:47: Welcome Jake Zivin to Short and to the Point/Growing up an MLS fan
- 3:57: Living a dream broadcasting MLS games
- 5:26: Taylor Twellman
- 7:35: Finding a balance between being informative and entertaining on a broadcast
- 9:22: Making play-by-play look effortless
- 11:12: Soccer benefiting from advanced analytics on broadcasts
- 13:20: Staying true to the game even with incorporating analytics
- 15:14: Encountering fan comments on social media
- 17:42: Lionel Messi in MLS, working his Inter Miami debut
- 20:54: Creating history with Messi being on commentary
- 23:30: Goal calls
- 25:33: Doing play-by-play as a kid
- 28:18: Will the love of soccer fade?
- 29:48: Point where soccer “made it” in the United States
- 34:29: Younger players making MLS a “league of choice” because of Messi
Thanks for listening, and if you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and leave us a positive review wherever you get our podcasts.

About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp
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