Starting next year, Apple TV subscribers will be able to watch every Major League Soccer game without an additional subscription.
For the first three years of MLS’s 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, a standalone season pass subscription was required to access all matches. During this season, more than 200 games were simulcast on both MLS Season Pass and Apple TV, including the league’s “Sunday Night Soccer” package. The elimination of individual subscriptions was announced at an owners meeting on Thursday.
Apple has made Friday night Major League Baseball doubleheaders available to all subscribers since the start of 2022. The company recently secured five-year U.S. rights to F1, which will also be available for viewing next season.
The push to make MLS matches more accessible also comes as the World Cup will be held in the United States next year and the league is considering switching to a late summer/spring calendar in line with the 2027 European model. The current season runs from late February to early December.
MLS Deputy Commissioner Gary Stephenson said Apple approached MLS earlier this year about the possibility of moving all games to Apple TV.
“We were testing ‘Sunday Night Football’ on Apple TV and it was very well received. Then we talked to them about the possibility of rescheduling and they thought it made sense. So this seemed like the perfect evolution to what we started with. I think fans will find the experience and value to be much improved,” Stevenson said.
MLS season ticket holders will receive their Apple TV subscription after receiving their MLS season pass in advance.
MLS announced that the total number of viewers for its 15 weekly live matches across streaming and linear platforms averaged 3.7 million viewers per week, an increase of 29% compared to 2024.
Apple has global rights to MLS and will benefit in South America after Lionel Messi joins Inter Miami in 2023. The league has seen an influx of Asian viewers since Son Heung-min started playing for LAFC in August. Messi and Son have been the top two sellers of jerseys in the league this season.
Both Messi and Son’s clubs reached the league quarter-finals. LAFC will travel to Vancouver on November 22nd, and Inter Miami will travel to Cincinnati on November 23rd.
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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer
