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Beginning in 2026, MLS games will be available on Apple’s flagship streaming platform, which currently includes Major League Baseball games, Friday Night Baseball and critically acclaimed scripted series like “Severance.”
The move represents a strategic pivot for both organizations, terminating the dedicated MLS Season Pass, previously a separate subscription service for MLS games offered by Apple.
Apple and MLS initially inked a 10-year media rights deal in 2022, establishing Apple as the exclusive global home for the U.S. professional soccer league. However, instead of integrating matches directly into Apple TV+, Apple launched Season Pass as a standalone subscription. This separate offering will be discontinued as MLS transitions onto Apple TV+.
“This idea that you could watch all of our matches in one place with a push of the button globally was unprecedented. We really, really liked that concept with Season Pass, and it worked because people reacted really well to the product,” MLS Deputy Commissioner Gary Stevenson said in an interview.
Season Pass – which costs $14.99 a month, compared to the $12.99 charged for the separate monthly Apple TV+ subscription – kicked off in 2023. Apple does not provide subscriber metrics for its streaming services.
Stevenson said that conversations about moving the league to Apple TV+ started as Apple’s main streaming platform grew.
“They came to us and said, ‘Let’s put it on Apple TV+,’ and we said, ‘We’re all in,'” said Stevenson. “So this was good news for us.”
While Stevenson didn’t go into specifics, some terms of the deal changed as part of the move to Apple TV+.
“But it’s not like it was a big renegotiation because what we’ve been focused on is the distribution, and how to make it a better and more accessible experience for the fans,” said Stevenson.
Since entering the streaming arena, Apple has strategically expanded its sports offerings, securing exclusive rights in an increasingly fragmented sports viewing landscape.
Most recently Apple and Formula 1 inked a five-year exclusive media rights deal, meaning all races will stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S. beginning next year. Apple is paying roughly $140 million annually for the F1 rights, CNBC previously reported.
Apple has been vocal about its ambition to reshape the sports viewing experience. While live sports continue to command considerable audiences within traditional pay-TV bundles, the proliferation of streaming services has created a disjointed market where consumers often require multiple subscriptions to access various sports. This consolidation of MLS content into the Apple TV+ ecosystem arguably addresses that fragmentation directly.
At a recent event, Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue stated that the market has “gone backwards,” when it comes to sports viewership.
“You used to buy one subscription, your cable subscription, and you got pretty much everything they had. Now, there’s so many different subscriptions, so I think that needs to be fixed,” Cue said during a panel in October.
Since MLS initiated its media rights deal with Apple, performance data for Season Pass has remained scarce, fueling some skepticism regarding its overall success and long term sustainability given the Apple TV+ strategic direction.
However, MLS Commissioner Don Garber told CNBC in an interview last year that Apple Season Pass subscriptions had exceeded expectations, though he declined to provide specific numbers.
“We have more subscribers than we and Apple thought we would have,” Garber told CNBC at the time, adding that there would be more transparency at a later date.
Apple also doesn’t release numbers for Apple TV+, but Cue has reportedly said that the platform has “significantly more than 45 million” viewers.
The broader distribution coincides with MLS’s completion of its 30th season. The league has actively sought to capitalize on the growing popularity of soccer in the U.S., particularly in anticipation of the World Cup, to be held in North America next year. The move to Apple TV+ signals a broader strategy to attract a larger audience and enhance the league’s international profile.
The league has seen fandom increase in recent years after global superstar Lionel Messi started playing for Inter Miami CF. Messi’s arrival has undoubtedly generated buzz and increased viewership, but the long-term impact on both subscription numbers and ratings remain to be seen.
Changing the clocks
On Thursday, the MLS made another big change when it announced that it would shift its calendar to align with the schedule of global soccer leagues.
MLS’s postseason during the fall has coincided with one of the busiest times in U.S. — the start of the NFL, NBA and NHL seasons and the heart of MLB’s postseason, which recently garnered high viewership.
The shift will also allow MLS teams to more seamlessly take part in the worldwide player transfer window during the summer.
“Participation in the most active transfer window will now enhance, rather than disrupt, a team’s ambitions for the season,” according to a news release.
Currently, MLS’s regular season schedule runs from February through October, followed by playoffs and then the championship game taking place in December. Beginning in the summer of 2027, the MLS will adopt the new calendar.
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