MLS games are moving to a new streaming service in 2023.
Starting in 2023, MLS games will now be broadcast on MLS Season Pass, a subscription service available through Apple TV+. Live broadcasts and replays will be available of every MLS regular season match, playoff match, and MLS Cup match. All Leagues Cup matches will be available as well. So, what’s it going to look like for fans on the new service? Let’s take a look at what we know so far.
Beginning February 1, 2023, fans will be able to subscribe to MLS Season Pass. If you are already an Apple TV+ subscriber, the service will cost you $12.99/month or $79 up front for the full season. If you are not an Apple TV+ subscriber you’re going to pay $14.99/month or $99 up front for the season. A selection of MLS and Leagues Cup matches, including playoff matches, will be available at no extra cost to Apple TV+ subscribers, meaning they will be in front of the MLS Season Pass paywall. A limited number of matches will also be available free on the Apple TV app without any subscription needed. Full season ticket holders will receive one free subscription to MLS Season Pass. It will be one subscription per season ticket account, regardless of how many seats are on the account.
The launch of MLS Season Pass kicks off a 10-year partnership between MLS and Apple. Matches will be available through the Apple TV app on all Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, Comcast Xfinity, and on the web at tv.apple.com. The Season Pass is separate from Apple TV+. The service you pay for to watch Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest is a separate cost.
There will be no more local blackouts with MLS Season Pass. If you live in Houston, you will be able to watch all Houston Dynamo games on the service. Each match will have an English and Spanish broadcast crew with the option also of listening to a club’s home radio broadcast. Details have not been released on who will be on those club specific crews but, fingers crossed, it’s the same crew Dynamo fans have listened to in the past. Several MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches will also be available, as well as a nightly whip-around show for MLS games to show all the action. Reports have suggested that all games would be on set dates and at set times but that has not been confirmed yet by the league.
So, how do you feel about the new service? Too hard to watch games? Too expensive? Let us know in the comments.