Apple, MLS Unveil Launch Date, Cost, and Other Details for New MLS Season Pass' Streaming Service The new Apple TV subscription service will launch Feb. 1 and cost $14.99/month, $99/season By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, November 17, 2022 - 1:40 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Apple and Major League Soccer are finally raising the curtain on the next era in MLS broadcasting, having inked a 10-year, $2.5 billion rights deal in June. Apple's new subscription streaming service, dubbed MLS Season Pass, will launch Feb. 1 and serve as the exclusive home to every live MLS regular-season, postseason, and Leagues Cup match.
MLS Season Pass will cost $14.99/month during the season or $99 per season on the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ subscribers can sign up at a special price of $12.99 per month, $79 per season. MLS is in the midst of a colossal production-operations buildout to provide the necessary infrastructure and workflows to deliver an entire season of games for the new streaming service.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/mls-season-pass-v2/221115_-cc-us-MLS_SeasonPass_Sizzle_2_ProRes_848x480.mp4
Tight Timeline Till Launch: Production Plans Still in Development Initial reports indicated that MLS planned to centralize production at a single facility, but The Athletic reported earlier this month that the league won't be able to get that arranged in time for the start of the 2023 season and will instead produce every match out of onsite production trucks in 2023.
The Athletic also reported that MLS plans to use 12 cameras on all 2023 game broadcasts (versus seven or eight on typical RSN-produced MLS broadcasts in the past) and that the league could up that complement to 15-20 in later years of the deal.
Although Apple carried a full slate of MLB Friday Night Baseball games last year, MLB Network largely handled the production and operations for the broadcasts. In a similar arrangement, MLS is spearheading the production and technical plans for the MLB Season Pass coverage, and The Athletic reports that there's still a lot of work left to do, particularly from a technical standpoint and the MLS is simply too short on time to accomplish this all in an ideal way.
With the MLS 2023 regular season set to kick off on Feb. 25 and MLS Season Pass scheduled to go live on Feb. 1, the league is in sprint mode to get a sprawling new production-operations ecosystem set up in just 11 weeks. Nonetheless, the MLS leaders developing the production plans do not feel overly concerned, according to the same report.
Programming Preview: Whip-Around Show, English/Spanish Broadcasts, Weekly Previews In addition to all MLS and Leagues Cup matches, hundreds of MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT games will be live-streamed during the season. During match days, MLS Season Pass will feature an exclusive live match whip-around show, as well as game replays, highlights, and analysis.
Subscribers will be able to watch MLS matches featuring English and Spanish announce teams and also listen to a club's home radio broadcast on the Apple TV app. Matches involving Canadian teams will be available in French as well. Matches will take place primarily on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with a few on Sundays. For most matches, the start time will be 7:30 p.m. local time, with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET; a few matches each week may air at other times. Major League Soccer's complete 2023 schedule will be announced in mid December.
MLS Season Pass will also provide in-depth coverage every week throughout the season, starting with previews of each upcoming match. Fans will have the ability to watch any match from the start (no matter when they tune in) and will also have access to match replays and highlight packages.
Historic Deal Comes Into View: MLS Goes All-In on Streaming MLS Season Pass, which marks the first time a major U.S. pro-sports league has committed exclusively to a streaming outlet, will be available in more than 100 countries and regions and provide MLS with its biggest worldwide audience ever. All matches will be available on billions of devices through the Apple TV app - Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, game consoles - as well as the web at tv.apple.com.
There isn't a more perfect time to introduce MLS Season Pass, coming off the heels of the most dramatic MLS Cup in history and with MLS as the fastest-growing soccer league in the world, says Eddy Cue, SVP, services, Apple. We're counting down the days to February 2023, when fans everywhere can enjoy MLS Season Pass on billions of devices - all with no blackouts.
Says MLS Commissioner Don Garber, We could not be more excited to bring our fans MLS Season Pass, a new home for all MLS matches, and a wide variety of league and club content they can't get anywhere else. We have the most engaged and passionate fans in sports, and now they'll have every match everywhere with MLS Season Pass.
A subscription to MLS Season Pass will be included as part of full-season ticket packages with MLS clubs. A selection of MLS and Leagues Cup matches, including some of the biggest playoff matchups, will be available to Apple TV+ subscribers at no additional cost, with a number of matches available for free on the Apple TV app.
The MLS 2023 regular season will kick off on Feb. 25, and all matches during the MLS Is Back opening weekend will be available to watch for free on the Apple TV app. Additional details about the MLS Season Pass broadcast teams, production enhancements, and other ways fans can consume MLS content across the Apple ecosystem will be announced in the coming weeks.
More from Sports Video Group
02/06/2026
Tennis Channel has completed a transition from satellite-based distribution to a...
02/06/2026
Daktronics has announced the 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day educational event for high school educators and student production teams, taking place Jun...
02/06/2026
Fandango will bring Telemundo's live Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA W...
02/06/2026
All Women's Sports Network (AWSN) has announced the live television schedule...
02/06/2026
Spalk, a cloud-based multilingual commentary and production platform, has announced three new partnerships: Ligue 1 (English and Portuguese highlights), Eurolea...
02/06/2026
NHL Network's 2026 Stanley Cup Final coverage began June 1 with NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Media Day from the Carolina Hurricanes' Lenovo Center at ...
02/06/2026
Matrox Video has announced the Maevex MGX Series, a lineup of IPMX-ready video e...
02/06/2026
Marshall Electronics will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7521), showcasing a lineup of 4K and HD compact POV cameras for corporate, education, hospitality, wo...
02/06/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...
02/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C50...
02/06/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced the promotion of Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO. In his new role, Marchitto will oversee system design across ...
02/06/2026
The NHL has announced that Brothers Osborne will headline a free outdoor concert...
02/06/2026
CP Communications has announced the appointment of its first two female executives in the company's 40-year history. Tabitha Coleman has been named Vice Pre...
02/06/2026
The Lighting Design Group (LDG) has announced the completion of Studio C at Yahoo's headquarters at 770 Broadway in Manhattan. The studio launched April 24 ...
02/06/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Z) has announced a partnership with FIFA to broadcast FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030, FIFA Women's World Cup 2...
02/06/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
02/06/2026
The department is broadcasting NCAA Baseball Super Regionals at Plainsman Park this weekend
Broadcast and production crews at Division I institutions are busy ...
02/06/2026
The initiative is extends beyond the league's arenas to team training rinks,...
01/06/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
28/05/2026
Hosted by ESPN Senior Writer Ryan McGee, the ceremony honored winners from athletic departments, conference offices, professional networks, production companies...
28/05/2026
Major rights-holders rolled out their 2026 college football slates today, offering a first look at marquee windows, kickoff partners, and conference distributio...
28/05/2026
The 4 Nations Face-Off, an international competition that launched in February 2...
28/05/2026
Soccer is a truly global sport, and, to match the U.S. viewing audience's in...
28/05/2026
The NFL Today, CBS Sports' top-of-the-line NFL studio show, has a storied hi...
28/05/2026
Prime Video is no stranger to innovation, and, within the realm of live streamin...
Apple, MLS Unveil Launch Date, Cost, and Other Details for New MLS Season Pass' Streaming Service The new Apple TV subscription service will launch Feb. 1 and cost $14.99/month, $99/season By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
