In a major shift for football fans, Major League Soccer (MLS) will scrap its standalone subscription fee, making every match available to all Apple TV subscribers from next year.
The move, announced at a league owners' meeting, marks the end of the 'MLS Season Pass' paywall that has been in place for the first three years of the competition's groundbreaking 10-year, $2.5 billion global media rights agreement with Apple.
A New Era for Football Streaming
This decision follows a successful trial where over 200 matches this season, including the popular 'Sunday Night Soccer' fixtures, were simulcast on both the premium Season Pass and the broader Apple TV platform. The league's deputy commissioner, Gary Stevenson, revealed that Apple approached MLS earlier this year with the proposal to make all matches part of the standard Apple TV subscription.
"We had been testing 'Sunday Night Soccer' on Apple TV and we got a really good reception to it," Stevenson said. "Then we talked to them about the potential schedule change and they thought that made sense. So it all kind of seemed like the perfect evolution to what we started."
Strategic Timing and Global Growth
The move to make MLS more accessible is strategically timed. It coincides with the United States preparing to host the World Cup next year and the league's own planned calendar shift in 2027, when it will adopt a European-style schedule running from late summer to spring.
This strategy appears to be paying dividends. MLS reported an average of 3.7 million gross live match viewers per week across streaming and traditional TV for its 15 weekly matches, representing a 29% increase over 2024.
The global nature of Apple's rights deal has particularly benefited the league's profile in South America following Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami in 2023, and more recently in Asia after Son Heung-min joined LAFC in August. Messi and Son recorded the top two jersey sales in the league this season, and both of their clubs have advanced to the league quarter-finals.
Aligning with Apple's Sports Strategy
This approach is consistent with Apple's broader sports streaming strategy. The tech giant has made its Friday night Major League Baseball double-headers available to all subscribers since the package launched in 2022. Furthermore, Apple recently secured US broadcast rights to Formula One for five years, which will also be available to all subscribers beginning next season.
As part of the transition, MLS season ticket holders, who previously received the MLS Season Pass, will now be provided with Apple TV subscriptions.
