The live sports streaming landscape is undergoing a pretty major shake-up in 2023 — football in particular. And while we’re talking about both varieties in that regard (the NFL is headed to YouTube and YouTube TV in the fall), Apple and MLS are up first.
Apple’s MLS Season Pass — in its first of a 10-year deal — is available as of today, ahead of the first matches on February 25. Available anywhere you can get the Apple TV app — which is pretty much everywhere — MLS Season Pass costs $15 a month or $99 for the full season. You can save a few bucks if you’re also an Apple TV+ subscriber, with MLS Season Pass discounted to $13 a month or $79 for the full season in that case.
Some MLS games will continue to be broadcast on traditional linear TV. But you’re at the mercy of the schedulers in that case, whereas MLS Season Pass lets you watch all the games, without any regional restrictions or blackouts, on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
In addition to the matches themselves, you’ll also have access to a wealth of on-demand content from all 29 clubs (26 in the U.S., and three in Canada), plus player profiles, highlights from the 2022 season, full replays of classic matche,s and documentary-style vignettes. And Apple says much of that content is available for free ahead of the start of the season.
There will be plenty of familiar names in the studios and on the sidelines, too, including the likes of Cobb Jones, Carlos Suarez, Eric Krakauer, and more, with Christina Unkel aiding in explaining the Laws of the Game (soccer doesn’t have mere “rules”).
And Apple is leveraging its other platforms, too, with audio broadcasts available on Apple Music Radio, and more coverage on Apple News and Apple Maps.
Not yet known are precise details about the game production itself. This is Apple we’re talking about, so we fully expect 60 frames per second at 1080p, which should be considered the bare minimum for live sports. Whether Apple goes above and beyond (is 4K too much to ask for?) remains to be seen, but we should know more before the first kickoff.
You can subscribe to MLS Season Pass within the Apple TV app, and subscriptions can be shared with up to six family members via Apple’s Family Sharing feature.
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