Last year, it was reported that Apple paid $2.5 billion for a 10-year deal with Major League Soccer. This gives Apple the global media rights, and makes Apple TV+ the home of MLS starting in 2023. So today, we’re going to go over what that means, how you can watch MLS this year, and much more. Here’s everything you need to know about the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
What is Apple TV+?
Apple TV+ is the company’s own streaming service. It launched back in 2019 as a hub for Apple’s own original content. With series like Ted Lasso, The Morning Show and much more. It originally was $4.99 per month, but it has since seen a price increase to $6.99 per month. Still one of the cheaper options for streaming out there, though keep in mind that Apple’s library is a lot smaller. Since Apple is only putting on its own original content and not licensing anything.
What is MLS Season Pass?
The MLS Season Pass is, well a season pass, that you can use to watch every MLS game this season. It’s not limited to the US either, since Apple did pay for the global media rights for MLS. So you’ll be able to watch on Apple TV+ in over 100 countries and regions. You’ll be able to watch every game from the beginning of the season in February, through to the MLS Cup Playoffs in November. Fox still has the rights to the MLS Cup in December.
The games are broadcast on Apple TV by Apple, but you’ll find that they do have a lot of the same announcers as you’d find on Fox and other networks.
How much is the MLS Season Pass?
Since Apple does have the broadcast rights for the MLS Season Pass, they are making it cheaper for Apple TV+ subscribers. Though you can still watch without paying for Apple TV+.
For non-TV+ customers, it is going to cost you $14.99 per month, or $99 for the entire season. That’s what the pricing was last year, before Apple made this deal. If you do subscribe to Apple TV+, it’s going to cost you $12.99 per month, or $79 for the full year.
Given that Apple TV+ is $7 per month now, it’s really not cheaper to subscribe to TV+ and then get the Season Pass here. Unless you want to watch some of the series on Apple TV+. Which there are plenty of great original series, documentaries and movies on TV+.
Can I get it for free?
If you are a T-Mobile customer, you can get the MLS Season Pass for free (as well as Apple TV+). Which is a pretty good deal, since they also give you MLB.TV for free each season too. Definitely a good wireless carrier for the summer sports.
What’s included on the MLS Season Pass?
So what all is included in the MLS Season Pass? Obviously, every regular-season match is included. But there’s some extras here too.
Here’s what’s included in the MLS Season Pass:
- Every live MLS regular-season match
- MLS Cup Playoffs
- MLS All-Star Game
- Leagues Cup
- Campeones Cup
- Hundreds of MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches
It’s also worth mentioning that the Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup are not available in Mexico, due to the rights being owned by another company in that country.
How do I subscribe to it?
It’s pretty easy to subscribe to the MLS Season Pass from Apple TV.
Just open the Apple TV app on any device.
Now tap on Watch Now.
Next, scroll down to Channels.
Now, you’ll want to find the MLS Season Pass and open it.
Now click on the Subscribe button.
Then sign into your Apple account and make your purchase.
And now you’ll have the MLS Season Pass for the season.
How do I access MLS content?
You can access the MLS Season Pass content from the Apple TV app on any device. Apple TV is available on the Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, Mac, as well as on Android, Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast and many other platforms.
Just open the Apple TV app, and you can hop over to the “Sports” section and see MLS as well as MLB Friday Night Baseball when that gets started in April. Or you can just hope over to Channels and then select the MLS Season Pass. Then find a game to watch.
Is the MLS being streamed in 4K?
Nope, unfortunately, Apple will not stream the MLS in 4K this year. Instead, it’ll top out at 1080p. But after the first weekend of MLS games, their 1080p stream seems to be very clear and actually very well done. Apple is really showing other streamers how streaming sports should be done. Though, it does help that the MLS is one of the less-popular sports leagues in the US, so likely a lot less people streaming it versus say the NFL, or NBA.
On the other side, when it comes to audio, Apple is streaming MLS games in 5.1 surround sound. So you will need a speaker set up that supports it, but that is a nice bonus here.
Should I sign up for the MLS Season Pass?
If you’re a big soccer fan in the US, this is going to be the best way to watch the MLS this year. Fox does have some games, but in order to see every single game, the MLS Season Pass is the way to go. For a 34-game season, and 29 teams, the MLS Season Pass is pretty inexpensive, to be quite honest. Even if you aren’t an Apple TV+ subscriber. $99 for the year is pretty decent.
2023-03-01 15:07:44