Apple's MLS Season Pass Fan-focused soccer-at last!

Why Major League Soccer is a major deal for Apple TV+

- MARC CHACKSFIELD

Major League Soccer is going through one hell of a glow-up right now. Apple has a ten-year deal on the rights to MLS, thanks to a rather surreptitious turn of events, where the owners of the MLS found themselves owning the entire rights for every single team and every single game, both locally and globally. Given the knotty rights for other leagues (Premier League included, which sees its broadcasts split between Sky Sports, Amazon and TNT in the UK), this was an opportunity for a broadcaster to come in and "own" the entirety of MLS' coverage globally. Which is a pretty big deal!

STREAM THE ACTION

In a few short months from acquiring the rights, Apple created the MLS Season Pass, a subscription service available through the Apple TV+ app, and available in more than 100 countries and regions.

The MLS Season Pass features every live MLS regular-season match, the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and Leagues Cup1 all in one place. Plus, the game that marks the midway point of the season: the MLS All-Star Game. A lot of the content is free, including the MLS 360, a near five-hour live show that captures the key moments from every match.

"It's tough, I won't lie to you, five hours is a long time," says MLS 360 host Bradley Wright-Phillips. "What helps is that throughout the show you could have Taylor [Twellman, MLS commentator] jumping in, or Nigel Reo-Coker [former MLS player] could be there and that helps a lot.

"Preparation-wise I keep notes on players and teams. I rely a lot on my personality, then a few notes here and there as there may be some teams in the West Coast you might not get to see, so you are looking for who are their dangerous players and what they need to do to win that week. The rest, I just go for it."