News: Apple and Major League Soccer to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023

Sounds like there won't be any local broadcasts. MLS will hire a bunch of broadcast teams and have a studio for pre/post/halftime shows.

Details on MLS' 10-year, $2.5 billion deal w/ Apple.

✔️Apple will show every match
✔️Deals still likely w/ ESPN, Univision
✔️No more local broadcasts
✔️Don't need Apple TV+ to watch
✔️Apple, ESPN may rotate MLS Cup

Full explainer from me + @PaulTenorio: https://t.co/BTKnUpY1Vh pic.twitter.com/trgZc88rzL

— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) June 14, 2022

 

newer TVs are pretty affordable and significant improvements

It seems unlikely DJ will be calling games since he has so much other work locally:

"Apple TV games will also only be called by one team of commentators. In the current deal, locally broadcast games are called by two sets of commentators, one specific to each team.

The league is planning to hire between 10 and 14 broadcast teams to call those matches. MLS will also hire producers, directors, other talent and more broadcast staff to produce every game.

Fans who want to listen to a local voice will have the option to mute the Apple TV commentary team and listen to their club’s local radio broadcast in the MLS streaming service."

But, Dave could do the radio broadcast

Let's just hope they foist TT and AL on us - or at least team them together so we can avoid the games they call.

 

We've been lazy about new TVs, mostly because none of them are broken/insufficient until maybe just now.

TT is a hard no for me. He ruins everything he commentates.

 

TVs are the new toaster ovens. The improvements in technology and reductions in price make TVs not such a "major" purchase anymore. Hell Vizio is marketing OLED TVs now. My wife and I have a small 24" TCL with built in Roku that we use in the Kitchen area that is full 1080p and its picture blows away stuff from a few years back and the TV cost under $200.

 

But can you stream Netflix on it?

 

I was under the impression the MLS package is in ADDITION to the Apple TV+. If someone has specific information to the contrary please let us know. I already have Apple TV+ and I can't see they would add all that programing for no additional charge. I can see it working similiar to ESPN verses ESPN+ where the games are an add on.

 

The very last reason I have a cable provider (aside from internet access) is my MLS Live subscription and the ability to watch DCU games. Given this is changing I see no reason to keep my cable TV subscription. Everything else I watch is on streaming either on my Apple TV or my Roku. One thing I will be able to do is not pay for the junk programming and reality tv that Cable and OTA TV has become. The reality today is that paywalls have become fundemental to compensate providers for their content. The good news is that you can decide what you want and not pay for stuff you don't.

 

From reading the piece in the Athletic and elsewhere it appears that Apple intends to show some games in their Apple TV+ product, but they will have a separate package or channel to watch all MLS games as a standalone product. So you won't have to subscribe to Apple TV+, but you can subscribe to the new MLS product only. No one knows at this point if there will only be one overall package or if you will be able to subscribe to only 1 team's games.

My guess is they can't charge too much for this. As noted the old MLS Direct Kick cable package was $70-80 per season. ESPN+ is only about $70 per year. Given how tiny MLS ratings have always been on the national networks I would guess that the locals had ratings near zero. MLS is giving away subscriptions to season ticket holders. Do we know how many season ticket holders there are league-wide? My guess is that we're looking at something like $50-75 per season for this. And I expect that it won't have very many paying subscribers. MLS says that if they hit certain subscriber numbers they will get more money.

Ramping up the production facilities and producing the games is going to eat up a large part of the fees MLS is getting from Apple.

It is nice that they're going to be streaming in 1080p. Given that MLS didn't really have any options, I think this is the best deal that they could possibly have gotten.

 

I’ll give you one guess how many DCU games will be on the Apple+ tier. What I read suggests an additional subscription for the whole package — that is, ALL MLS games.

 

That will get you some free games. However, to see the entire range of games you have to sign up for the MLS app and whatever its subscription cost. That app will be independent of apple tv per se. I suspect it will be $50 to 80 per year or around $5 per month. Honestly, I don't see the agnst since this is about what you would pay for one game per year. Also, even if you don't get the package they still going to be games both free on Apple plus on ESPN and Univision.

 

From what I understand the MLS subscription (outside of the free games that will be available on Apple, ESPN and Univision) will be something like MLS live except WITHOUT the local blackouts. I have had MLS Live for years and for $69 or $79 per year you get to see EVERY MLS game.

 

Totally agree. The paywalls have always been there its just in how the content is delivered. I am one of the old folk who painfully remembers when literally the ONLY soccer content in the US was PBS's Soccer Made in Germany a one hour highlight show (and sometimes not every week for reasons I'm still not clear) and a publication called Soccer America that came out one a week had about 16 pages and cost about a $.50 to $1 per week. Given MLS is going to streaming the very last reason I have cable is gone so I will be cutting my verizon cable at the end of the year. I will have verizon ONLY for the internet connection and that's it. Also if you have every used the streaming apps to watch games they are fantastic for ON Demand, watching multiple games at once or the sheer diversity of content. If MLS and Apple follow through on what they are talking about the weath of content will be astounding compared to the paucity of MLS coverage of OTA Fox and ESPN.

 

Given the streaming apps there are so many things that can be done pre/post and concurrent with the game even with being able to select a local radio broadcast or podcast with the game. Oh what I would love to see is the DC United game with the old United Mania pod guys doing the commentary. That would be fun.

 

I feel like they tried something like during the peak of the pandemic. I think they had the RFK Refugees hosting live action chat. I like those guys, but it didn't work for me in the context of broadcasting a game.

 

unless for work, watching (or even thinking about watching) every MLS game seems like an extreme act of masochism - There is so much better futbol to watch....and so many sock drawers to rearrange.