Apple TV coverage (ongoing thread)

You can hide scores on the app..

https://worldsoccertalk.com/amp/tv/...ss-to-avoid-spoilers-20230223-WST-420749.html

But you will still see the section of goals when scrolling down so you still might see that someone scored but at least you will not know the match score.

 

I'm one of the people who thinks the video quality needs to improve. The video was clearer on FS1 last night. I'm not the only one complaining about this. My Hulu live and Bally+ apps have better video quality.

 

Both fox games for me anyways, had a poorer quality video feed than the season Pass. Also, Fox broadcasts in 720....so not sure how the 1080P season pass feed is lower quality....

 

Video feed was great imo. Very clear and looked better than Fox on my FuboTV app. Only complaint I have is the refs whistle was very hard to hear so players would stop but I didn't know why at first.

 

Video quality was crystal clear. Better than I've seen on any other broadcast.

 

My immediate guess would be lack of internet speed. That's the only thing I can think of that might cause the Apple feed to somehow be worse.

 

Has anybody found a replay of Saturday's MLS 360 show? I can't tell if the content doesn't exist or is hidden due to Apple TV's weird and non-intuitive UX.

 

It was their yesterday, haven't looked today

 

The Schnitzel Boys do a full reaction of the first weekend of Apple TV:

https://www.youtube.com/live/_IfIJZHiPn4?feature=share

 

Fun #MLSSeasonPass note from my chat w/Obinna Nwobodo today:

Obi said because of the #AppleTV broadcast his family was easily able to watch the game in Nigeria and saw his 1st MLS goal live. That’s pretty cool.

Said he celebrated by calling them to talk about it. #AllForCincy pic.twitter.com/N2qi8ld1tz

— Tom Gelehrter (@Tommy_G) March 1, 2023

 

I guess I'm different from most of you, because I'm furious that MLS is now only available to people who subscribe to Apple TV. Last year I retired, and one of the things I wanted to do was watch a lot more soccer on TV. Family issues kept me preoccupied until recently. Then I found out yesterday (Friday, March 3, 2023) that my Columbus Crew is ONLY available on Apple TV. I live in Cleveland, so going to games is not an option for me.

Cable TV is bad enough as it is. It's overpriced and you have to sit through a million commercials about prescription drugs and cancer hospitals. Before, I always kept the remote handy so I could switch to a soccer game just to get away from the commercials. But since early 2020 my cable "bundle" no longer includes BeIn. So, I was getting my soccer fix by watching MLS and the EPL--whatever is on.

I really, really resent now having to pay even more to watch MLS. And I resent having to jump through hoops to do so. I went to the Apple website to investigate the MLB League Pass, and the "explanation" gave me a headache. Someone on another sports website told me that because I do not have a smart TV I would need to buy a "stick" for my TV in order to get Apple TV, assuming that I also have an additional HDMI slot. And then I would have to download an app. Huh? So I would have to watch MLS soccer on my phone????

So I guess MLS does not want fans like me: older people, retirees, who love the game but do not want to jump through hoops to watch it. When I was growing up, TV was free. We had 3 channels. Today there is an endless menu of reality shows, "sports" like knife throwing, tag and cornhole, shopping channels, etc.

I did some channel surfing today and found that there are several English Premier League games available on the USA channel. Strange. It is easier to watch games in England than games in my own country.

 

That's not true. You can get the season pass without any subscription to Apple TV at all.

 

Well, my understanding is that Apple TV offers MLS League Pass for free, but that you have to subscribe to Apple TV. If my understanding is wrong, well, I apologize.

I'm sick and tired of streaming this, streaming that, apps for this and apps for that, corporations and sports leagues making it more expensive and more complicated for me to watch TV, etc etc. I held difficult, information-heavy jobs in the corporate world for more than 40 years. Now, I'm tired and I want to simplify my life. I don't understand the new age of streaming everything, and every time I read through some company's explanation of how great their service is if only I will download this or that app and pay extra, I get a headache.

I guess MLS has passed me by. It's crappy to get old.

 

Apple TV is just a free app. Apple TV+ is a subscription service. Season Pass doesn't require Apple TV+ but you do have to either use the Apple TV app or buy an Apple TV device.

Streaming apps, even when you combine them all, are typically significantly less expensive than cable packages that feature all sports channels. I'm saving $30/mo with a faster internet speed than I had and several streaming apps (I do get HBO Max free with my internet - wouldn't pay for it).

 

Think of AppleTV as your cable box. It allows you access to a number of channels including AppleTV+ and MLS Season Pass. That AppleTV platform is free. And MLS/Apple are putting an average of 6 games a week on that platform at no charge.

If you want to see every game plus all the additional programming you'll need to subscribe to MLS Season Pass ($99/year or $14.99/month). But you can watch those 6 games (on average) that I mentioned with no subscription.

In order to watch it on your older TV you are going to have to jump through a couple of hoops. First, see if your cable box has an AppleTV app on it. Xfinitty X1 boxes do, I'm not sure which other cable providers have it. If they do, you're all set. Open it up and you should see MLS in the top bar, you'll find everything there.

If not, then you're going to have to do something to get the app on your TV. Depending on exactly how old your TV is, you can try to see if it can accept a screencast from your computer., tablet, or phone Or you can buy a Firestick, Chromestick., Roku, etc. and plug it in to the TV to get the app. Or you can get an HDMI cable and plug your computer directly into the TV. Or if you have an XBox or PlayStation you can get the app on those devices.

If you have none of that and/or don't want to deal with any of that, yeah, you're stuck watching on something other than your TV. Sorry. The number of people who watch MLS and don't have one of those options is likely really small. Somebody was going to get left out of the new deal, it turned out to be those people.

 

I will say that Apple TV being both a device/platform and an app, depending on how you access it, and Apple TV+ being the subscription service on top of the app, is a confusing set of names for more than just two things.

 

Oh yeah, Apple really fell on their face in naming all of this. How did they end up with an AppleTV hardware, an AppleTV software, an app called TV with the Apple logo, and a AppleTV+ subscription?

 

I mean, how did ESPN end up with a cable channel named ESPN, an app named ESPN, and a subscription service named ESPN+? Or Roku which has a Roku hardware, Roku Software, and the Roku Channel? Ir's all so very confusing....

 

I didn’t watch the studio coverage last week, so this is my first week watching it. Looks like a very “Apple” production. I barely recognized Liam McHugh from his days on NBC. I’ll admit I have a hard time understanding BWP at times. I really like Sacha Kljestan. He seems to really have a natural feel for TV. Overall, not a bad studio show. Definitely very “Apple like” with the business casual look, etc.

 

Hey Tony M, in your area where you live( Cleveland) do you have to pay for cable to watch USA channel or is free?

 

I have to pay for cable, something I have come to resent for reasons I explained above. USA channel comes with cable.

It is not fun to get old. I expect to get laughed at in this thread sooner or later, but so what. It sucks to get old and realize the world has left you behind. It sucks to not understand the blizzard of apps and subscriptions and stuff you have to buy JUST TO WATCH MLS ON TV. I'm not an idiot and I'm not senile--trust me, the job I retired from last year is the type of job few people here could do. But I'm frustrated now because I want to simplify my life, and that appears to be impossible as far as TV choices are concerned.

 

Thank you very much for being patient enough to provide all of this information. Really. When I made my initial post I expected to get a bunch of responses like "Too bad! If you are too lazy to do what you need to do to watch MLS, tough luck! Go away and stop bothering us! We don't need old people here!"

I'm sure such responses will come, but anyway thank you (and everyone else) for explaining things.

 

The dizzying array of tv choices is not easy for anyone to navigate. Hardware, software, ISP's, HDMI, streaming, it's ridiculous really. The best way I've found is to take one step at a time and not think of all the options at once. I'm an Apple user in general and I've found that makes things simpler. Good luck, and I hope you can watch MLS.