If you’re a soccer fan, you may want to add one more video streaming service to your budget for 2023.
The 2023 MLS season begins on February 25, and the United States’ top league has a new streaming home.
Apple TV+, which got into the business of live sports streaming in 2022, will be rolling out MLS Season Pass on its platform this month. It’s the debut season of a 10-year streaming partnership between Apple and Major League Soccer.
MLS Season Pass will offer fans HD streaming access to every MLS match this season. No live TV streaming subscriptions are required!
Apple recently unveiled the pricing structure for this new package. Let’s take a look.
Apple TV+ Incentivizes MLS Fans With Subscription Discount
MLS Season Pass will be exclusive to the Apple TV streaming platform, but it does require an additional subscription.
So you won’t be able to pay the $6.99 per month for Apple’s on-demand streaming service and expect to receive every MLS match included. However, Apple TV+ subscribers will receive a discount for MLS Season Pass.
Here’s the pricing breakdown that Apple released in early February 2023:
| Apple TV+ Status | Monthly Subscription | Annual Subscription |
| Apple TV+ Subscriber | $12.99 | $79 |
| Non-Apple TV+ Subscriber | $14.99 | $99 |
Note: If you’re a MLS season ticket holder, you receive a complimentary subscription to MLS Season Pass from the league as a perk.
Apple will be providing free access to the league’s opening weekend to all users. This will give you a “free trial” of sorts to see if this subscription service may be worth the cost.
MLS Season Pass 2023: What Will It Include?
The short answer on what MLS Season Pass includes: Pretty much everything.
Let’s hit the highlights.
- There are no local or regional broadcast restrictions, so you truly get every match. You won’t have to worry about the matches for your local teams being blacked out on the service. And you won’t have to pay for access to a regional sports network like Bally Sports to get the local team’s match.
- You’ll have broadcast options galore for each match. Per Apple: “All matches will feature both English- and Spanish-language announcers, while matches involving Canadian teams will also offer commentary in French. Pregame shows and the postgame wrap-up will be available in English and Spanish. Fans in the US and Canada will also have the option to select their home team’s radio for broadcast audio on the Apple TV app where available.”
- Customizable experience. You’ll be able to select your favorite team on the Apple TV+ app and it will curate a feed to give you the latest news, scores and quick links to the team’s coverage upon logging in.
If you’re not a soccer fanatic, I should probably note that this streaming service only includes Major League Soccer matches in America. This does not include streaming access to soccer matches from some of the more popular leagues in Europe, such as the English Premier League.
Here’s a quick rundown of streaming services that carry other popular soccer leagues:
| Soccer League | U.S. Streaming Platform |
| English Premier League | Peacock Premium |
| UEFA Champions League | Paramount+ |
| La Liga | ESPN+ |
| Bundesliga | ESPN+ |
How Does This Compare To Other Sports Streaming Packages?
The pricing for this service is significantly lower than subscription packages prices for the NFL, MLB and NBA, so soccer fans are receiving a good deal from Apple relative to other major American sports leagues.
And perhaps the biggest advantage the MLS has over those competitors is that there are no regional broadcast blackouts involved with its service. That’s a constant source of frustration with other league packages.
YouTube TV, which recently acquired the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket streaming package, has not yet set a price. But it was upwards of $300 per year when it was a part of DIRECTV’s content offering. Local market games are not included, either. You have to find those on local FOX or CBS affiliates.
MLB.TV costs $139 per year for baseball fans, but there are blackout restrictions involved for regional broadcasts. For example, Braves fans who want to watch games from Atlanta would be blacked out on MLB.TV. They’d be required to watch the Braves via access to a local Bally Sports broadcast, which requires additional subscription costs.
The NHL ditched its standalone league streaming service for a streaming partnership with ESPN. The equivalent to a NHL streaming package is now included in the cost of ESPN+, which can be acquired as a standalone product or as a bundle with Hulu and Disney+.
Will you be trying out MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the new package in the Clark.com community.
