Report: Apple TV Subscribers to Get MLS Free Next Season

MLS fans may no longer have to pay for MLS Season Pass. According to The Athletic, Apple TV will include all of those games at no extra cost starting next season.

MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion contract with Apple beginning in 2023. This year, Apple made the entire MLS playoffs available to their streaming subscribers for free.

Apple TV is also taking over F1 streaming in the U.S. for the next 5 years.

“I like the fact that all 600 of our matches can be accessed globally by one touch of your finger,” MLS deputy commissioner Gary Stevenson told The Atlantic. “And I think over time, as the world transitions, and you’re seeing it right before your eyes right now … we have a partner that is willing to make changes with us to better serve the consumer. And I think you’re going to see some changes in the future that are going to be better and better and better and better, and that property is growing and growing and growing.”

Most sports are split up across many different services. Some sports like MLB, NHL, and NBA require a complicated setup of national providers – some linear, some streaming – and different solutions for in-market and out-of-market games. Some teams provide games free over-the-air, while others keep everything locked behind a paywall. If you’re a Yankees fan, there’s a subset of games you can only watch on Prime Video – a unique pain for viewers in the country’s largest market.

While F1 and MLS may be smaller sports, the ease of seeing so many events in one place can’t be underestimated. Apple TV will likely help those sports grow with an affordable price point and such complete coverage. The big question is whether these other leagues would ever put aside their differences for the good of the sport.