MLS fans received a bevy of good news on Wednesday, but not everything revealed about the league’s broadcast plans for the upcoming season was positive.
While the league is taking many measures to make its games more accessible to viewers, the quality of production for those games may take a step back in 2025. According to soccer reporter Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer, some MLS announcers will call games remotely during the upcoming season.
MLS exec Seth Bacon confirms: yes, announcers will call games remotely this year.
He makes the case it’s no different. (He knows I and many viewers disagree.)
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald.bsky.social) January 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
“To be clear,” Tannenwald writes, “only some games will be called remotely this year, not all of them. Seems that most will still be done on-site. But to also be clear, this will save MLS money, and they’ll just hope there are no close offside goals or whatnot that you’d get right by being in the building.”
To be clear: Only some games will be called remotely this year, not all of them. Seems that most will still be done on-site.
But to also be clear, this will save MLS money, and they’ll just hope there are no close offside goals or whatnot that you’d get right by being in the building.
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald.bsky.social) January 29, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Surely this is disappointing news for fans of the league. Those that watch MLS matches are already paying either $79 per season (if they’re subscribed to Apple TV+) or $99 per season (if they aren’t) to watch games. At that price point, it’s reasonable for fans to expect a top quality product.
Remote broadcasting frequently results in mistakes; it’s much easier to miss key details calling the game off a monitor than if you’re in-person. And as Tannenwald referenced, there are plenty of moments in a soccer match where having a stadium perspective is crucial.
The silver lining is that this should only impact a select few matches; most announcers will still travel on-site for games. But given that the MLS-Apple partnership hasn’t exactly been a resounding success, cutting back on investment in the game production likely won’t help their cause.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.