When MLS and Apple began a first-of-its-kind media rights deal in 2023, it was billed as the future. No longer were MLS clubs stuck selling local broadcast rights to regional sports networks or local substations; every game for every team would be available in sparkly high-definition on Apple TV.
Whether that deal has succeeded on the merits has been a frequent topic of discussion around the league. It’s fair to say that the deal, at least as originally conceived, did not go to plan. MLS Season Pass, the $100 per year subscription required to access all MLS games on the platform, fell well short of expectations in terms of subscriber count, and now the league and Apple have pivoted. Season Pass went the way of the dodo, and starting this season, all MLS matches are available to anyone with a standard Apple TV subscription.
The jury is still out on how the reformed partnership will work. The deal, originally set to run through 2033, will now end following the 2028-29 season. That means MLS rights will be coming to market much quicker than the league initially anticipated. By then, there could be legitimate questions as to whether or not the all-encompassing streaming model works.
But it doesn’t appear that MLS will go back to the old model, even if the league moves on from Apple in 2029. Speaking at Sports Business Journal’s Business of Soccer conference last week, NYCFC president Brad Sims said he does not see a future in which clubs regain rights for their own local broadcasts, as was the case prior to the Apple deal.
“I don’t see that ever happening again,” he said, while acknowledging such a model is good for large-market teams like his. “We were better off financially in a model where we could have local rights. I don’t know that that’s best for the league as a whole, as an enterprise. I think that what was done, and how it was built, is probably the best path.”
By 2029, as streaming continues to grow as an overall share of television viewership and regional sports networks gasp for their last breath, it’s probably wise to look forward rather than backward. That said, Sims believes there’s a lot of work still to be done in improving media rights revenue for the league.
“We have a ways to go in terms of where the owners and where the league thinks the broadcast rates should be,” the NYCFC president said. “…You got to have a product that people want to watch in the U.S. and globally and so that you have broadcasters willing to pay for those rights.”
MLS’s performance in the next few seasons, particularly after this summer’s World Cup hosted in North America, will go a long way in determining what the league can command on its next broadcast deal.
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.