One of the longstanding voices of Major League Soccer looks likely to not be involved any more. Adrian Healey has been a key MLS figure for 25 years, working with the New England Revolution, national ESPN/ABC coverage, Austin FC, and then national coverage with Apple’s MLS Season Pass this past season. But he tweeted Friday that his time there looks to have come to an end, and not by his choice:
25 yrs after 1st calling an MLS game, it appears my run with the league has been been ended.
To fans & supp grps: Thank you. You are the best thing about this league. You all deserve so much more, so much better. Remember … without you they are nothing.
Good luck Y'all
AH
— Adrian Healey (@AdrianHealey) December 15, 2023
Born in England, Healey worked as a mid-day DJ on Boston rock station WFNX in the 1990s, and then started MLS work in 1998 on the New England Revolution radio broadcasts. He worked for that team through 2004, appearing on both the radio and TV sides, then joined ESPN to call European, MLS, and FIFA matches. He started working for Austin FC in 2021, then made the shift over to Apple this year around their 10-year global MLS deal, working with Cobi Jones.
The Apple MLS deal does mean there are less broadcasting jobs around the league than there were, with all broadcasts now national. And that led to some notable voices leaving even before this first season. Now, Healey is out as well.
It will be interesting to see how the broadcasting setup changes for the second year of MLS Season Pass. The league and Apple saw strong subscription numbers after Lionel Messi’s arrival in particular, but we’ll see how those hold up over time. And we’ll see how many commentators they tab for the second season, and just who they are. But it looks like Healey will not be involved.
[Adrian Healey on Twitter]
