Apple's MLS Season Pass

Fan-focused football - at last! Why Major League Soccer is a major deal for Apple TV+

- MARC CHACKSFIELD 

For any fan of the Premier League, seeing Wayne Rooney and Mikel Arteta on the pitch is nothing new. Both players gained legions of fans when they played for Manchester United and Arsenal respectively in their heyday but things are different this time around.

 They're standing watching a spectacle. On the Audi Field, in Washington DC, home to DC United, they wait patiently as light-and-smoke machines are rolled on to the pitch, turning the stadium into a disco.

Fireworks paint the sky red and white, while a flyover and the American national anthem bring the party to a crescendo, just in time for the whistle to blow for kick-off.

This is football Major League Soccer (MLS)-style and there is every reason to party: MLS is going through one hell of a glow-up right now.

Apple has a 10-year deal on the rights to MLS, thanks to a rather surreptitious turn of events, where the owners of the MLS found themselves owning the entire rights for every single team and every single game, both locally and globally. Given the knotty rights for other leagues (Premier League included, which sees its broadcasts split between Sky Sports, Amazon and TNT in the UK), this was an opportunity for a broadcaster to come in and 'own' the entirety of MLS' coverage globally. Which is a pretty big deal!

In a few short months from acquiring the rights, Apple created the MLS Season Pass, a subscription service, available through the Apple TV+ app, and available in more than 100 countries and regions.

The MLS Season Pass features every live MLS regular-season match, the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and Leagues Cupi all in one place. Plus, the game that marks the midway point of the season: the MLS All-Star Game. A lot of the content is free, including MLS 360, a near five-hour live whip-around show, that captures the key moments from every match.