My thoughts on Apple TV deal with MLS

Starting next season, Apple will take over the broadcast rights of Major League Soccer, with all the game broadcasts will be like the NFL, with one production for everyone watching. The announcement was announced in June as a groundbreaking 10-year deal and will stream on its Apple TV platform. This new deal represents an enormous increase for the league.

MLS will take complete control of producing not just their games but also other content that will air on the MLS streaming app. Local broadcasts of games will cease, with no games appearing on any regional sports network. Games will be called by one team of commentators, as opposed to the current model of two sets — one for each team — of commentators calling each game. This move to the NFL model of TV production will mean that MLS will hire their own broadcast teams, producers, and directors, amongst other staffing needs. Since every game will have pregame, halftime, and post-game content, it is likely that MLS will create and build out a centralized studio. The plan is to also air games in 1080p, which is an upgrade to the current 720 and 1080i production of games.

My biggest takeaway is that MLS wants to build a centralized core look across their entire league.

It looks like MLS wants to produce a slick professional product akin to what the Premier league currently offers on NBC/Peacock. They want every fan to have access to every game and for every game to be presented in a consistent way top to bottom where MLS controls how it is presented without interference from local broadcasters.

If properly implemented I fully expect other big leagues to start providing similar products as their current TV deals expire.

It seems that no one, STH or not, needs AppleTV. MLS will be on a stand-alone Apple service which I'll call AppleMLS. This will be available via AppleTV, but also via Roku, Chromecast, smart TVs, mobile devices, etc

You'll get AppleMLS free as a STH, giving access to not just the other half of your team's games, but all the other neutral games (put another way, the ~93% of games that don't involve your team) - an incredible loyalty reward which may end up boosting ST sales.

We'll see how much non-STHs have to pay for the service. We're paying ESPN+ $60/yr for the rough equivalent of all the games (many games blacked out, but we also get other leagues & sports). That final detail will determine how we all feel about this deal, but personally I'd happily pay $100-150, and would probably commit up to $200 for what they've laid out. That's about the cost of 3-4 in-person games.

Sure, eliminating some of the local TV advertising and what not will be nice, but this is about CONTROL.

Control the live feeds, control the commentators (and their opinions), control what gets replays, control the tone of the analysis, control the entire narrative of every individual player and club (to be dictated to fans directly through the league's only outlet). Control what issues the fans are talking about (and thereby control the controversies), and of course control the influence of supporters groups (who might have statements that conflict with the league-mandated opinions).

If they are doing all the production in-house, then all the people involved are no longer neutral parties, the commentators and halftime analysts are nothing more than salespeople selling a product for their bosses. If MLS is controlling the entire broadcast you will never ever get honest commentary and analysis from the commentators, they will be nothing more than talking heads promoting a product.

Apple is also smart to move in now, before 2026 potentially changes the soccer landscape in this region of the world forever. Buy now while the cost is low, and potentially reap massive rewards if interest in the league skyrockets as we all hope it will.

So in conclusion, this would make MLS far more accessible for me than it is now. The best deal for MLS fans is the league making as much money as possible and re-investing in the product on the field, because the numbers are pretty clear -- not a lot of people consume MLS exclusively on TV. The production value will be good in the long run. The streaming is great, high quality, beautiful and Apple doesn't chinch. Let's see how the Apple product goes with MLS in the first season and go along from there.