Major League Soccer in 2023 kicked off a 10-year broadcast rights deal with Apple that sees every single match for the next decade streamed exclusively on Apple’s streaming platform.
Apple TV is the official home of the MLS regular season and playoffs, with every match for every team available to stream around the world with no blackouts.
The new streaming service, dubbed MLS Season Pass, will be available for all fans to purchase at a set, season-long price, and it is available at a discounted rate for Apple TV+ subscribers. Select matches will also be available to watch for free every week.
The Sporting News has all the details on how to watch Major League Soccer for the 2023 season and beyond.
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MLS schedule 2023: August 20
With the Leagues Cup forcing Major League Soccer to take a one-month break, MLS will be back on August 20, with the entire league playing games on that day.
It’s unclear which games will be earmarked for a place in front of the paywall, but each matchday, multiple games are made available for free on Apple TV, meaning subscription for either MLS Season Pass or Apple TV+ is required to view them. All fans need to do to watch those free matches is to download the Apple TV app on their device to watch them.
The rest of the league schedule each week is available with a subscription to MLS Season Pass to view.
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass USA: FS1, Fubo |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Inter Miami vs. Charlotte FC | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | NY Red Bulls vs. D.C. United | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | NYCFC vs. Minnesota United | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Philadelphia vs. FC Dallas | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Toronto FC vs. CF Montreal | 7:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Chicago Fire vs. Orlando City | 8:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Houston vs. Portland | 8:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Nashville SC vs New England | 8:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | St. Louis City vs. Austin FC | 9:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass USA: FS1, Fubo |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake | 10:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | LAFC vs. Colorado Rapids | 10:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Seattle Sounders vs. Atlanta United | 10:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pass |
| Sun, Aug. 20 | Vancouver vs. San Jose | 10:30 p.m. | Apple TV – MLS Season Pas |
How to watch MLS on Apple TV in 2023
Apple TV is the new home of Major League Soccer, with every match of the 2023 season streamed on the platform via the MLS Season Pass.
No blackouts
There are no local blackouts or broadcast restrictions, no need to change the channel, and no searching for various local networks to find games. They’re all in one place for the next 10 years.
No Apple TV+ subscription required
You don’t need to subscribe to Apple TV+ to have MLS Season Pass acceess. All you need to do is to download or access the Apple TV app, which is available on most every streaming device, including on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, smart TVs, game consoles, and on the web at tv.apple.com. Then you can either decide to watch just the free matches or subscribe for the full MLS Season Pass package for any of the other matches.
Again, there is a distinction between Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass, as the two are not one and the same. MLS Season Pass is where fans can find all the matches throughout the 2023 campaign. While Season Pass is available at a discounted rate for Apple TV+ subscribers, the two are separate services.
Free matches
Every week, up to six select matches will be available to watch for free on the platform, without the need for a Season Pass subscription. However, to get every single match and ensure you can watch your team all season long, a subscription to MLS Season Pass is required.
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How much does Apple TV MLS Season Pass cost?
With the season over halfway concluded, Apple has released new pricing to allow fans to jump on board for the remainder of the campaign. With Lionel Messi now aboard with Inter Miami, fans can see him play the whole way through, as well as enjoy the Leagues Cup and MLS Cup playoffs.
As part of the new pricing model, MLS Season Pass will cost $14.99 per month, or $49 for the reduced season-long package, with the season-long model providing a slight discount over the month-to-month option.
There is a further discount for Apple TV+ subscribers, who will pay just $12.99 per month for the MLS Season Pass, or $39 for the reduced season-long package.
For Apple TV+ subscribers, the MLS Season Pass fee is in addition to the $7 monthly fee they already pay for Apple TV+ programming.
A reminder that each matchweek, Apple TV will make up to six games available for free, not requiring any subscription to access.
| Regular rate (Midseason) |
Apple TV+ subscriber discount (Midseason) |
|
| Monthly | $14.99 / month | $12.99 / month |
| Yearly | $49 / year | $39 / year |
Are MLS matches on TV in USA and Canada?
While all the games will be available on Apple TV, select matches throughout the season will also be broadcast on Fox or FS1 in the United States, with some linear television coverage available in Canada as well.
Fox has committed to televise 34 games across the entirety of the 2023 season in the USA, with 15 of those on the main network channel (Fox) and 19 others on FS1. For all 34 games, Fox will also provide Spanish-language coverage on Fox Deportes.
Veteran broadcasters John Strong and Stu Holden will again be leading Fox’s MLS coverage throughout the 2023 season.
In Canada, TSN and RDS will televise select matches, broadcasting at least one Canadian club’s match per week throughout the season, in addition to matches featuring non-Canadian clubs. All TV broadcasts will feature an English-language feed on TSN, as well as a French broadcast on RDS.
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Who are the MLS broadcasters on Apple TV?
Apple has gone all in with their coverage of the league for the inaugural year of MLS Season Pass, unveiling broadcast teams that include a collection of experienced announcers, many of whom previously covered the league.
The streaming service is also providing various studio shows, both during matches and other complementary programming.
MLS broadcast teams
The following broadcast teams will cover the league from an English-language perspective throughout the 2023 MLS season.
- Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman
- Keith Costigan and Maurice Edu
- Kevin Egan and Kyndra de St. Aubin
- Steve Cangialosi and Danny Higginbotham
- Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam
- Jenn Hildreth/Chris Wittyngham* and Lori Lindsey
- Blake Price and Paul Dolan
- Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth
- Mark Followill/Chris Wittyngham* and Danielle Slaton
- Andres Cordero and Jamie Watson
- Callum Williams and Calen Carr
- Tyler Terens and Devon Kerr
- Tony Husband and Ross Smith
- Mark Rogondino and Heath Pearce
- Ed Cohen and Greg Sutton
- Adrian Healey and Cobi Jones
*Chris Wittyngham will serve as a regular fill-in when required, as Mark Followill is also the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, while Jenn Hildreth is a lead play-by-play voice for NWSL coverage.
Apple also announced that Nate Bukaty will be a regular rotating play-by-play talent member, while analysts Tony Meola and Warren Barton are also regular contributors.
Additionally, the following pairings will be providing Spanish-language coverage of MLS throughout the 2023 season.
- Pablo Ramírez and Carlos Ruiz
- Jorge Perez Navarro and Marcelo Balboa
- Juan Arango and Carlos Suarez
- Sergio Ruiz and Miguel Gallardo
- Moises Linares and Jaime Macias
- Bruno Vain and Andres Agulla
- Jose Hernandez and Pablo Marino
- Ramses Sandoval and Walter Roque
- Rodolfo Landeros and Martín Zuniga
- Raul Guzman and Sonny Guadarrama
- Adrian Garcia Marquez and Francisco Pinto
- Sammy Sadovnik and Eduardo Biscayart
Additionally, Francisco X. Rivera and Maximiliano Cordaro will be regular members of the MLS Season Pass on-air team on a rotating basis.
There will also be a variety of studio coverage throughout the season, both during matchdays and outside of game action.
MLS 360 whiparound show
Apple is also hosting a five-hour whiparound show every Saturday called MLS 360 that is similar to NFL Red Zone, switching between matches as action develops at each of the stadiums.
It provides a way for fans to follow multiple matches at once without the need to switch between channels or streams.
- Studio hosts: Liam McHugh and Kaylyn Kyle
- Analysts: Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips
- Rules expert: Christina Unkel
Pregame & postgame shows
Pre-match coverage is provided by MLS Countdown, while post-match coverage happens on MLS Wrap-Up, with both coming in English-language and Spanish-language versions.
- English-language hosts: Jillian Sakovits, Andrew Wiebe
- English-language analysts: Nigel Reo-Coker, Calen Carr, Shep Messing, Matt Doyle
- Spanish-language hosts: Tony Cherchi, Stefano Fusaro
- Spanish-language analysts: Diego Valeri, Melissa Ortiz, Chelsea Cabarcas