Apple TV+ subscribers must pay more for soccer games

Apple and Major League Soccer have confirmed that footie fans will need to pay a little bit more to access MLS games once they begin in February 2023.

We’ve all been expecting the company to press forward with live sports events via its service as it emulates the MO other big broadcasting firms have employed.

It worked for them and will also probably work in Cupertino. It reached a deal to broadcast MLB Baseball earlier this year.

What Apple said

“There isn’t a more perfect time to introduce MLS Season Pass, coming off the heels of the most dramatic MLS Cup in history and with MLS as the fastest-growing soccer league in the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services.

“We’re counting down the days to February 2023 when fans everywhere can enjoy MLS Season Pass on billions of devices — all with no blackouts.”

The games will be available to any device that has an Apple TV app, which is billions of TVs, consoles, media boxes and iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Starting February 1, fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app for $14.99 per month during the season or $99 per season, and Apple TV+ subscribers can sign up at a special price of $12.99 per month and $79 per season.

All matches during the “MLS is Back” opening weekend will be available to watch for free on the Apple TV app.

What is happening

From Feb 1, 2023, football fans in over 100 countries will be able to buy an MLS Season Pass, which gives them access to every live MLS regular-season match, the entire playoffs, and the Leagues Cup. This is the beginning of a ten year partnership between MLS and Apple.

[Also read: Found code hints secret Apple plan for sports entertainment]

In addition, 2023 expansion club St. Louis CITY SC today unveiled its jerseys for the inaugural season of the club and provided the first look of the Apple TV sleeve patch. All 29 clubs will have the Apple TV patch in a different color.

“We could not be more excited to bring our fans MLS Season Pass, a new home for all MLS matches and a wide variety of league and club content they can’t get anywhere else,” said Don Garber, MLS’s commissioner. “We have the most engaged and passionate fans in sports, and now they’ll have every match everywhere with MLS Season Pass.”

MLS Season Pass will include all MLS and Leagues Cup matches, as well as hundreds of MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT games during the season.

During match days, MLS Season Pass will broadcast match coverage, so fans never miss a goal, game replays, highlights, and analysis. On match day, fans will have the ability to watch any match from the start, no matter when they tune in. After the final whistle, fans can watch match replays, highlight packages, and more.

A subscription to MLS Season Pass will be included as part of full-season ticket packages with MLS clubs. A selection of MLS and Leagues Cup matches, including some of the biggest playoff matchups, will also be available at no additional cost to Apple TV+ subscribers, with a number of matches available for free on the Apple TV app.

Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks.

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