Apple Invites Soccer Fans to Sign Up for MLS Season Pass
Apple is now inviting streaming viewers to tune in to the football drama — no, not Ted Lasso’s upcoming Season 3, but its new MLS Season Pass.
The company announced on Wednesday that it is accepting entries for this all-inclusive Major League Soccer match package, which covers every match from the start of the season on February 25 (Opens in a new window) through the playoffs and allows subscribers to watch from anywhere in the world.
Apple TV+ subscribers can get it for $12.99 per month or $79 per year on top of that service’s $6.99/month or $69/year pricing. For everyone else, it’s $14.99 per month or $99 for the season.
The absence of the usual fine print restrictions on who can watch where and when set Apple’s 10-year deal with MLS apart from the rest of the sports streaming universe when it announced the deal last June, an agreement that the Sports Business Journal (Opens in a new window) reported was worth more than $250 million a year.
For example, while some baseball teams’ regional sports networks are finally available to stream without a separate pay-TV package, standalone “RSNs” like the Boston Red Sox’s NESN or the Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Bally Sports+ networks n only welcome viewers from each team’s market area. . Football fans – do it, American football fans – meanwhile, will need Amazon Prime Video and a live pay-TV service to keep up, even if they opt out of the pricey NFL. SundayTicket.
Apple’s announcement notes that some matches will be available for free during the first month. They will be covered by English and Spanish language announcers, as well as French announcers for games featuring Canadian teams.
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Apple says its partnership with MLS extends beyond its streaming TV service. Fans who would agree with Ted Lasso’s Dani Rojas that “football is life!” can also now find “club curated playlists” on Apple Music. Or turn to Apple Maps for game day guides highlighting bars and restaurants where they can catch a game, plus new 3D models of MLS stadiums like DC United’s Audi Field in Washington. and the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ.
Separately, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday(Opens in a new window) that Apple’s advertising will also follow a different path. The company does not sell individual spots and instead asks companies to buy sponsorships throughout the season, without the usual guarantee that they will reach a certain number of viewers, and with sportsbook services excluded entirely.
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