Apple and Major League Soccer today released a detailed plan for the 2023 MLS Season Pass package which will be available next year on Apple TV as an exclusive.
The tech giant last June signed a 10-year agreement with MLS that will make Apple TV the carrier of every live league match starting with the 2023 season.
Apple today said non-Apple TV+ subscribers will be able to order the plan for $14.99 a month or $99 for the entire season. Apple TV+ subscribers will be able to sign up for $12.99 a month or $79 for the full season. (An Apple TV+ sub costs $6.99 a month.) Ordering will begin on February 1, 2023 with the regular season starting February 25. Apple said the complete MLS schedule will be released in mid-December.
The $99 entry price for MLS Season Pass makes it competitive with the NBA League Pass, which starts at $99 for the entire season, and the NHL Power Play, which is part of ESPN+’s streaming service, which costs $99.99 a year.
See Amazon’s best-selling electronics!
The MLS Season Pass package will feature every live MLS regular season match, the entire playoffs and the Leagues Cup between MLS clubs and Mexico’s Liga MX.
There will be no blackouts, Apple said.
Will the MLS games be available in 4K? Click here!
“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,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, said in a statement. “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.”
MLS Season Pass subscribers will be able to watch games featuring English and Spanish broadcast crews and listen to each club’s home radio broadcast on the Apple TV app. All matches involving Canadian teams will be available in French.
Matches will take place primarily on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with a few matches held on Sundays. For most matches, the start time will be 7:30 p.m. local time, with pregame coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Season Pass subscribers can watch match replays after the game is finished as well as highlight packages.
See Amazon’s best-selling electronics!
The company said MLS Season Pass will feature an exclusive live match ‘whip-around’ show on game day, which sounds like a RedZone channel for the MLS.
MLS Season Pass will be available to fans in more than 100 countries and regions with compatible devices, set-top boxes, game consoles and the web site, tv.apple.com. Team season ticket holders will get the MLS Season Pass for free as part of their package.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
Hope it is also a sign, that Apple will bring a new AppleTV App with LiveTV and maybe more bundle withe AppleChannels