MLS returns with streaming matches all over the world: Apple’s millionaire business and its recipe for taking football by storm

$250 million a year. Global streaming rights to every single game for a decade. Commentators in English and Spanish. That’s how MLS season ticketthe ambitious and innovative recipe with which Manzana He wants to take the football world by storm.

In its television landing, the company dazzled with the football comedy “Ted Lasso” about an unconventional coach with a huge heart played by Jason Sudeikis. The giant of the apple scored a great goal with that delicious series, but now he’s still looking for the most difficult one: be successful in football broadcasting.

- Advertisement -

This Saturday, February 25, the new season of mls and will also broadcast its first games MLS season ticketthe ‘streaming’ offer that the American company has devised for its powerful agreement with the football league of USA and Canada.

Announced in June last year, Apple and MLS signed an agreement for the company founded by Steve Jobs can broadcast the matches of this league all over the planet for 10 years without regional or national restrictions and without the hassle of territorial rights.

According to the specialized portal Sports Business JournalApple will spend at least $250 million annually as part of this deal with the mls.

“MLS Season Pass is something unique: nothing like it has ever been done in any professional league,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of services, in a meeting with the media last January in San José (California, USA) .

“We will have all the games without ‘blackout’ (restrictions) and they can be seen worldwide”, Cue went on to defend that, for both the company and MLS, “the long-term opportunities are huge.”

With a succulent appetizer thanks to the Los Angeles derby between the LA Galaxy of Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and Los Angeles FC (LAFC) from Charles candlethe MLS season will start this Saturday and fans, after several weeks of MLS Season Pass in test mode with archive content, will be able to see how Apple imagines the present and the future of football.

The price of this service? $14.99 per month or $99 for the entire season (Current Apple TV+ subscribers will pay $12.99 per month and $79 for the year.)

For reference, a basic account of Netflix ad-free costs $9.99 in the US.

For MLS Commissioner Don Garber, there wasn’t much to think about when the opportunity presented itself to partner with “the most forward-thinking and innovative company in history.”

“We couldn’t be more excited, the best is yet to come,” he said.

With the commitment that all matches have commentators in English and Spanish (as well as French for matches featuring Canadian teams), Apple has hired nearly a hundred analysts and experts to X-ray a league that grows course by coursewho sighs for Leo Messi’s hypothetical landing in the future and who lives crucial years with him World Cup 2026 as a goal on the horizon.

Among the commentators who have signed up for this adventure is the former footballer Taylor Twellmanwho summed up the importance of Apple’s entry into MLS and football: “When Apple says yes, everyone says yes.”

“Apple asks a question with any of its projects: ‘how can we improve the consumer experience?’ The 26-year MLS fan apologizes for being an MLS fan, but he doesn’t have to say sorry anymore. That’s what convinced me,” he said.

MLS season ticket It will include all matches from the regular season, the MLS Cup playoffs and also the Leagues Cup, a new official competition in which all clubs from MLS and Liga MX will compete.

Also, each team will have its own about page MLS season ticket where you can post custom content designed especially for your fans.

The emergence of MLS Season Pass, however, they will partly coexist with traditional televisionthat they will be able to broadcast some MLS matches following the usual rules of rights for markets, restrictions and ‘blackouts’ outside them, only some specific matches per day, etc.

In any case, this move Manzana in ‘streaming’ marks a new milestone in its penetration of audiovisual entertainment, although it had already taken some important steps related to sports.

Thus, the Cupertino-based multinational began last year broadcasting MLB baseball once a week with its “Friday Night Baseball” proposal.

Additionally, Apple Music became the official sponsor of the interlude show in 2022. super bowl taking the place of Pepsi.

The specialized magazine Sport Business Journal claims that this agreement with the NFL, which began with Rihanna’s performance at the Philadelphia Eagles-Kansas City Chiefs a couple of weeks ago, is for five years and 50 million dollars a year.