MLS Commissioner Don Garber ‘very pleased’ with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Major League Soccer’s MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
To watch their favorite MLS players, fans must subscribe to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Since 2023, Apple TV has held primary broadcasting rights, producing and airing every MLS, MLS Cup Playoff, and Leagues Cup match exclusively through the subscription service, placing the league largely behind a paywall.
“We’re very pleased with where we are. With Apple subscriptions, our ratings and audience are strong,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said at the Leagues Cup final between Miami and Seattle Sounders. “I know it’s frustrating for all of you that we can’t be comparative. Our ratings for the league scope have been off the charts. That’s indicative for us in a subscription paywall model.”
Ben Steiner for Sports Illustrated:
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While some matches air on traditional cable channels such as Fox in the United States and TSN in Canada, the majority of clubs’ games are behind the Apple TV paywall, which retailed for a base rate of $129 at the start of the 2025 MLS season.
Additionally, the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV model allows for global consumption of the product without blackouts, making Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, LAFC’s Son and Vancouver’s Müller as easy to watch in Argentina, South Korea and Germany as it is in North America.
Earlier in the season, Garber revealed that games on the platform average 120,000 viewers, and that is an increase of 50% from the 2024 season. He suggested that boost was partially owed to fans being able to purchase the MLS Season Pass service through some TV providers, but did not offer further clarity.
“I like the fact that we have the ability to be anywhere in the world. I can watch games no matter where I am. I can go on my phone—an Apple phone or an Android device—or any computer or screen,” Garber added at the Leagues Cup. “I was on vacation up in Canada, and I was able to watch those games as if I were sitting in my living room in New York City.”
“That dynamic is the future,” Garber said. “We think of media consumption — it just has to be accessible, and we need to make sure we are getting the accessibility right, continuing into the future.”

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MacDailyNews Take: MLS is the healthiest its’ ever been and that’s largely thanks to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV – and Lionel Messi, of course!

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