In a first for a league of its size, Major League Soccer has sold all of its broadcasting rights to a streaming platform — Apple.
Apple has acquired complete global rights to all Major League Soccer events for the next ten years, including the Leagues Cup, it was announced Tuesday. The company will pay $250 million in what Sports Business Journal characterizes as a “minimum guarantee” rather than a traditional rights fee. MLS currently makes $90 million per year from its incumbent partners ESPN, Fox Sports and Univision.
Under the agreement, every MLS match will be available through a new subscription service available within the Apple TV app, with no local blackouts. While the new service will house all games, it will not be the only place to watch matches. Per Sports Business Journal and The Athletic, some matches will be available for free through the Apple TV app, others will be available with an Apple TV+ subscription, and still others could air on traditional linear television, as the deal will not preclude MLS from reaching deals with linear TV partners. The league is reportedly still in negotiations with its current partners, but those deals will be non-exclusive and any game on those platforms would be simulcast on Apple.
MLS will reportedly produce all of the matches, per Sports Business Journal.
Essentially, one will be able to watch the entire MLS season solely with one over-the-top subscription, eliminating the need to purchase linear cable or an out-of-market package.
If not the biggest splash yet by a streaming service — Amazon’s $1.1 billion/year deal for NFL Thursday Night Football still takes the crown — Apple’s deal with MLS is by far the most comprehensive agreement between a league and a streaming partner. Apple has an existing deal with Major League Baseball for weekly Friday night doubleheaders and is widely believed to be a leading contender to acquire NFL Sunday Ticket.
[News from MLS, Sports Business Journal 6.14, The Athletic 6.14]
