If you're tapped into the MLS world at all, you know that MLS Season Pass — the joint venture between MLS and Apple — is live.
The subscription service is now available worldwide on the Apple TV+ app, launched Wednesday to much fanfare from both the tech giant and the league. Hours of free on-demand content featuring club and player profiles are already on the platform, as are highlights from the 2022 season, documentary-style vignettes, and a growing library of match replays including every MLS Cup final. There's also a series of interviews done during last month's MLS Media in San Jose (near Apple headquarters), featuring new looks at key players from around the league.
The best part about it, from our initial forays into the platform, is that a lot of the content around the team seems to be free as long as you have an account with Apple. That means you don't even need to purchase Apple TV+ to start diving in.
(You will, of course, need a subscription once the season starts to access the match broadcasts.)
What is MLS Season Pass?
MLS Season Pass will be the new home to for every MLS and Leagues Cup match starting this season. MLS Next Pro and MLS Next games will also be available on the platform so fans can follow their favorite team's developmental teams.
The addition of the MLS tab on the Apple TV+ homepage immediately makes it easy to access the league's content. The page is easy to navigate and the club-specific pages make it easy to access each team's individual content.
A lot of the content is similar to what clubs have posted on their YouTube channels or the video section of their websites. That shouldn't come as a surprise. Much of the video content on the platform now was actually shot and produced by each team's video department and sent to Apple for use on MLS Season Pass.
Where MLS Season Pass shines is with convenience: You can find all this content in one place. The Apple-MLS partnership also makes this content essential for clubs to prioritize, therefore generating more consistency, as not every club has placed the same emphasis on self-published video content.
The preloaded content is a good start for fans to prepare for the upcoming season that kicks off on February 25. More content will be added weekly throughout the season, from interviews to injury updates, which will add more value to the subscription.
Perhaps the biggest value of MLS Season Pass is in the video library and live game broadcasts. Every MLS Cup final is available on top of match replays dating back as far as the 2019 season. These classic matches will be a great point of reference for newer fans who want to learn more about the league and older fans who want to re-live the nostalgic moments of years ago.
MLS Season Pass features hours of content for novice and die-hards
What is included in MLS Season Pass?
The basic concept behind MLS Season Pass — besides, of course, being one centralized location to watch matches — is that every club's digital content is centralized into one channel along with league content.
Here's a roundup of what's on the platform as it launches:
- The Best of MLS: Highlights of some of the best goals and plays
- MLS Review: A recap show on the latest ongoing in the league
- Club Profiles: A brief history of each club
- Player Profiles: A personal look into MLS players and their love for the game
- Iconic Players: Diving into some of the league's past stars
- Playoff Moments: Highlights from important postseason matches
- Classics: Replays of past matches from MLS Cup finals, MLS All-Star games, and more
- The Ritual: Docu-series on each team's fan culture
- Drone Tour: Basically what it sounds like, a drone tour into MLS stadiums
- The Movement: Community-based stories and features
- Beyond the Pitch: An off-field look into players' businesses and hobbies
Some of these are no different than the highlight videos that were already on the league's website or YouTube page. The profiles are great additions to give a brief backstory for fans wanting to learn more about each team and its players.
The review show right now is just on the 2022 season, but it looks like the skeleton is there for at least a weekly recap like the one most recently on ESPN+. Mini docu-series like The Movement or Beyond The Pitch provide a bit more backstory for the die-hards that can't get enough content.
The Drone Tour leaves more to be desired as it's only a look at the inside bowl of the stadiums and not a complete tour with locker rooms, coaches' offices or other areas fans don't normally get to see on game day. This section currently only features a portion of the stadiums as other teams start to roll out. The Dynamo, for example, is currently undergoing renovations to its stadium, so it's currently not included in the series.
Honestly, there's nothing earth-shattering on the channel, but the lack of video content around the league makes this engaging. A major network like ESPN, FOX Sports or TUDN could replicate these kinds of features, like the coverage we see in other sports, but none ever took a full plunge to give teams more personalized coverage.
Again, the value is in the archived footage and match broadcasts but the rest of the content is a good complement. Ultimately, what's going to get people to hit the subscribe button will be the live match broadcasts. The ability for international viewers to also get this content will also help the league with supporters abroad.
So what will you be able to watch on MLS Season Pass? Viewers in over 100 countries and regions featuring live broadcasts and replays of:
- Every MLS regular season match
- Every MLS playoff and MLS Cup match
- Every Leagues Cup match (except in Mexico)
- Hundreds of live MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches
- An exclusive live match whip-around show
Matches will feature English and Spanish broadcast crews with a studio show in both languages. Fans will also be able to choose either club’s home radio broadcast in the audio options.
Atlanta United FC home page on MLS Season Pass
How can I access MLS Season Pass?
MLS Season Pass is now available on the Apple TV app and, through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share the subscription using their own Apple ID and password. Here are the three separate ways to gain access:
- If you are already an Apple TV+ subscriber: $12.99/month or $79/season
- If you are not an Apple TV+ subscriber: $14.99/month or $99/season
- Season Ticket Holder Benefit: Each full-season ticket account will include one subscription to the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (one per account*)
Season ticket holders across the league started getting their redemption codes to activate their MLS Season Pass subscription on Wednesday morning. If you have not received your code, the recommended solution is to contact your club or ticket representative to have a code sent to you as soon as possible.
A selection of MLS and Leagues Cup matches will also be available at no additional cost to Apple TV+ subscribers, with a limited number of matches available for free on the Apple TV app. A selection of MLS matches will air on FOX Sports this season, which will require a cable subscription to watch live, but the replays of those matches should be available on Apple TV.
Apple
MLS Season Pass is available to watch on Apple TV+ on most common devices.
Where can I watch Apple TV+?
In simple terms, Apple TV is the name of the application where the content is stored. AppleTV+ is the name of the subscription service to watch the programming and MLS Season Pass is like a PPV channel.
You can access Apple TV through basically every digital device at your disposal. Here is a list of capable devices:
- Apple Devices: Most iPhone, iPad, Mac models (may need iOS update)
- Android Devices: Apple TV is available for download in the Google Play Store
- SmartTVs: Select Samsung, LG, VIZIO and Sony models
- Gaming Consoles: PlayStation and Xbox are compatible
- Streaming Devices: Roku, Fire TV and Google TV
Apple also sells an Apple TV box that plugs straight into your TV and comes with a remote (though an internet connection required). Purchase of the Apple TV box is not required to watch Apple TV+.