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Apple Launches MLS Season Pass on Apple TV App Starting at $12.99 per Month

pero33 said:
Most sports in US are boring but Nascar would be nice to have in Apple TC+.
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To each their own, but I personally find NASCAR to be beyond boring. And it's not like I didn't give it a try. I grew up with a NASCAR racetrack (Sears Point) essentially in my back yard. Loved the drag races. But NASCAR bored me to tears.

Then again, as a hardcore baseball fan, who am I to criticize any other sport as "boring." 🤣
 
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$13 a month for this seems a bit steep to me. I just don't think there are enough soccer/football fans here in the USA to make this a worthwhile undertaking. I'm a casual fan so maybe I'm not the audience, but I'd have signed up if it were $5/mo. Not touching this at $13.

Not sure this will benefit Apple. Not sure this will benefit the MLS. I guess time will tell.
 
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boak said:
They must be aiming to upsell. New customers might think that they might as well sign up for Apple TV+ at just an additional $4.99/month.
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Oh they’re aiming to upsell. Get ready for a popup ad to subscribe to MLS every time you open the TV app now.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
I am not really a soccer fan although I watched some last year. I would like to see Apple offer the NHL pass.
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I'm with you on this, but since last season when ESPN got control of NHL, it's far less expensive than previous years when you had to buy NHL Center Ice for twice the price of now. I don't mind paying $9.99/mo for 7 months although having to use the ESPN app to see content is annoying having to sift through all the other sports to find NHL stuff.
 
realeric said:
MLS for $144/year is a ripoff. I’m so glad that NBC made a contract with Premier league. Peacock premium is $25/year after discount, $50/year without discount. It could be $25/month if it were Apple.
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Peacock has national tv blackouts. You still need a cable (or equivalent) subscription at $60+ a month to watch every premier league game. Lack of local and national blackouts is the reason this is pricier.
 
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The thing to remember is that for many of us, we didn't have access to our local teams games without a $40-$80 a month cable subscription. With ESPN+, I couldn't watch games for NYCFC or the Red Bulls because of exclusive contracts with Yes and MSG. Those are expensive networks to get access to. For the same price as I was spending last year for a month, I can get access to an entire season.

There will still be some games on cable tv as well, but the ratings for typical MLS games was terrible, so MLS taking the leap that people will subscribe to this either in addition to or instead of cable makes some more sense than a lot are giving them.
 
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That is a bit overpriced, in my opinion. Maybe if they add some European Leagues to it at no extra cost, it would be a better deal. For comparison, Tennis Channel Plus is under $10 per month, and the season is longer, a lot more content each year. NBA League pass is under $10 per month, again lots of content. MLB.TV costs a bit more, I believe, but 162 games.
 
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djplong said:
If Apple is charging the same amount overseas, now THAT is a miscalculation. MLS is just starting to get over it's reputation as a "retirement league" for older Premier, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga players and seems to be on par with many of the European "second" divisions in their pyramids.
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LOL...MLS is the sixth best world league based on the number of players that participated in the 2022 World Cup.

www.sportingnews.com

Leagues with most players at World Cup 2022: Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, MLS, A-League stars in Qatar | Sporting News

Heading into the tournament, which league has the most representatives at the 2022 World Cup?
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
 
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This would be great for European football, though it would have to bundle a few leagues, imagine a European season pass that includes UEFA League, Champions League, La Liga, EPL, Calcio and the Bundesliga.
 
Apple's approach to fiction TV is paying off. Instead of licensing content en masse like Netflix or acquiring established IP like Disney did with Star Wars, Apple has been building their own properties from the ground up.

MLS is the perfect vehicle to do something similar for sports because the league has potential that has yet to be tapped. Apple's massive network of users alone will change MLS while Apple gets to mold it with its style and concepts for TV streaming. I'm not a huge soccer fan but I'm eager to see what Apple does with it.

Once Apple gets into it, I imagine we'll see things like viewer controlled camera angles, on demand replays, audio channels for matching local announcers on the radio to the game, and more.

I'd love to see Apple acquire the rights to XFL to do the same with football. It has potential.

Meanwhile, you can't imagine a more perfect tie in for Ted Lasso. This is the final season though Jason Sudeikis did hint at the prospect of the show continuing. This is just a 3 part story and that on is ending. Imagine Ted Lasso returns to the US and with his experience in the British football league, manages an MLS team. The opportunities for crossover are fun to imagine!
 
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gnipgnop said:
LOL...MLS is the sixth best world league based on the number of players that participated in the 2022 World Cup.

www.sportingnews.com

Leagues with most players at World Cup 2022: Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, MLS, A-League stars in Qatar | Sporting News

Heading into the tournament, which league has the most representatives at the 2022 World Cup?
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
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The Saudi Pro League is seventh on that list, lol. Not even Americans watch the MLS, let alone people elsewhere. In the east coast the EPL generates more attraction and on the west coast the Liga MX does the same.

Who outside a small pocket of Americans would pay to watch the MLS?

In the Americas, the Liga MX, Brasileirao and Argentina’s primera all generate more interest both locally and internationally.
 
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It's in everyone's interest that this is a success. Having all the games available in one place for a reasonable price is incredibly consumer friendly.

Remember that domestic leagues are usually spread over multiple media companies, with foreign leagues added as backfill to services.

Americans need to compare domestic league access to MLS Season Pass and not Bundesliga. Just as UK Premier League viewers need to dream of this format compared to the Sky, Prime, BT Sport costly combo.
 
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I really hope they have thought about offering these sports subscriptions at a range of different prices depending on country/region, as someone before me pointed out, a league doesn’t generate the same interest everywhere.

While an American might be ok with that price for seeing its local team and league, a Central American might be willing to pay it at half the price. A Mexican or Argentinian, they might just watch it if it’s free and there’s nothing less at the moment.
 
No problem whatsoever; I'll pass (not interested in football/soccer), but as long as it doesn't come "free with Apple TV+" (=subsidized by people who don't want or need that), it's great for those who want it and can't get it cheaper elsewhere (Europeans probably).

H.
 
johnmarki said:
$12.99 for MLS?!?! Cmon Apple. $10 for Bundesliga & LaLiga included with ESPN+ and $10 for UCL included with Paramount.
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Its $6.66 a month if you pay for the year. I suspect that is how most will be paying for it.
 
kbeez34 said:
Wow. Swing and a miss, eh Apple? I think they’ve overestimated the US interest in soccer (does the rest of the world care about our MLS?) but I’m sure the fans are disappointed (and any overseas fans who were hoping for better). Considering Peacock for $4.99 includes all the content they do AND the Premier League - I don’t see how Apple thinks they can justify $12.99 or $14.99 (or even the $79/$99) a month for this standalone sub. I figured this deal would just have MLS included in TV+ or expected maybe a slight increase in monthly membership to cover this but can’t see Apple making their money back here..
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It’s an absolute bargain to be honest. It’s $79 or $99 per year for every single match, not just a selection of games. Tickets cost on average $50 per game. That’s every single game live for the average price of 2 games.
The game is growing in popularity in the USA & Canada, it will gain a fair few people subscribing.
 
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