Considering just how badly they've handled MLB games so far this gives me a lot of pause
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Apple TV to Be Exclusive Home of Major League Soccer Starting in 2023
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I'd be surprised if they don't just use the commentators MLS uses now. The league has English and Spanish commentators.
But now the question is whether a Club will approach Apple as a sponsor. That would be huge.
I honestly thought the MLS had folded. That being said, this will be a good trial for other more popular US sports. The NFL and MLB have been loathe to abandon their lucrative network/cable contracts in favor of all-streaming. Yes, they’ve dipped their toes in streaming SOME games, but Not all without restrictions. In fact, MLB’s service has blackout restrictions that are, quite frankly, ridiculous. If this works and the fans follow, this could be a real game changer for sports streaming going forward.
I haven't watch it yet, but I have a neighbor that's a huge baseball fan and said the same thing about the commentators, said he'd rather not watch it, than have to listen to them.
Direct TV's deal for NFL sunday ticket is just about up. Rumor is Apple is in the lead to get the rights to it.
DAZN is a good service - nice how they tie into TV app (sports part of it anyway).
Serie A moved to Fubo a few years ago and looks like EPL is making the switch too.
Meh... I'd much rather watch a baseball game than a soccer match. Soccer is just sooooo boring. But at least they will have a great Ted Lasso tie-in.
Ted Lasso & Coach as commentators would be a good watch I think.
Granted, this also appears to be American soccer [well, and Canadian soccer] (since it’s MLS). Last I heard from soccer fans is that, while MLS is, as a league, improving from what it used to be, it’s still no comparison to La Liga, Liga MX, or Premier League. So, talking about it from an American market share perspective is perfectly valid, if we assume that MLS wouldn’t have much appeal abroad (that they’d prefer watching their domestic soccer leagues).You seem to ignore that football (a.k.a. soccer) is by far the most popular sport all over the world.
I do hope that the feed will be available to all non-US viewers too.
I mean no disrespect to your opinion, though. It is all just a matter of taste and were you grow up.
I for one am glad it's not bundled into the regular subscription: I have no interest in sports and prefer my subscription dollars spent on content I enjoy watching.
A selection of MLS and League Cup matches will be available at no additional cost to Apple TV+ subscribers, with a limited number of matches available for free. The new MLS streaming service will be included as part of MLS full-season ticket packages.
Additional details on the service, such as subscription pricing, programming information, and when fans can sign up will be announced in the coming months.
St. Louis CITY SC begins play next spring and, as someone without the cable subscription that has St. Louis' baseball and hockey teams' games, I was curious if CITY games were going to be broadcast there or how I'd be able to watch them. I will almost certainly be paying for this.
By the time the season starts, the basement will be finished and the projector hung. Can. Not. Wait.
By the time the season starts, the basement will be finished and the projector hung. Can. Not. Wait.
You may be right BUT I hope this small step will open the door to other leagues as well.
From a guy in Argentina, who is tied to 720p DirecTV transmissions, watching football in 4k will be a blessing (even the MLS).
Carlos
It's only the MLS though, that's not exactly super popular – not even in the US.
Yes but it’s growing. More teams, more sponsors, more full stadiums. Will it ever be as popular as NFL or MLB? No. But it’s growing.
Keeping my fingers crossed for Professional PickleBall next. Hopefully Darts too.
I like both soccer and baseball. Can’t stand (American) football. Lately getting into rugby and…cricket.
That’s a fair point, though. 720p is a bit low resolution these days, and sports is one category of entertainment where having a higher resolution certainly helps. I could see why being limited to 720p sports coverage would make you eager for a 4k solution.
