Key Points
- Apple will stop charging a separate fee for Major League Soccer games, according to a report.
- MLS Season Pass will be folded in favor of bringing live games to Apple TV Plus, soon to be renamed Apple TV.
- Apple TV Plus costs $13 per month.
Apple will stop charging a separate subscription to watch games from MLS Season Pass, offering those live games to all customers who pay for a core membership to Apple TV Plus for the first time, according to a report published on Thursday.
The report, from the New York Times, cited multiple anonymous sources who affirmed that Apple TV Plus — soon to be renamed Apple TV — will unlock all Major League Soccer (MLS) games as part of an effort to help the professional soccer league reach current and new fans around the world.
Apple currently charges $15 per month or $100 per season for access to all live games from MLS Season Pass. Soccer fans did not need to pay for Apple TV Plus in order to watch live games; an Apple TV Plus membership costs $13 per month or $100 per year.
Apple has never offered detailed information on how many customers pay for Apple TV Plus and how many subscribers watch live games through MLS Season Pass.
While Apple’s presentation of live soccer games drew praise for its distinguished offerings compared to broadcast and cable television, the arrangement also reportedly aggrieved MLS over the years, who felt Apple was making it too difficult for soccer fans to watch live games.
To appease MLS, Apple began offering games from MLS Season Pass on DIRECTV and Comcast’s Xfinity TV earlier this year, with events aggregated through the same electronic program guide as other live sports. In May, Comcast reached an agreement with Apple to begin offering weekly MLS Season Pass games for free through a dedicated menu on its Xfinity TV and Xumo Stream Box platforms.
The decision to effectively end MLS Season Pass and bring all MLS games into the Apple TV experience is likely to boost interest in the core offering, especially in the United States as Apple prepares to offer live events from Formula 1 next year. Apple also offers Major League Baseball (MLB) games on Friday evenings when the league is in season.
Last month, Apple and Comcast launched a new bundle that brings their streaming services to sports fans for $15 per month — a deep savings off the retail costs of each service. For soccer fans, the bundle allows them to access MLS games along with live soccer from NBC Universal, including Premier League games.
