Apple and Major League Soccer Wednesday shared their live event production plan for MLS Season Pass, designed to elevate the viewing experience by expanding access to MLS programming, enhancing video and audio quality, and engaging fans more than ever before.
MLS Season Pass, the subscription service on the Apple TV app, will feature every match of the MLS regular season, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and Leagues Cup1 all in one place, with more consistent match times and no blackouts — a first in live sports broadcasting.
Fans will enjoy enhanced production quality when watching matches on MLS Season Pass, which will feature more camera angles, 1080p video, Dolby 5.1 audio, and enhanced data and graphics in live match coverage all season long for better field coverage, replays, and storytelling around the clubs and players. A new graphics package for MLS Season Pass will bring MLS clubs to the forefront and provide new opportunities to incorporate storylines, stats, and advanced data visualizations.
For the first time, MLS fans can tune in to dedicated studio programming to preview weekly matchups, dissect key moments, and hear stories from around the league all season long. Before each match, viewers can enjoy “MLS Countdown”, a pregame show available in English and Spanish. “MLS 360,” a new whip-around show, will provide live look-ins from every match. Fans can get a full recap of the day’s action via “MLS Wrap-Up” — live postgame coverage available in English and Spanish.
Spearheading MLS Season Pass coverage is a team of more than 80 announcers and soccer legends presenting to fans in English and Spanish, plus French for matches involving Canadian clubs. They represent 21 different countries and nationalities, and in total have covered more than 75 World Cups, 30 Champions League finals, 30 Olympics, and innumerable Premier League, LaLiga, and Bundesliga matches. Together, they make up one of the largest collections of on-air talent by a single network or service covering soccer and any major sports league.
Live match and studio productions will be supported by a pair of global industry leaders: NEP Group and IMG. Together, they will power event production for over 900 matches representing over 2,000 hours of live coverage, as well as production of live studio programming on MLS Season Pass.
All MLS and Leagues Cup live matches will be produced at MLS stadiums, including on-site talent, using a fleet of production units to produce simultaneous coverage of up to 14 matches each game night. Live studio programming will be created at a newly rebuilt production facility in New York City with a trio of state-of-the-art studios that will serve as the central hub for all MLS Season Pass studio programming.
All matches will feature commentary in English and Spanish, while matches involving Canadian teams will also have French commentary. Fans in the US and Canada will have the option to select their home team’s radio broadcast for audio on the Apple TV app where available. Viewers will also have the ability to watch any match from the start, no matter when they tune in, and have access to the full game replay immediately after the match has ended. Additionally, MLS Season Pass features a vast library of MLS classics, historic and current match replays, highlights, and club-produced content that is updated weekly.
Fans can visit mlssoccer.com/schedule to see the full 2023 MLS season schedule, including which matches that will be available for free on the Apple TV app during the first month. Additional free matches will be added regularly throughout the season.
