October 21 – Major League Soccer (MLS) have made every post-season play-off match available free to view for all Apple TV viewers, meaning no more MLS Season Pass is required.
It’s a move by the platform designed to broaden the league’s reach, capture some casual fans, and perhaps even snag some new subscribers for the 2026 season. Matches will also air on long-time collaborator Fox, in the U.S., and TSN and RDS in Canada, ensuring that, at least for a few weeks, MLS will be hard to miss.
However, the question one must ask is…has the paywall actually helped MLS grow?
Apple’s $2.5 billion, ten-year exclusive deal, which runs through 2033, in theory gave MLS global exposure through the platform, yet for all the hype, the league has all but vanished from the mainstream sports landscape. For sports in the United States to crack the code, a major network is a must to gain viewer loyalty.
The introduction of a “Sunday Night Soccer” window next season, which will be available to every Apple TV user, will attempt to make a statement, but Saturday night is perhaps the most competitive night of the week for broadcasters.
For those who paid for MLS Season Pass this year, the decision to suddenly make the playoffs free might have a few asking for refunds. Why pay the full whack when the biggest games of the season are handed out gratis?
With Formula One arriving on the platform next year, Apple and MLS are gambling that a sporting platform will translate into cross-over appeal. Whether the experiment succeeds can only be judged by viewership, numbers which the pair are keeping close to the chest.