The MLS Season Pass has a lot of potential for Major League Soccer fans, but some of the less hardcore supporters may balk at the price.
MLS Season Pass has a base price of $14.99 per month. There is also an annual option that users can subscribe to for $99 per season. Then Apple TV+ subscribers get small discounts of their own. A monthly subscription becomes $12.99 and a season subscription is $79.
MLS Season Pass assigns over 900 games. It has all the MLS matches, MLS NEXT, MLS NEXT Pro, and Leagues Cup. On top of that, the platform has extensive video content produced by the leagues and teams. Player features, club legends, and fan engagement are all possible in MLS Season Pass.
Compared to other soccer streaming services, MLS Season Pass has steep prices. The competitors, however, are not that deep. They offer more options, including different leagues and often different sports.
MLS Season Pass Price Rollup
Includes all MLS games, MLS Cup, League Cup, select MLS NEXT Pro games and exclusive content
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First of all, the MLS season pass may not be as expensive as some believe. For one, there are a number of possible discounts. The largest of these goes to season ticket holders. MLS season ticket holders have a full season subscription to the MLS Season Pass included for free with their ticket. That way, they can watch all of their club’s away games, plus all of the other MLS games this season.
So only the annual options take a significant chunk off the monthly price. The risk of that is that Apple TV is new to the soccer scene. Despite amassing a wide and skilled array of talents, it’s sure to lead to some trouble early on.
Still, let’s take a look at the prices for the MLS season pass compared to some of the others in the same category.
American teams vs English teams
One of the biggest draws to MLS Season Pass is the fact that it has all the teams, all the games from different competitions. It has MLS, MLS NEXT, MLS NEXT Pro and Leagues Cup all included. However, MLS fans often only follow their club. In other words, there is less national momentum in the league, it has more of a very strong following at the local level. The National Hockey League is in a very similar position.
Now, for comparison, consider an English club like Burnley. The Championship side is not always available on ESPN+ and of course it is not on the NBC or Peacock networks as it is not in the Premier League. Fans can subscribe to watch every Burnley game, but that’s a whopping $169 per season. Again, that’s just Burnley, and some of those games are blocked because they may be on ESPN+.
In that sense, Burnley fans would love to have the same deal as MLS fans for $99 a year. Not only would they pay less to watch every Burnley game, but they would also get the rest of the league and all the additional content included in MLS Season Pass. On top of that, MLS Season Pass is an international deal, so there are no blackouts for anyone in the world who subscribes to MLS Season Pass.
There are debates about how many international fans actually watch MLS. While the league itself is somewhat mute about its international audience, Sky Sports reported an audience of around 30,000 eight years ago. That was some time ago, but it shows that the league isn’t necessarily crossing the pond.
Regardless, the MLS season pass is available anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection. However, looking at the United States, would a casual fan be inclined to sign up for the MLS Season Pass knowing that he only has Major League Soccer? Surely there’s a large contingent of fans who only watch MLS when they’re on the go and watch it on FOX and previously on ESPN or Univision, before those two were pulled from MLS TV rights.
These people are soccer fans. They may already have ESPN+ to watch LaLiga, Bundesliga, Championship, FA Cup and more. They could also have Paramount+ and Peacock to mark the Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Champions League and more. Each of those competing streaming subscriptions is individually cheaper than MLS.
MLS Season Pass can base its price on the quality of its broadcasts. There are multilingual options, pre- and post-game coverage for each game, and the aforementioned video content. Once again, this is MLS only. The ESPN+ soccer calendar has popular leagues and niche leagues like the Eredivisie or the Belgian Pro League. Similarly, Paramount+ has headlines like the Champions League and Serie A. It also has you covered with the Argentine Primera, the English Women’s Super League, and international competitions.
Casual fans tend to like breadth more than depth. They want options.
MLS season pass debut
Although the subscription service launched in early February, it won’t be under the microscope until the season begins on February 25. So this grand experiment between Major League Soccer and Apple will pay off. The best fans can rejoice in the seamless ability to watch as much MLS as possible. The quiet fan may not agree with the price of the MLS season pass. We will see.
PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
Major League Soccer Guide
Here are some resources to help you get the most out of the MLS Season Pass!
