PALM BEACH, Fla. — MLS will no longer be behind a separate paywall on Apple TV beginning in 2026.
MLS and Apple have agreed to alter the partnership agreement at the end of the 2025 season, multiple sources told The Athletic. MLS Season Pass will no longer exist, and all MLS games will be available on the Apple TV streaming service. (Apple rebranded Apple TV+ to Apple TV.)
It’s an important change for the MLS-Apple deal, which put every MLS game behind a paywall that cost fans for $14.99 per month or $99 for the season. While the streaming service provided a far better broadcast experience than the local TV deals for diehard MLS fans, it also made it much more difficult for the league to reach new fans.
The standard Apple TV subscription is $12.99 per month or $99 for an annual plan.
Coming out from behind a separate paywall will make MLS available for all of Apple TV’s subscribers. Variety reported that Apple had 45 million subscribers, but on a recent podcast appearance Apple executive Eddy Cue pushed back on those projections.
“We haven’t said what our numbers are but we’re significantly more than that,” Cue said.
Apple also recently signed a five-year deal with Formula 1 that begins in 2026, giving them more sports offerings and opening MLS to F1 fans who subscribe to the service, too (Apple TV and Peacock also launched a bundle last month starting at $14.99 per month that allows fans access to both MLS and the Premier League). MLS soft-launched this plan by making more than 200 games available outside of the MLS Season Pass subscription. Those games did reach bigger audiences, on average.
MLS also brought the entirety of its 2025 postseason out from behind the paywall.
The league signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion contract with Apple beginning in 2023. MLS bundled all of its local, national and international rights as part of the contract and has been running all of production for MLS Season Pass.
Some fans have criticized the deal because it makes the MLS product harder to find, both locally and nationally. MLS and Apple have worked together to try to increase distribution via deals with Comcast and DirecTV.
Despite the challenges, MLS executives and stakeholders have remained optimistic about the potential of the partnership.
“The story on the Apple deal will be written over time, because I think we were ahead of the curve,” MLS deputy commissioner Gary Stevenson told The Athletic this week. “I like the fact that all 600 of our matches can be accessed globally by one touch of your finger. And I think over time, as the world transitions, and you’re seeing it right before your eyes right now … we have a partner that is willing to make changes with us to better serve the consumer. And I think you’re going to see some changes in the future that are going to be better and better and better and better, and that property is growing and growing and growing.”