‘Very Pleased’—MLS Commissioner Don Garber on MLS Apple TV Deal, Offers Look at Future

The 2025 MLS season has seen the likes of Son Heung-min and Thomas Müller join the league midway through the campaign. Yet, for fans looking to catch a glimpse of their favorite players, they need to subscribe to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Since 2023, MLS and Apple TV have had a primary rights holder agreement, which sees Apple TV produce and broadcast every single MLS, MLS Cup Playoff, and Leagues Cup match for a subscription, making it one of the few leagues near entirely behind a paywall.

While some matches air on traditional cable channels such as Fox in the United States and TSN in Canada, the majority of clubs’ games are behind the Apple TV paywall, which retailed for a base rate of $129 at the start of the 2025 MLS season.

When signed, the deal was a landmark moment for MLS. Worth $2.5 billion through 2033, it provided the league with unparalleled coverage and production, while making it a highlighted property, unlike the league was during its days in the previous deal under ESPN and other traditional broadcasters.

Additionally, the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV model allows for global consumption of the product without blackouts, making Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, LAFC’s Son and Vancouver’s Müller as easy to watch in Argentina, South Korea and Germany as it is in North America.

However, the accessibility and subscription numbers have come under fire in 2025, with casual fans unable to briefly tune into games, and subscription information not publicly available in-depth.

“We’re very pleased with where we are. With Apple subscriptions, our ratings and audience are strong,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said at the Leagues Cup final between Miami and Seattle Sounders. “I know it’s frustrating for all of you that we can’t be comparative. Our ratings for the league scope have been off the charts. That’s indicative for us in a subscription paywall model.”

Earlier in the season, Garber revealed that games on the platform average 120,000 viewers, and that is an increase of 50% from the 2024 season. He suggested that boost was partially owed to fans being able to purchase the MLS Season Pass service through some TV providers, but did not offer further clarity.

And during the 2025 campaign, the league and Apple TV have also permitted local television channels to broadcast games on delay to local audiences, as seen with Charlotte FC, FC Dallas and other markets.

“I like the fact that we have the ability to be anywhere in the world. I can watch games no matter where I am. I can go on my phone—an Apple phone or an Android device—or any computer or screen,” Garber added at the Leagues Cup. “I was on vacation up in Canada, and I was able to watch those games as if I were sitting in my living room in New York City.”

While fans of other leagues often grapple with split broadcast rights or blackouts, MLS has passed by those issues by going all-in on streaming with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, However, there are still gaps between traditional TV viewers and those tuning in to the new product.

“That dynamic is the future,” Garber said. “We think of media consumption—it just has to be accessible, and we need to make sure we are getting the accessibility right, continuing into the future.”