The agreement means top flight US football will be available around the world via live streaming
The MLS has signed a landmark broadcast deal with Apple. The arrangement will see US soccer made available on the company's live streaming platform Apple TV worldwide. It is said to be worth in the region of $2.5bn and will last for ten years.
Every MLS and Leagues Cup match will be shown on Apple TV across the duration of the agreement.
The league has however decided to also pursue deals with traditional broadcasters. ESPN, Fox and Univision are said to be keen to reach agreements with MLS to show some matches on regular TV and via their own live streaming networks.
Current deals with ESPN, Unvision and Fox will expire at the end of this season.
As part of this new deal, MLS will be shown on its own dedicated app on Apple TV. The matches will feature their own pre-game, half time and post-game analysis segments and commentary will be provided throughout.
This deal with Apple TV will also not be subject to regular blackout rules, meaning every game will be available on the streamer, no matter what time it takes place.
ESPN and the other traditional broadcasters will likely sign on for less games than they currently have. This season ESPN will air 34 regular-season games and Univision will show 32. These numbers are expected to go down in light of the Apple deal, but matches will still be shown on those networks.
Under the current TV rights deal with ESPN, Univision and Fox, MLS receives around $65 per season. They will aim to sign something similar with those three broadcast giants again, only with less matches.
The £2.5bn they will receive from Apple represents a huge increase in broadcasting revenue.
It is as yet unclear what effect the influx of new cash will have on the league, its clubs and their operations.
One thing which is clear is that this agreement is historic for the MLS in terms of the amount of money received and a switch to a predominantly OTT model. The Apple TV deal is a clear example of football taking one more step towards the live streaming only model, something which more and more leagues are experimenting with throughout the world.
The MLS is about half way through its regular season. Following the playoffs and the MLS Cup, it will pivot to this new arrangement with Apple and the three TV companies going into the next campaign.
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