Columbus Crew games headed to Apple streaming service in 2023

Crew fans have a new way to follow the team next season.

Kicking the news: Major League Soccer and Apple agreed this week on a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal to exclusively broadcast all league games within a new Apple TV streaming service beginning in 2023, Axios’ Tim Baysinger writes.

Why it matters: The deal eliminates the “Where’s the game?” problem for fans who currently have to pony up for costly cable packages on Bally Sports regional networks, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN.

Details: Instead, every game will be streamed via one outlet with no local blackout rules.

• The league also plans to schedule games primarily on Saturdays to produce a live whip-around show on Saturday nights, per Sports Illustrated.

Yes, but: This does mean signing up for yet another streaming service, as the product is separate from the Apple TV+ service already being offered.

• It’s unclear what the cost will be. For reference, Tyler paid $130 for a season-long MLB streaming package through the league.

Of note: Access to this streaming service will be included with a full-season ticket package at Lower.com Field.