MLS’ deal with Apple reportedly will guarantee league at least $250M a year, with more possible if subscription threshold is reachedGetty Images
The new broadcast rights deal between MLS and Apple TV seems “like a win for MLS,” starting with the “financial impact of the new deal,” according to Michael Rand of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The new deal with Apple reportedly will “guarantee the league” at least $250M a year, with the “possibility of more if a certain subscription threshold is reached.” That will “put millions of dollars into the pockets of teams and will boost player salaries since the salary cap is tied to media revenue.” It also is “great news for fans of just MLS.” Because there are “no local blackout restrictions,” fans in every market will “have access to every league game for a fee.” If someone is a season ticket holder for any MLS team, they will “get the games for free.” It is a “smart investment” by the league that “rewards those who have been most loyal to them.” This also feels like a “good thing just from the standpoint of a league taking the full plunge into the streaming world.” However, for a fan of all sports, this could be “another step in a process that actually makes watching sports more cumbersome and expensive.” MLS also runs the “risk of decreased visibility by diminishing its footprint with more traditional broadcast partners.” While it sounds like there will “still be a package of games on ESPN into the future,” the move “makes it clear that Apple TV is the primary home for MLS” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/16).
NEW BENCHMARK: In Columbus, Michael Arace writes what MLS and Apple produced together is a “new benchmark.” Sports broadcasting is in the “throes of seismic change,” and, for hardcore fans of any team, no matter the sport, it is their “prayer to see something like this Apple-MLS deal — depending on the price and the quality of production.” Whatever the cost, it will “probably be something most MLS fans are willing to pay,” which leads to two of the “appealing features of this Apple app: There will be no blackouts (!) and season-ticket holders won’t have to pay to use it.” As MLS fans “skew younger and tend to be ardent cord-cutters,” one might say that they are the “future of television.” This contract “takes careful aim at them.” The old system of delivering sports on television is being “pushed toward obsolescence by Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z.” The next generations “don’t sit down in their gaming chairs to watch the game of the week.” They consume “what they want at their convenience, on multiple devices,” and they “want a better product” (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 6/16).
