Don Garber (r) touted MLS’s ability to simplify its schedule under the new deal with AppleMarc Bryan-Brown
MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Apple SVP/Services Eddy Cue continued to stoke hype for the launch of the their partnership next season during a sit-down yesterday at the CAA World Congress of Sports. The 10-year, $2.5B tie-up, which will center around a subscription service featuring every MLS match without restrictions, represents Apple’s biggest bet on live sports thus far. Cue, who said he never thought he’d be on stage at an SBJ event, and Garber each expressed a desire to simplify the experience of being an MLS fan. Garber touted the league’s ability to simplify its schedule by working with Apple, rather than traditional TV partners, moving games almost exclusively to Saturdays and Wednesdays beginning next season. Cue gushed about the lack of blackouts, the convenience of knowing where to watch every game and the integration of MLS into Apple’s ecosystem. “One of the things that we pride ourselves very much on is making (things) very simple, very clean and elegant,” Cue said. “So we’re going to work really hard together to do that: make it easy for people to switch games, for people to get updates and their phones and devices.”
MORE TO COME: Cue also stressed that the streaming service is only one part of Apple’s partnership with MLS. “We’ve got a lot of ideas from ticketing with Wallet to Apple Pay inside the stadium to a free subscription for any season ticket holder to podcasts to music to Apple News,” Cue said. “We’re doing all kinds of cool things with Maps with the stadiums and parking, food offerings. It’s everything we’ve got.” Many questions remain about Apple and MLS’ pending implementation of their deal with the 2022-23 season quickly approaching. Garber discussed building out a production entity to deliver high-quality game feeds to fans, but offered no specifics on what it will look like, where it will be based, who will be involved and how far along the league is in propping it up. Pricing for the service remains a mystery. The league has also said it plans to maintain a presence on linear TV via simulcast deals, but it has yet to announce them.
