Major League Soccer (MLS) has recently secured several new international broadcast deals, ensuring its flagship 'Sunday Night Soccer' fixture is available on linear television in key markets worldwide. This move builds upon the league's ongoing efforts to expand its global footprint and engage more fans around the world.
The new agreements include partnerships with TV3 in Sportdigital in Germany, Go in Malta, Charlton in Israel, SkyK in South Korea, Dubai TV in the Middle East, and SpoTV in southeast Asia. These deals follow a similar arrangement made last month with Australian public service broadcaster SBS - MLS's first overseas broadcast deal since initiating a US$2.5 billion exclusive global streaming agreement with Apple back in 2023.
It is anticipated that additional deals may be announced soon as part of an effort to promote MLS Season Pass across other markets.
Domestic partnerships and Sunday Night Soccer
On the domestic front, MLS has non-exclusive agreements with Fox and TSN Canada. However, these contracts do not include Sunday Night Soccer which showcases the most attractive game from each round of fixtures on Apple TV+ without requiring a Season Pass subscription.
In collaboration with Apple, MLS has been promoting awareness of its Season Pass by leveraging the popularity of star player Lionel Messi. A social media post by Inter Miami’s Argentine legend offering his followers a free one-month trial reached audiences across over 100 countries.
Enhancing digital content operations
Beyond broadcasting rights, MLS has also entered into content partnerships aimed at bolstering its digital presence. A deal struck with Footballco grants them access to highlight reels from major events like postseason games and the All-Star Game. Furthermore, ScorePlay will assist all 30 clubs within MLS manage their digital assets using their media asset management (MAM) platform. The AI tools provided by ScorePlay will automatically process, tag, and organize assets such as in-game imagery and video into a centralized repository. This will allow teams and their commercial partners to efficiently share content across various channels.
Roman King, MLS creative director, hailed the partnership with ScorePlay as a significant milestone in the league's digital evolution. He stated that this system would not only improve operational efficiency but also enhance how clubs and partners access, capture, and share the excitement of MLS during its period of rapid growth.
MLS continues to expand its reach both domestically and internationally through strategic partnerships. With non-exclusive deals with Fox in the US and TSN in Canada promoting MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+, it is clear that Major League Soccer is committed to growing its fan base while enhancing viewer experience through innovative digital solutions.
