The recently concluded 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) season finale has made headlines for its impressive broadcast viewership and social media engagement. The MLS Cup final, held on December 6, attracted over 4.6 million viewers across all platforms worldwide.
Inter Miami secured their first-ever triumph after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps with a score of 3-1. This victory was not just a milestone for the team but also contributed significantly to the high global interest in the game. The celebrity links of Inter Miami, including Argentine superstar Lionel Messi as club captain and franchise owner David Beckham, played a crucial role in generating this interest.
Global viewership breakdown
Of the total viewership figure, an impressive count of 3.6 million came from outside the US through various platforms such as Apple TV streaming service, MLS Season Pass, TSN and RDS in Canada, and TNT and HBO Max in Mexico. In contrast, within the US itself Fox and Fox Deportes (Spanish-language) broadcasters brought in nearly one million viewers between them for this historic match held at Fort Lauderdale Florida.
Interestingly enough, fans from over 100 countries tuned into this event making it truly global. On Apple TV specifically – which hosted a significant portion of international viewers – it was noted that about 70% of these were under age of 45 making it their youngest audience ever. Across all post-season playoff games during this season - totaling to twenty-nine - an average viewer count per game stood at around seven hundred eleven thousand; marking an increase by almost quarter compared to last year's figures.
The social media interaction during this period also saw record-breaking numbers with approximately eight hundred million impressions according to MLS. This represents a staggering 532% increase year-on-year, demonstrating the growing popularity of MLS on digital platforms.
Record interest in 2025 MLS regular season
These impressive figures follow the league's report of record interest in terms of media engagement and in-stadium attendance during the regular season. However, this success story is not without its challenges.
In mid-November, news broke that the domestic rights agreement between MLS and Apple will end three and a half years earlier than originally agreed - by mid-2029 instead of 2032. This change was voted through at the same time as an agreement to change the format of the season from February-December to July-May. Furthermore, it was decided that 'Season Pass' paywall will be dropped from its deal with Apple TV. As a result, customers can watch every game through their primary subscription without any additional cost.
Despite these changes and rumors about low popularity for Apple TV's MLS offering over recent seasons, there is no denying that Major League Soccer has made significant strides in expanding its global reach and fan base.
