US top flight football to be shown in more than 300 thousand establishments across the country
Major League Soccer (MLS) matches will be available to watch via DirecTV in bars, restaurants, hotels and other businesses across the United States, after rights holder Apple TV reached an agreement with the US satellite provider.
Apple, which won the rights to the next 10 seasons of the MLS, has named DirecTV as the official national provider of the MLS Season Pass, which is the new subscription service showing every Major League Soccer match of the season via the Apple TV app.
This deal will see the MLS land in hotel lobbies, restaurants, bars and other establishments across the land, including over 300 thousand locations moving forward.
DirecTV Chief Content Officer, Rob Thun, had this to say:
“DirecTV for Business boasts an unrivalled nationwide network of more than 300,000 venues where local sports fans gather who count upon us to deliver the very best in live action,”
“We welcome the addition of MLS Season Pass to an already market-leading lineup of sports properties that our commercial customers can continue to receive seamlessly through their existing satellite equipment and offer to their patrons.”
T-Mobile customers to get MLS Season Pass for free
In other news, telecomms giant T-Mobile has revealed that all of its customers will get free access to the MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Mike Katz, President of Marketing, Innovation and Experience at T-Mobile, said:
“T-Mobile customers already get unbeatable value with entertainment benefits like Apple TV+ on us and now we’re giving them yet another with one year of MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app on us,”
Apple the long term home of the MLS
Apple shocked everyone with their ten-year acqusition of MLS broadcast rights last year, in a deal worth a reported $250m per season.
They will bring this action to customers via the MLS Season Pass which is integrated into their Apple TV app and costs subscribers $14.99 per month. For that, fans get access to every single match of the MLS regular season, as well as various playoff and cup games.
Fans can also pay $99 up front to get the entire season package at a discounted price.
The move for MLS rights and the integration of the season pass into the Apple TV app itself is clearly an attempt at converting potential new subscribers who perhaps wouldn't have come across the product otherwise.
This new deal with DirecTV should have the same effect for Apple, broadening their scope and giving them the opportunity to market the app to people who may not be aware of it or interested in getting it.
Apple are clearly very invested in sports live streaming right now, as rumours circulate that they are also looking to bid on the domestic rights to the English Premier League, and we can expect more sports broadcast rights deals from them in the coming months.
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