Australia's public broadcaster, SBS, has secured the broadcast and streaming rights to North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS), enhancing its already robust soccer portfolio. The deal will enable MLS games to be aired in Australia through both free-to-air and digital platforms until 2025.
The agreement stipulates that SBS will air a featured match from the MLS’ ‘Sunday Night Soccer’ program every Monday morning until October 6. The inaugural match under this new arrangement was between LA Galaxy and St Louis City, which was broadcasted on the linear SBS Viceland channel and streamed via On Demand service. This latest acquisition adds to SBS' growing soccer portfolio. It complements their exclusive rights to broadcast soccer's 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to be hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
SBS has been airing FIFA World Cup matches since 1986 in various formats. It plans on continuing this tradition by broadcasting all 104 games of the upcoming edition live across its linear channels and streaming platform.
Ken Shipp, SBS’ director of sport, said:
“This is the first time Australian viewers will have the chance to watch MLS matches live and free and will serve as a great appetizer for the [FIFA] World Cup. With the time difference, Sunday Night Soccer in the USA fits perfectly into our Monday morning schedule and complements our already expansive slate of football content.”
Australian presence in MLS
The inclusion of MLS coverage is particularly relevant for Australian sports fans as six Australians are currently playing in the league including national team players Kye Rowles (DC United) and Patrick Yazbek (Nashville SC).
Full coverage of MLS in Australia is provided by Apple TV’s Season Pass. This service is currently three years into a ten-year partnership with MLS for all broadcast and streaming rights for league matches, cup games as well as select Next Pro games.
Prior to this recent deal with SBS, international pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports held rights to show MLS matches in Australia from 2015-2018.
Additional broadcasting rights
In addition to these acquisitions, SBS recently secured rights for all 54 South American World Cup 2026 qualifying matches. It also holds rights to replays, classic finals, and iconic moments of the Australian men’s soccer team. All these are aired via its FIFA World Cup 2026 Hub.
Furthermore, SBS hosts the FIFA+ streaming channel. This free ad-supported streaming station airs archival games, original programming, live matches, documentaries and interviews. Domestically in the US, MLS action is primarily covered by Apple TV's subscription streaming service.
This latest deal with SBS not only expands their soccer portfolio but also provides Australian sports fans with more access to international soccer content.
