https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/apple-will-stream-all-major-league-soccer-matches-for-10-years
Apple made it clear that its new 10-year deal with MLS reportedly worth $2.5 billion will be for the Apple TV app. So subscribers won't have to buy Apple TV+ to get access to all the MLS games. That said, Apple said a limited number of games will be available for Apple TV+ subscribers. A launch date or pricing plan has yet to be announced. As Samuel Axon and Eric Bangeman point out, the deal is making ESPN and regional sports cable networks nervous: "Major League Soccer dwells just outside the rarified popular sports neighborhood occupied by the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and college football and basketball," they explain. "But even with MLS's relative lack of popularity compared to the other leagues, this announcement from Apple is a Very Big Deal. Live sports is by far the top reason millions of people have yet to cut the cord, severing their ties to cable companies and satellite TV providers. That's merely because the easiest way to follow your hometown teamrCooutside of the NFL, which has all of its games free to air in local marketsrCois to subscribe to your local cable company or a satellite provider. Those are the folks who carry the regional sports network that has the rights to broadcast your local teams. For a Chicagoan who wants to catch all of the Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox, Fire, and Red Stars matches, their only choices to follow the action are Marquee Sports Network and NBC Sports Chicago, both of which require a cable or satellite TV subscription."
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* Origin: SportNet Gateway Site (24:150/2)