On Wednesday, February 1, the soccer broadcasting landscape shifted monumentally as Major League Soccer launched its “Season Pass” program. Exclusive to Apple TV, the service is the only way to watch the United State’s lone Division 1 league outside of a few national broadcasts. The move away from local media deals and centralized broadcasting will organize the regular season schedule around specific match days. Plus, nearly all games will kick off at the same time, every week, eliminating the ever-present schedule checking many home fans had bemoaned the last few seasons.

At $100 a season, or $15 monthly, the cost of entry might be seen as a barrier for potential new fans. However Apple and Major League Soccer have made sure dedicated fans of the league have access to the service right away. All MLS season ticket holders, regardless of team, will have MLS Season Pass included in their 2023 packages. It’s a great method of making sure fans are able to watch when the team is on the road and immediately bolsters the active user base of the service at launch.

Tucked away in press releases and never a focal point, the MLS Season Pass initiative also affects other levels of the U.S. Soccer pyramid. MLS Next Pro, the third division hybrid reserve league launched last year, will also be moving to the service. It will be alongside select games from MLS Next, the developmental academy arm of Major League Soccer.

At a media preview for the service on Monday, January 30, Apple confirmed that “hundreds” of games from both leagues will be streamed live on MLS Season Pass. The games would be displayed on the main page with “easy access” for fans looking to watch the developmental system. Especially since many clubs, such as the New York Red Bulls, also include season tickets to their reserve team with first team season ticket plans.

For 95% of MLSNP pro teams this is a great thing. A stable broadcasting service, potential higher production values, and an added bonus of being alongside their parent clubs.

And then there’s the other five percent. While the league is mostly home to reserve teams that either play out of the same stadium or share the community there are a few exceptions. There’s also the fact that the league hopes to attract independent clubs to bolster its portfolio. For fans of these clubs they’ll need to pay-in, at full price, if they want to watch.

Apple confirmed to members of the media that fans who are only season ticket holders for MLS Next Pro teams will not have MLS Season Pass included with their specific packages. Much like how there aren't team specific plans for Major League Soccer teams, there is no way to solely watch MLS Next Pro content.

Rochester New York FC is the lone independent team competing in MLS Next Pro. The former Rochester Raging Rhinos, the only non-MLS team to win the U.S. Open Cup since 1996, joined the league after a years-long hiatus from competition.

In its return season in 2022, their match broadcasts, along with every other game from the league, were shown directly from the league’s website. Fans of a team that famously fought against MLS after being overlooked will have to pay that same league, and Apple, if they want to watch their team’s games online.

This will also affect incoming independent teams such as the announced Carolina Core FC, led by USMNT legend Eddie Pope, and the yet-to-be-named Cleveland team.

There’s also a reserve team that this affects. Huntsville City FC, the reserve side of Nashville SC, will begin play in 2023. In practice, City is more akin to a AAA baseball team than the standard MLS reserve team, having its own branding and playing in a different market entirely from the parent club. Huntsville is separated from Nashville by two hours, over 100 miles, and a state line.

In a story for Fox 54, H.C.F.C. and Nashville S.C. CEO Ian Ayre boasted that the Huntsville community was a perfect “soccer demographic”.

“What I think is incredible about this type of team in this league is that as fans, you're going to get to see almost all of the journey of a player in their career,” said Ayre. “You'll see young kids, you know, tens (10-year olds) upwards going into that youth academy development system and from that system coming into NEXT Pro and then going all the way on that journey until they ultimately, pull in a jersey on to play professional soccer in Huntsville and then hopefully pulling it on for Nashville.”

Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle Jr. was also quoted in a story for The Tennessean saying that the team will diversify the city’s portfolio.

"The Huntsville market is well known for supporting its sports teams,” he said.

Huntsville season tickets start at $140 for a support’s section seat and run up to $700 for the most expensive sideline section (West Upper Patio). Fans who want to watch their team’s road games as well will have to pay an additional $75 to $100 per year for MLS Season Pass.

Compared to being a fan of a USL team, the service is, on paper, on par or even better than buying in the ESPN+. The sole broadcaster of USL Championship and USL League One costs $100 a year or $10 a month. That also includes access to plenty of other sports, including other professional soccer from across the globe, but we’ll ignore that and pretend the fan only cares about their team.

In the end, the worth comes down to each individual fan. For some the cheaper cost of a lower division season ticket means paying an additional fee for streaming makes sense. Others might feel the triple digit buy-in cost isn’t worth it for a service that only serves one league system, where their team isn’t even a main focus.

It’s highly unlikely that a potential fan in markets like Cleveland or Rochester won’t become fans because of this. Minor league sports like Triple AAA baseball are very much family outing and focus. The idea of watching road games has always been a luxury rather than a necessity, and that’s the route MLSNP is going to go.

- Michael Battista