Earlier this month, American soccer superstar and Fox Sports broadcaster Landon Donovan claimed MLS was “not mature enough yet” to abandon linear television for a streaming-exclusive broadcast deal, like the one the league began with Apple in 2023.
Turns out, MLS commissioner Don Garber would agree.
Appearing in an interview with Alex Sherman of CNBC Sport, Garber agreed with the broad strokes of Donovan’s criticism, reiterating his position that the league was “too early” on the move to streaming, but also reiterating that he believes in the future of digital distribution and doesn’t regret his decision to make MLS a front-runner in the streaming revolution.
“You know, you’re running a business, particularly one that’s got to be bold and innovative,” Garber began. “Shame on us if we didn’t go and take the risk of being the first global property to ever go and stream their games.”
The league’s strategy underwent a massive shakeup prior to this season. MLS and Apple ditched the $100 per year Season Pass subscription that was previously required to watch all of the games, instead making the league available to anyone with a standard Apple TV subscription. So far, the move has paid off from a viewership standpoint. The league says its streaming audience is up 62% at the midway point of the season.
“The experiment of a paid subscription didn’t work,” Garber continued. “Do I think we’re going there at some point in the future, maybe five years, maybe 10 years? I agree with that, but we were early.”
Asked by Sherman if MLS would look to split its rights among several partners in its next deal, following the 2028-29 season, in order to increase reach, Garber demurred.
“I really don’t know what the market is going to look like when we go out to market. I think there’s a world of, ‘more exposure today is better,’ but people confuse linear exposure as more exposure, as opposed to more streaming exposure. So if we had three streaming partners — Netflix, YouTube, and Apple, and four, and Amazon — those are streaming partners, right? And people are concerned about whether or not you have the same access via streaming as you would through a cable system. I’m a big believer in the digital transformation, a big believer that the world is moving to Netflix airing sports,” the MLS commissioner said.
To be fair to MLS, the league still has a 34-game package that airs on Fox Sports each season. But those games are irregularly scheduled and often aren’t the top-crust matchups fans would want to see. It’s clear, however, the league’s priorities remain on expanding its digital presence.
As Garber mentions, the market for media rights will be uncertain come 2028-29, particularly knowing the NFL could be in the market for new deals around that time. When the time comes, MLS will need to evaluate the best options on the table, regardless of platform.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.