MLS Commissioner Says MLS Season Pass Averaging 120,000 Unique Viewers Per Match, Up Almost 50% From 2024

At a press conference, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said MLS Season Pass is “averaging 120,000 unique viewers” per match and is “almost a 50%” increase from 2024. We don’t know if the provided number represents the peak concurrent viewers or the average minute audience (AMA). In 2022, ESPN reported that the 2022 MLS regular season audience averaged 343,000 viewers, all from the U.S., and I am unsure of the viewership numbers at the RSN level.

It is also worth noting that multiple games are played concurrently on the MLS Season Pass app. The quoted number represents the average viewers per game, not the total number of viewers on the MLS Season Pass app at any given time. Comparing TV viewership metrics to streaming is challenging, as we lack clarity on how MLS defines a “unique” viewer.

While some want to highlight the fact that viewership of MLS streaming is down when compared to linear TV, no one should be surprised. By removing MLS from linear TV and transitioning exclusively to streaming distribution with Appe, MLS sacrificed reach in exchange for increased content licensing revenue. That was the tradeoff MLS made. Having it stream on Apple opened it up to an international audience and exposed MLS to Apple TV+ subscribers, with a limited number of matches available for free; however, that hasn’t been enough to compensate for the decline in viewership numbers when compared to linear TV distribution. Neither Apple nor MLS breaks out viewership details, but I do know that the majority of viewership comes from the U.S., which is no surprise, since 27 of the 30 teams are U.S. teams and the other three are from Canada.

If MLS wanted to grow the sport, from a viewership standpoint, they should have done both linear and streaming distribution deals. When Apple and MLS announced the agreement, I found it odd for the MLS Commissioner to describe it as a great deal for “casual viewers,” and Apple described it as great for “anyone who loves sports.” Casual viewers and sports enthusiasts who do not closely follow the MLS would likely not purchase an MLS Season Pass subscription. They would come across the game on ESPN or another broadcast channel, as they already have access to it. With games streaming on Apple, you have to proactively search them out and pay for them.

MLS says its league “is the fastest-growing soccer league in the world, more than doubling in size to 29 clubs over the last 15 years.” That may be, but simply adding more teams doesn’t guarantee that they will automatically grow viewership for games through an exclusive streaming distribution deal. That said, I acknowledge that viewership figures alone are not the sole metric MLS uses to determine the league’s success. Sponsorships, ticket sales, and other revenue streams must also be considered.