MLS Season Pass: Talent pairings & live event production plan unveiled

MLSsoccer staff

Apple and Major League Soccer today shared the live event production plan for MLS Season Pass, which kicks off with Matchday 1 on Feb. 25.

The unprecedented subscription service on the Apple TV app will feature every match of the MLS regular season, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and Leagues Cup¹ all in one place, with more consistent match times and no blackouts – a first in live sports broadcasting.

MLS Season Pass will feature more camera angles, 1080p video, Dolby 5.1 audio, and enhanced data and graphics in live match coverage all season long for better field coverage, replays, and storytelling around the clubs and players. A new graphics package will bring MLS clubs to the forefront and incorporate storylines, stats, and advanced data visualizations.

Spearheading MLS Season Pass coverage is a team of more than 80 accomplished announcers and soccer legends presenting to fans in English and Spanish, plus French for matches involving Canadian clubs. Together, they make up one of the largest collections of on-air talent by a single network or service covering soccer and any major sports league.

"MLS Season Pass is a global project that required assembling a team of the most talented and accomplished leaders in every aspect of the broadcasting industry from all over the world," said Gary Stevenson, Major League Soccer’s deputy commissioner and president of MLS Business Ventures.

"Our focus, with our partner Apple, is delivering an exceptional level of quality and storytelling that entertains and engages MLS’s passionate fans, improves their experience, and engages new fans through the reach of Apple and MLS Season Pass."

"MLS 360"

"MLS 360," the new live whip-around show, provides live look-ins from every match, and features every goal, penalty kick, and big save, as well as analysis and discussion.

Studio hosts: Liam McHugh and Kaylyn Kyle
Analysts: Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips
Rules expert: Christina Unkel

"MLS Countdown" and "MLS Wrap-Up"

Viewers can watch "MLS Countdown" before each match, a pregame show available in English and Spanish. "MLS Wrap-Up" provides a full recap of the day’s action, with live postgame coverage available in English and Spanish.

English-language hosts: Jillian Sakovits and Andrew Wiebe
English-language analysts: Nigel Reo-Coker, Calen Carr, Shep Messing and Matt Doyle
Spanish-language hosts: Tony Cherchi and Stefano Fusaro
Spanish-language analysts: Diego Valeri, Melissa Ortiz and Chelsea Cabarcas

Play-by-Play and Analyst Teams

More than 60 play-by-play announcers and expert analysts will be in the booth calling matches each week. All MLS and Leagues Cup live matches will be produced at MLS stadiums, including on-site talent, using a fleet of production units to produce simultaneous coverage of up to 14 matches each game night.

All matches will feature commentary in English and Spanish, while matches involving Canadian teams will also have French commentary. Fans in the US and Canada will have the option to select their home team’s radio broadcast for audio on the Apple TV app where available. Viewers will also have the ability to watch any match from the start, no matter when they tune in, and have access to the full game replay immediately after the match has ended.

English-language pairings

Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman
Keith Costigan and Maurice Edu
Kevin Egan and Kyndra de St. Aubin
Steve Cangialosi and Danny Higginbotham
Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam
Jenn Hildreth/Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey
Blake Price and Paul Dolan
Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth
Mark Followill/Chris Wittyngham and Danielle Slaton
Andres Cordero and Jamie Watson
Callum Williams and Calen Carr
Tyler Terens and Devon Kerr
Tony Husband and Ross Smith
Mark Rogondino and Heath Pearce
Ed Cohen and Greg Sutton
Adrian Healey and Cobi Jones

Play-by-play announcer Nate Bukaty and analysts Tony Meola and Warren Barton are also regular members of the team.

Spanish-language pairings

Pablo Ramírez and Carlos Ruiz
Jorge Perez Navarro and Marcelo Balboa
Juan Arango and Carlos Suarez
Sergio Ruiz and Miguel Gallardo
Moisés Linares and Jaime Macías
Bruno Vain and Andrés Agulla
Jose Hernandez and Pablo Mariño
Ramses Sandoval and Walter Roque
Rodolfo Landeros and Martín Zuñiga
Raúl Guzmán and Sonny Guadarrama
Adrian Garcia Marquez and Francisco Pinto
Sammy Sadovnik and Eduardo Biscayart

Francisco X. Rivera and Maximiliano Cordaro will be regular members of the MLS Season Pass on-air team. In addition to their studio hosting duties, Fusaro will handle play-by-play and Cherchi will serve as a match analyst.

French-language pairings

Frederic Lord and Vincent Destouches
Matthew Cullen and Sébastien Le Toux
Olivier Brett and Patrice Bernier

French analyst Matthias Van Halst is also a regular member of the team.

Weekly programming

Aside from "MLS Countdown," "MLS 360," and "MLS Wrap-Up," fans can also tune in to dedicated studio programming to preview weekly matchups, dissect key moments, and hear compelling stories from around the league all season long.

Fans can watch a variety of on-demand content on MLS Season Pass now to get ready for MLS’s season kickoff on February 25. MLS Season Pass features a vast library of MLS classics, historic and current match replays, highlights, and club-produced content that is updated weekly.

Production

Live studio programming will be created at a newly-rebuilt production facility in New York City with a trio of state-of-the-art studios that will serve as the central hub for all MLS Season Pass studio programming.

Live match and studio productions will be supported by a pair of global industry leaders: NEP Group and IMG Productions. Together, they will power event production for over 900 matches representing over 2,000 hours of live coverage, as well as the production of live studio programming on MLS Season Pass.

Subscriptions now available

MLS Season Pass is available to fans in over 100 countries and regions, and is on billions of devices through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com.

If you are already an Apple TV+ subscriber: $12.99/month or $79/season - Subscribe now
If you are not an Apple TV+ subscriber: $14.99/month or $99/season - Subscribe now
Season Ticket Holder Benefit: Each full-season ticket account will include one subscription to the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (one per account)
Family Sharing: up to six family members can share the subscription using their own Apple ID and password

To subscribe to MLS Season Pass, customers must update to iOS 16.2 or later, iPadOS 16.2 or later, tvOS 16.2 or later, and macOS Ventura 13.1 or later.

Schedule

View the full 2023 MLS season schedule, including which matches are available for free on the Apple TV app during the first month. Additional free matches will be added regularly throughout the season.

The majority of games during the 2023 season will be played on Saturdays, and select Wednesdays, with 7:30 pm local start times.

All 29 clubs compete through Decision Day on Oct. 21.

Follow MLS Clubs on the Apple TV App and Apple News

Fans can visit apple.co/MySportsMLS on iPhone or iPad to be directed right to the Apple TV app and follow their favorite Major League Soccer clubs, and get alerts before upcoming games, follow scores in real-time, and more.

Apple's My Sports also makes it easy to get personalized, real-time coverage from Apple News. Fans can stay up to speed with the best stories from top publications – plus get live scores, schedules, standings, and highlights.