MLS has a streaming-first future, but one of the USA’s biggest stars says it needs more. Former USMNT star Landon Donovan told Front Office Sports that the league still needs to navigate a broadcast television component to continue growth.
What We Know: MLS currently holds a 10-year, $2.5 billion media rights deal with Apple TV+, which launched in 2023. The agreement made MLS the first major North American league to place nearly all its games behind a streaming paywall. Notably, the deal includes no primary broadcast network television partner. However, the deal was redone after the league removed its season pass option for fans to access broadcasts beginning this year. As part of that deal, MLS and Apple will end the deal over three years early while the league receives the total amount of the media rights agreement in shorter order.
What They Said: Landon Donovan to Front Office Sports: “My thing is I don’t think MLS is mature enough yet to go away from the NBCs and the Foxes and ABCs and the linear television. I think we still need that exposure. Even the NFL still does it. The NFL could go all streaming if they want. They’re smart enough to know they need the big media engines to help keep promoting their sport. And MLS, of course, needs to do that too.”
What Remains Unclear: Whether MLS leadership shares Donovan’s concern remains an open question. It’s also unclear if the league is exploring supplemental broadcast windows to boost visibility before the current agreement with Apple expires. The current deal runs through 2029, leaving little room for structural change anytime soon. The league also has an agreement for a number of contests to be broadcast on Fox Corp stations.
What It Means: Donovan’s comments carry weight precisely because he lived through MLS’s growth era. Broadcast television helped build soccer’s American fanbase. Streaming can sustain and expand it, but only if new fans can find the product first. MLS and Apple made the attempt to try something innovative. It failed. Hence why the new agreed upon deal to cut ties early. However, with the NFL likely to renegotiate new deals with their broadcast partners around the same time period, it will be interesting to see how MLS plays into that pool.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
