Apple Discounts MLS Season Pass

I think the problem here is that the MLS is a product without a solid target audience.

Most hardcore football fans won’t care much for the MLS because of the skill ceiling (see Messi v. the rest of MLS) and would much rather prefer access to European football, and the ones that don’t care for European football also won’t care much for MLS.

This leaves a sliver of a demographic for whom football is more of a curiosity in between other sports, and I don’t think that demographic is broad enough to sustain the MLS product.

Which is probably why they’re throwing around discounts and deals in an effort to attract people.

I think the only way forward is to try and secure more rights so that the MLS package can be broadened into a general football package that includes juggernauts such as UEFA, Premier League and Bundesliga.

The reason for the discount is not because the product is failing. In fact, subscriptions have doubled in the past month since Messi's arrival. The reason for the discount is because there are 7 games left (plus playoffs) in a 34-game regular season. It doesn't make sense to charge the original $79/99 price when 80% of the regular season matches have already been played.

Look around at other sports leagues. You'll find similar promotions mid-season.

I think the problem here is that the MLS is a product without a solid target audience.

Most hardcore football fans won’t care much for the MLS because of the skill ceiling (see Messi v. the rest of MLS) and would much rather prefer access to European football, and the ones that don’t care for European football also won’t care much for MLS.

This leaves a sliver of a demographic for whom football is more of a curiosity in between other sports, and I don’t think that demographic is broad enough to sustain the MLS product.

Which is probably why they’re throwing around discounts and deals in an effort to attract people.

I think the only way forward is to try and secure more rights so that the MLS package can be broadened into a general football package that includes juggernauts such as UEFA, Premier League and Bundesliga.

If you have T-Mobile make sure to check on their site for this. I got it as a Magenta subscriber. Hopefully we get it again next year.

I believe Apple is asking way too much for an MLS subscription which is the reason for this discount.

You couldn’t be more wrong. There’s 6 weeks left in the season. It’s a discount, because every annual sports subscription discounts after 3/4 of the season is over. MLB.tv was discounted 50% after the All Star Break, for example. Standard industry fare.

I’m guessing Apple didn’t hit the projected subscribers that were hoping for around this quarter. Sucks that in order to watch Messi play now, you need an Apple subscription. They should just sell off their MLS streaming rights to the next highest bidder. Make soccer available to all in our country to watch for free and watch the USA become a force to be reckoned with. It pains me to see how terrible we do compared to other countries

Same! I've really enjoyed watching Messi dominate. It's like he activated a cheat code.

He is the cheat code, for north american soccer. lol.