T-Mobile subscribers will have to pay full price to stream Major League Soccer (MLS) games this season as the company’s free promotion comes to an end.A year ago, the carrier offered T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers access to MLS Season Pass via its T-Mobile Tuesdays app (though it was confusingly called the “MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app on Us” promo because of Apple’s deal with MLS). It usually costs $99 per year for access to every live regular-season match, all MLS Cup playoff matches, and the Leagues Cup.The deal expired on Jan. 31, 2024, and the start of the MLS season came and went without a similar offer. T-Mobile later confirmed to 9to5Mac that it wouldn’t offer the free pass this year.
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According to X user Eli Blumenthal, known as The TV Answer Man, Apple and MLS are mostly to blame for the end of the promotion as the companies crack down on free passes. Both probably want soccer fans to sign up for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV for $14.99 per month or $99 per season. Apple TV+ subscribers pay $12.99 per month or $79 per season. With T-Mobile’s promotion gone, the only other way to get the MLS Season Pass subscription for “free” is to be an MLS season ticket holder for any of the league’s teams.On the plus side, the service does allow you to stream every MLS game, including the playoffs, with no blackout restrictions. Blackout restrictions are a common frustration among sports fans since it makes it difficult to stream home games. Streaming services from the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL all have blackout restrictions. Apple’s 10-year deal with MLS is estimated to be worth more than $250 million a year. It also just launched an Apple Sports app, which shows scores, stats, and betting odds across a variety of sports. Apple boasts that the app updates its scores and stats faster than any other sports apps although it’s only available for iPhones running iOS 17.2 or later.
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The Apple Sports app also features direct integration with Apple TV, allowing users to pop open games and stream them on compatible streaming services, which includes MLS. Fortunately, baseball fans won’t suffer the same fate. T-Mobile has confirmed that its yearly MLB TV promotion is still happening but will kick off closer to the beginning of the MLB season. The carrier also offers a number of other freebies, like Hulu (with ads).
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