February 19, 2026
UPDATE
Major League Soccer kicks off the 2026 season on Apple TV
Major League Soccer kicks off its 31st season this Saturday on Apple TV, with all 30 teams taking the field on MLS is Back weekend.
On the back of a landmark year for the sport – as the FIFA World Cup comes to North America – Apple TV subscribers in more than 100 countries and regions can enjoy uninterrupted access to every MLS game. They will also receive in-depth coverage and analysis, exclusive content and matches beyond the regular season – including the annual Leagues Cup, Michelob ULTRA Campeones Cup, MLS All-Star Game and Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
“All eyes are on North America this year as the MLS season kicks off this week and the World Cup approaches,” said Thomas Müller, Vancouver Whitecaps FC attacking midfielder and 2014 FIFA World Cup winner. “Having joined Whitecaps FC last August, I’m excited to start my first full season in MLS, help the team build on what we started and give fans everywhere the ability to follow our journey on Apple TV. This is a great opportunity for our club and the league to shine in such an important year for the sport.”
MLS is back: Opening weekend 2026
All 30 clubs will take the field on MLS is Back weekend — Feb. 21 and 22 — with 13 of the 15 season openers scheduled for Saturday. The day is highlighted by the debut of the Walmart Saturday Showdown, featuring a marquee matchup of global soccer icons such as MLS MVP Lionel Messi and reigning MLS Cup champion Inter Miami CF to kick off their season against Son Heung-Min and LAFC. The opening weekend will conclude with the first Sunday Night Soccer game of the season, presented by Continental Tire and featuring the LA Galaxy and New York City FC. For a complete regular season schedule, visit mlssoccer.com.
Introducing the Walmart Saturday Showdown
New for this season, MLS on Apple TV will include the Walmart Saturday Showdown, which highlights select matches within Saturday games during the regular season, creating an additional matchmaking experience for fans. Saturday’s Showdown will feature enhanced production to help viewers feel more connected to the match, including the addition of remarkable ‘Shot on iPhone’ moments, captured by the world’s most popular camera using dynamic angles to bring fans closer to the action and offer a true look at the speed, skill, pressure and emotion of the match. The Saturday Showdown will premiere on February 21st when LAFC hosts Inter Miami at 9:30pm ET, live from the historic LA Memorial Coliseum.
Sunday football is back
Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, the popular Sunday night flagship of the week, returns on February 22 at 7:00 PM ET with a bicoastal showdown between the LA Galaxy and New York City FC. Featuring dedicated in-stadium pregame and postgame shows, enhanced production and custom graphics in English and Spanish, these headline games will air throughout the regular season and highlight some of the league’s most compelling matchups.
Watch MLS on the Apple Sports App
Fans can stay up-to-date on scores, stats, standings and their favorite clubs throughout the MLS season in the free Apple Sports app for iPhone. Users can easily navigate between scores and upcoming matches; explore individual game information, team stats, lineup details and live betting odds; and tap to watch the matches in the Apple TV app. Apple Sports also syncs seamlessly with favorites selected in the My Sports experience, including the Apple TV app and Apple News.
With iOS 18 and watchOS 11, the Apple Sports app offers Live Activity for all MLS games, providing live scores and game information at a glance on users’ iPhone and Apple Watch lock screens. Game card sharing allows fans to share their excitement about the latest scores and upcoming matches.
More ways to celebrate MLS
- On Apple Music, fans can enjoy exclusive playlists curated by clubs and players, with additional music content coming to apple.co/AM-MLS throughout the season.
- Apple Maps users can explore dedicated Matchday guides created by MLS clubs and city guides created by players to find recommendations for local bars and restaurants to catch a game, explore popular cities, find detailed information about their stadiums and more.
- On Apple News, users can easily follow MLS and their favorite teams in the Sports tab and access scores, fixtures, standings and top stories from hundreds of leading publishers.
- On Apple Podcasts, users can access the MLS Hub with curated episodes and collections of podcasts covering MLS, its clubs and players, and soccer in North America.
Other tracking methods
DIRECTV customers will now have access to live Apple TV sports programming – including MLS, US F1 and “Friday Night Baseball” – all available right inside their homes, on the go or at any of the more than 300,000 sports bars, restaurants, hotels and other commercial locations served by DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS. Anyone who subscribes to Apple TV through DIRECTV will now be able to discover and watch live Apple TV sports, including all MLS games, right in their DIRECTV experience.
New for 2026, EverPass will offer commercial devices streaming access to Apple TV’s complete live sports portfolio — including MLS, US Formula 1 and “Friday Night Baseball” — available to new and existing EverPass customers through the EverPass Core package.
Apple will once again partner with Comcast to offer Xfinity customers an integrated Apple TV live sports viewing experience. Xfinity customers will have seamless access to live “Friday Night Baseball” games; all MLS matches in English and Spanish; and in the US all F1 practice, qualifying, sprints and Grand Prix. Apple TV coverage will be directly integrated into Xfinity X1 and the Xfinity Stream app’s channel guide, making it easy to find and watch alongside all the other live sports.
Comcast and Apple are also unlocking free access to MLS 360 — the popular studio show that provides live views of every game — for all Xfinity customers. Customers will find MLS 360 in the Channel Guide, Xfinity Fan View and Xfinity Multiview throughout the season.
Subscribe to Watch MLS on Apple TV
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, ground-breaking documentaries, live sports and entertainment for kids and families, available to watch on all the user’s favorite screens. Upon its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch worldwide, premiering more original hits in its debut and winning more awards faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original movies, documentaries and series have been honored with 698 wins and 3,258 award nominations and counting, including multiple Emmy Award-winning historical comedies. Studio and Ted Lassoand Oscar winner for Best Picture CODA.
Apple TV is available in the Apple TV app in more than 100 countries and regions on more than 1 billion screens, including iPhone; iPad; Apple TV 4K; Apple Vision Pro; Mac; popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and more; Roku devices and Amazon Fire TV; Chromecast with Google TV; PlayStation and Xbox game consoles; and at tv.apple.com for $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV free.1 For more information, visit apple.com/tvpr for a full list of supported devices.
An Apple TV subscription for that season will be included with every season-long MLS Club Ticket account.
- The special offer is valid for three months after the first activation of the eligible device. One offer per family sharing group. Plans automatically renew until canceled. Additional restrictions and conditions apply; For more information, visit apple.com/promo.
Press Contacts
Crystal Reiter
Apple
c_reiter@apple.com
Apple Media Helpline
media.help@apple.com