Major League Soccer on television

United States television

1990s–2006

Major League Soccer with ESPN and ABC Sports announced the league's first television rights deal on March 15, 1994, without any players, coaches, or teams in place. The three-year agreement covered English-language broadcasting for the 1996–1998 seasons, and committed 10 matches on ESPN, 25 on ESPN2, and the MLS Cup on ABC. The deal gave MLS no rights fees, but the advertising revenue was divided between the league and networks.

During the 1990s, Univision and Galavisión broadcast matches in Spanish. The original Univision deal ended in 1999. Telemundo picked up MLS in 2000, but disputes over time slots led to the network dropping MLS after the 2001 season. ABC and ESPN were left as the only MLS broadcasters in 2002.

In 2003, Fox Sports World (later Fox Soccer Channel) also became an English-language TV partner to MLS, while Fox Sports en Español became the Spanish-language partner in the same year.

2007–2014

In August 2006, MLS and ESPN announced an eight-year contract spanning 2007–2014 giving the league its first rights-fee agreement worth US$8 million annually. The deal gave the MLS a regular primetime slot on Thursdays, televised coverage of the first round of the MLS SuperDraft and an expanded presence on other ESPN properties, such as ESPN360 (now ESPN3) and Mobile ESPN. The agreement also placed each season's opening match, the MLS All-Star Game and the MLS Cup on ABC.

In September 2006, the media announced a deal between the Univision network and Soccer United Marketing (SUM) worth US$80 million. The network agreed to broadcast 25 MLS matches per season, ten U.S. men's national team matches and five international matches operated by SUM; although, ratings were volatile.

Disappointing ratings led to a 2008 push by ESPN to bolster its popularity through measures such as using JP Dellacamera, a veteran play-by-play soccer commentator, instead of baseball announcer Dave O'Brien, as well as an arrangement to simulcast MLS matches in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, with the intention of gaining additional Hispanic viewers with a Spanish style. ESPN programming executive Scott Guglielmino explained: "From my perspective, the only question in my mind when it comes to growth is how quickly over time MLS and its management group want to spend on players ... You’re in a worldwide market. The question is how quickly the ownership group wants to push that envelope."

After two years of low ratings, network executives decided to transfer all ABC matches to ESPN. The MLS Cup had been broadcast on ABC each year from 1996 to 2008, but with ratings declining from 1.4, in 1996 and 1997, to 0.6 in 2008, the MLS Cup was moved to ESPN at the start of 2009. The network also replaced the regular Thursday night telecast with a "game of the week" on either Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights, to give MLS matches better lead-in programming and more flexibility to air better matchups.

In 2011, Fox Soccer Channel and MLS agreed to a one-year extension to televise up to 31 regular-season matches and three playoff game, in a deal worth around US$7 million. MLS Wrap was a MLS highlight show that aired on Fox Soccer Channel that was often hosted by Sean Wheelock, with analyst John Harkes.

In 2012, NBC Sports Group replaced Fox Sports as the league's second English-language broadcaster, with matches airing on NBCSN (which was available in approximately twice as many homes as Fox Soccer), and selected matches on the NBC broadcast network. NBCSN broadcast 44 matches and NBC broadcast 5 matches—the average combined audience for NBC and NBCSN's matches in 2012 was 122 percent higher than the average audience for Fox Soccer's matches in 2011. ESPN ratings also increased in 2012 from the prior year, as a number of MLS matches were shown on ESPN in 2012, instead of a primary focus on ESPN2, as had been the case previously.

2015–2022

On May 12, 2014, MLS announced an eight-year broadcasting deal between ESPN and Fox Sports in English, and Univision in Spanish, covering television, digital, and the possibility of radio rights. The biggest change under the new deal was the establishment of a consistent national window for each broadcaster; UniMas airs matches on Friday nights, while ESPN2 and Fox Sports 1 air matches on Sunday evenings and nights respectively (jointly promoted as Soccer Sunday). All three broadcasters will air at least 34 regular-season matches per-season during these windows. ESPN and Fox Sports will also share in English-language coverage of the playoffs, and alternate airing the All-Star Game and MLS Cup yearly. Univision will air Spanish-language coverage of the MLS Cup and All-Star Game, and exclusively air two playoff knockout-round matches per season. Matches exclusively televised by Univision include English-language commentary via second audio program. The deal also includes options for national radio rights for ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio, rights to United States men's national team matches for all three broadcasters, rights for ESPN International, and an option for ESPN to take over the distribution of the league's out-of-market package.

ESPN and Fox Sports pay a combined $75 million per season, and Univision pays $15 million per-season. In Canada TSN and TVA pay a combined $15m per season. Totaling at around $105 million per-season, nearly five times the value of the league's previous deal, it is the highest-valued television rights deal in MLS history. Commissioner Garber stated at the announcement that the new contracts were "another strong indicator of the League's continued growth and the overall fan interest in our sport".

In March 2017, it was announced that Facebook had reached a deal to stream English-language coverage of the nationally televised matches allotted to Univision. The streams would include interactive features, while MLS also announced that it would stream a news program known as Matchday Live on its Facebook page to complement the new deal.

Prior to the 2018 season, ESPN invoked its option to take over the out-of-market streaming rights to Major League Soccer. The MLS Live service was discontinued, and out-of-market matches became an overall component of the new ESPN+ subscription streaming service that launched in April 2018 (with MLS Live temporarily made available for free prior to the service's official launch). Twitter replaced Facebook as the English streaming rightsholder for Univision's matches under a three-year deal.

The 2018 season also saw significant developments in regional broadcast rights, as Chicago Fire and newly established Los Angeles FC chose to sell their regional television rights exclusively to subscription streaming services (the aforementioned ESPN+, and YouTube TV, respectively), rather than a local broadcaster or regional sports network. Several teams (including Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders FC) also reached in-market streaming deals alongside a flagship television broadcaster. In 2019, D.C. United similarly signed with FloSports (replacing Sinclair Broadcast Group), however the partnership was met with criticism over the more-limited availability of the broadcasts, as well as promised supplemental coverage that never materialized. The team broke away from FloSports prior to the final game of the season, and re-signed Sinclair for the 2020 season. Also in 2020, Chicago Fire FC returned to regional linear television with a multi-year deal with WGN-TV, concurrent with the final year of its agreement with ESPN+.

2023–present

MLS requested that its teams not negotiate regional television rights beyond the 2022 season, suggesting that the league was considering switching to a centralized model for its broadcast rights (more akin to the NFL and European club leagues).

MLS is operating on a 10-year broadcasting deal with Apple Inc. that began the 2023 season, under which the company holds the global over-the-top streaming rights to all MLS and Leagues Cup matches, and selected MLS Next and MLS Next Pro matches. They stream on the MLS Season Pass subscription service, which is offered through the Apple TV app. Season Pass is a separate offering from Apple's main streaming service Apple TV+, but a package of MLS and Leagues Cup matches would stream for Apple TV+ subscribers, and a subset of these matches (potentially over 40%) could be available for free. Season ticket holders for MLS teams also receive free access to the service. The acquisition is Apple's second major foray into sports broadcast rights, after having acquired a package of Friday-night Major League Baseball games for Apple TV+ in 2022.

Under the deal, MLS assumed the production of all match telecasts, as part of a partnership with IMG and NEP Group. Teams will no longer be allowed to sell regional broadcast rights to live matches (although the contract provides the option for teams to sub-license tape delayed broadcasts of matches on a regional basis, provided they are broadcast on at least a 48-hour delay), and no match will be subject to blackouts. Commentary will be available in English and Spanish, as well as French for matches involving Canadian teams. The majority of matches will be played on Wednesday and Saturday nights, with scheduled kickoffs primarily occurring at 7:30 p.m. local time.

A sub-licensing agreement was reached with Fox Sports, under which it would air 34 matches in the regular season, eight in the postseason, and each MLS Cup until 2026 on Fox, FS1, and Fox Deportes. ESPN and Univision will no longer be involved in the televising of MLS matches, with ESPN severing ties after being the primary partner for the league's entire history and Univision having done so in the 1990s and from 2007 to 2022. Univision, however, will televise select Leagues Cup matches, including exclusive linear coverage of the final. Both ESPN and Univision are believed to have left negotiations due to conflicts over the Apple contract; in addition to both companies operating streaming platforms of their own (ESPN+ and Vix respectively), Jonathan Tannenwald of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that ESPN disagreed with Apple putting the games which would have been part of an ESPN sublicense deal outside of the MLS Season Pass paywall, while Josh Sim of SportsPro Media speculated that Univision disapproved of Apple presenting Spanish-language coverage of MLS games.

In 2025, some changes began to emerge in broadcasting arrangements. That year, MLS expanded availability of MLS Season Pass beyond Apple platforms by announcing carriage deals with Comcast and DirecTV. Charlotte FC became the first MLS team to invoke an allowance for teams to sub-license tape delayed broadcasts of matches to broadcasters, with the team partnering with WAXN-TV (airing them in late-night time slots). FC Dallas later reached a similar agreement with KDFI, airing them on Tuesday nights as FC Dallas Rewind.

Late in 2025, it was reported that Apple had amended its current MLS contract to end after the 2028–29 season. Under the new terms, Apple will increase its rights payments over the remaining seasons, paying around $50 million more through 2029 than it would have under the original terms. In 2026, MLS Season Pass was discontinued as a standalone product and all MLS content was moved into the Apple TV service.

Canadian television

Coverage of MLS expanded into Canada in 2007 with the addition of Toronto FC. From 2007 to 2010, CBC, Sportsnet, and later GolTV Canada (owned by team parent company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment), broadcast Toronto FC matches nationwide, and GolTV carried broadcasts of selected regular-season matches not involving Toronto FC.

Bell Media has held national English-language rights to Major League Soccer in Canada since 2011, and reached a 5-year extension for English-language rights only beginning in the 2017 season. Matches primarily air on the TSN networks, and beginning in 2017, selected matches are simulcast on the terrestrial CTV network. As of the 2017 season, TVA Sports holds the national French-language rights to Major League Soccer in Canada.

As in the United States, the individual Canadian clubs have also negotiated separate broadcast deals for matches not aired under the Bell Media national contract (although there are no blackouts of these "regional" broadcasts outside of the team's territory). TSN and Sportsnet formerly split coverage of Toronto FC regional matches (their parent companies hold a joint majority stake in MLSE), TVA Sports airs Montreal Impact matches in a separate deal, and TSN broadcasts the Vancouver Whitecaps in a separate deal. In the 2017 season, Sportsnet discontinued its TFC coverage, and its matches moved exclusively to TSN.

In the 2018 season, DAZN took over rights to out-of-market streaming of matches as part of its overall service, with live and on-demand coverage of all-U.S., matches, and on-demand streaming of matches featuring Canadian clubs 48 hours after their original broadcast.

Canadian television rights were included in the global rights deal between MLS and Apple Inc. that began with the 2023 season. All games involving Canadian teams will feature French language commentary, in addition to commentary feeds in English and Spanish. The league will simulcast some games on traditional linear television networks such as TSN and RDS.

Current broadcasting contracts

Global

United States

Canada

Rest of the world

• South Korea
  • ENA Sports (Sunday Night Soccer matches only)
  • Coupang Play (Remaining Los Angeles FC matches in the 2025 season, streaming rights)
  • SpoTV Prime (Remaining Los Angeles FC matches in the 2025 season, linear TV rights)

Ratings and viewers

Regular season

Notes:

• Although the viewing numbers on ESPN2 declined by 36,000 from 2007 to 2008, ESPN began simulcasting MLS matches on ESPN Deportes in 2008, attracting an average of 40,000 viewers.
• Fox Soccer began getting ratings in October 2008. The Fox Soccer numbers for 2008 represent only the last four matches of the season. Viewership numbers prior to October 2008 are unavailable.
• FOX OTA- (Over-The-Air) average viewing numbers includes the FOX Deportes Spanish language Simulcast average viewing number for the 2016–2017 seasons.
• In 2019 MLS averaged 277,000 viewers for the regular season across ESPN networks per ESPN Press Room Press Release.
• In 2020 COVID affected season MLS averaged 257,000 viewers across ESPN networks, viewership average for Fox Sports and Univision networks were unavailable for the 2020 season.

MLS cable viewership average

Notes:

• Cable viewership average includes MLS average Television Viewing Audience across the National Broadcast Networks in which matches air.
• Numbers do not include streaming viewership.

MLS Cup Finals

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8)

ImageSize = width:912 height:380 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:4 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

BarData= bar:1996 text:1996 bar:1997 text:1997 bar:1998 text:1998 bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2002 text:2002 bar:2003 text:2003 bar:2004 text:2004 bar:2005 text:2005 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2007 text:2007 bar:2008 text:2008 bar:2009 text:2009 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2012 text:2012 bar:2013 text:2013 bar:2014 text:2014 bar:2015 text:2015 bar:2016 text:2016 bar:2017 text:2017 bar:2018 text:2018 bar:2019 text:2019 bar:2020 text:2020 bar:2021 text:2021 bar:2022 text:2022 bar:2023 text:2023 bar:2024 text:2024

PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1996 from: 0 till:3.1 bar:1997 from: 0 till:2.6 bar:1998 from: 0 till:2.2 bar:1999 from: 0 till:1.3 bar:2000 from: 0 till:1.2 bar:2001 from: 0 till:2.0 bar:2002 from: 0 till:1.2 bar:2003 from: 0 till:0.9 bar:2004 from: 0 till:1.3 bar:2005 from: 0 till:1.1 bar:2006 from: 0 till:1.2 bar:2007 from: 0 till:1.1 bar:2008 from: 0 till:0.9 bar:2009 from: 0 till:1.1 bar:2010 from: 0 till:0.7 bar:2011 from: 0 till:1.0 bar:2012 from: 0 till:0.8 bar:2013 from: 0 till:1.0 bar:2014 from: 0 till:1.9 bar:2015 from: 0 till:1.2 bar:2016 from: 0 till:2.0 bar:2017 from: 0 till:1.1 bar:2018 from: 0 till:1.8 bar:2019 from: 0 till:1.3 bar:2020 from: 0 till:1.7 bar:2021 from: 0 till:1.5 bar:2022 from: 0 till:2.2 bar:2023 from: 0 till:0.9 bar:2024 from: 0 till:0.5 TextData = fontsize:M textcolor:black pos:(300,30) # tabs:(100-left) text:"MLS Cup Average Viewership 1996–present (in millions)

1996–2008

2009–2022

2023–present

MLS Season Pass viewership is not available

Single-game records

Previous national broadcasting networks

• Univision, 1996–1999, 2015–2022
• Telemundo, 2000–2001
• Fox Soccer, 2003–2011
• ABC, 1996–2008, 2019–2022
• HDNet
• TeleFutura/UniMás, 2007–2022
• CBC, 2007–2009
• NBC Sports, 2012–2014
• ESPN/ESPN2, 1996–2022
• TUDN, 2015–2022
• TVA Sports, 2017–2022

Previous regional broadcasting networks

• NOTE: Former regional broadcasters that are currently affiliated with FOX continue to air extremely limited MLS matches involving their local team through the FOX linear package.

MLS broadcasts

• MLS ExtraTime
• MLS Game of the Week
• MLS Soccer Saturday
• MLS Soccer Wednesday
• MLS Wrap
• MLS on Apple TV
• MLS Season Pass
• MLS on Fox

References

Notes

References

1. (August 6, 2006). "ESPN acquires rights to Major League Soccer". OurSports Central.
2. mlssoccer. "MLS on linear TV: FOX Sports, TelevisaUnivision, TSN & RDS reach multi-year deals {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
3. (March 16, 1994). "U.S. Pro League Moves Along By Signing a Television Deal". The New York Times.
4. "MLS:Telemundo Line-up".
5. Network, Telemundo. "Telemundo Network Enters Into Exclusive Agreement With Major League Soccer".
6. "Investor slots filled for last team".
7. Tripp Mickle. (March 24, 2008). "ESPN kicks up efforts to bolster MLS ratings". Sports Business Daily Global Journal.
8. (August 7, 2006). "ESPN, MLS Reach Eight-Year TV Deal That Includes Rights Fees". SportsBusiness Daily.
9. (September 26, 2006). "Univision Signs Eight-Year Agreement To Broadcast MLS Games". SportsBusiness Daily.
10. (January 8, 2013). "A breakdown of TV viewership-worse than we thought". The Soccerist.
11. Paulsen. (November 24, 2010). "Record Low Rating For 2010 MLS Cup". Sports Media Watch.
12. (January 19, 2009). "ESPN booting MLS from its Thursday slot". SportsBusiness Journal.
13. (February 18, 2011). "MLS extends TV deal with Fox Soccer Channel for one year".
14. (February 18, 2011). "MLS And FOX Soccer Channel Agree on One-Year Contract Extension". Goal.com.
15. (February 18, 2011). "Fox Soccer Channel Finalizes Deal With MLS, Reportedly Worth $6.25 Million A Year". SBNation.
16. [http://worldsoccertalk.com/2007/11/25/memo-to-fox-soccer-channel-5-ways-to-improve-fsc "Memo to Fox Soccer Channel: 5 Ways to Improve FSC"], ''World Soccer Talk'', November 25, 2007.
17. Jonathan Tannenwald. (July 14, 2014). "Analyzing NBC's ratings in its first season of broadcasting Major League Soccer". Philadelphia Daily News.
18. (November 29, 2012). "TV ratings for MLS up across the board". SportsBusiness Journal.
19. (May 13, 2014). "MLS, U.S. Soccer sign landmark TV and media rights partnerships with ESPN, FOX & Univision Deportes". Major League Soccer.
20. (May 12, 2014). "MLS's big play".
21. John McDuling. (May 12, 2014). "Here's more evidence that Americans are growing fond of soccer". Quartz.
22. (March 10, 2017). "Facebook signs deal with MLS, Univision to stream live soccer games".
23. "How to watch out-of-market MLS matches in 2018".
24. (February 13, 2018). "ESPN's Web Service Gains Exclusive Pro Soccer Rights". Bloomberg L.P..
25. Spangler, Todd. (March 9, 2018). "Twitter Inks Three-Year MLS Content Deal, Including Live-Streaming Matches (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
26. (March 26, 2018). "MLS gambles on local digital play".
27. Goff, Steven. (October 3, 2019). "D.C. United severs ties with streaming partner FloSports". The Washington Post.
28. Allen, Scott. (March 12, 2019). "FloSports offers full refunds after rough debut, vows to win back D.C. United fans' trust". The Washington Post.
29. (February 24, 2020). "DC United and Sinclair confirm 2020 local TV rights deal".
30. Jeremy Mikula. (February 19, 2020). "Chicago Fire reach a multiyear deal with WGN to televise games". Tribune Publishing.
31. (March 4, 2019). "MLS has told clubs not to sign local deals beyond 2022 in hopes of packaging with national rights".
32. Stejskal, Sam. "MLS media rights deal not likely to be a game-changer, sources say".
33. "Apple and MLS to present all MLS matches for 10 years, beginning in 2023".
34. (November 16, 2022). "MLS, Apple announce pricing, broadcast details for new partnership".
35. (October 27, 2022). "MLS faces race against time to build broadcast operation ahead of Apple TV deal".
36. Axon, Samuel. (June 14, 2022). "Bad news for cable: A major sports league will stream exclusively on Apple TV".
37. mlssoccer. ""A historic day": MLS, Apple enter global media partnership beginning in 2023 {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
38. (February 15, 2023). "IMG, NEP to support MLS Season Pass production on Apple TV".
39. Dachman, Jason. (February 15, 2023). "Apple, MLS Pull Back the Curtain on Live-Production Plans for New MLS Season Pass Streaming Service".
40. Lerner, Drew. (April 15, 2025). "MLS teams find unique way to put games on linear TV amid Apple deal".
41. (December 13, 2022). "Major League Soccer, FOX Sports, TelevisaUnivision, TSN & RDS Announce Multi-year Linear TV Rights Agreements {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
42. (December 12, 2022). "Univision out of MLS regular-season and playoff TV broadcasts amid new Apple deal".
43. (December 13, 2022). "Univision acquires Leagues Cup rights but passes on MLS".
44. Sim, Josh. (December 13, 2022). "Fox agrees MLS TV deal but ESPN shuns rights".
45. Tannenwald, Jonathan. (December 12, 2022). "Univision out of MLS regular-season and playoff TV broadcasts amid new Apple deal".
46. Costa, Brandon. (January 30, 2025). "Major League Soccer Adds Featured Sunday Night Soccer Match to Apple TV+; Expands Availability of MLS Season Pass to Xfinity, DIRECTV; Centralizes Graphics Workflow".
47. Club, Charlotte Football. "Charlotte FC Matches to Re-Air Locally on TV64 {{!}} Charlotte FC".
48. (November 14, 2025). "Apple, MLS Deal Will End in 2029 With Revised Payment Structure".
49. "Canadian national broadcast schedule for 2017 revealed; CTV to air 7 games".
50. (January 10, 2017). "MLS reaches deals with TSN and TVA for Canadian television rights".
51. Delia-Lavictoire, Yvan. (July 14, 2011). "Impact sign multimedia deal, name TVA Sports broadcaster". MLSSoccer.com.
52. "Every Game, All Season Long: MLS ON TSN Kicks Off its Complete Coverage of Vancouver Whitecaps FC This Saturday".
53. "TSN to broadcast all Whitecaps FC games beginning in 2014". The Sports Network.
54. Armstrong, Laura. (March 2, 2018). "MLS partners with DAZN to live stream U.S. matches for Canadian soccer fans". Toronto Star.
55. mlssoccer. "MLS on linear TV: FOX Sports, TelevisaUnivision, TSN & RDS reach multi-year deals {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
56. (December 13, 2022). "MLS broadcast rights awarded to TSN, Fox Sports for next 4 years". The Associated Press.
57. ko. 박린. link. [[Joongang Ilbo]]. (14 September 2025)
58. [http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2008/11/20081103/This-Weeks-News/MLS-Attendance-TV-Viewership-Numbers-Slip.aspx Sports Business Daily, MLS attendance, TV viewership numbers slip, November 3, 2008],
59. "MLS 2016 TV Thread (Ratings, Historical Data, Contracts etc), July 8, 2016".
60. Krishnaiyer, Kartik. (November 9, 2008). "MLS TV Ratings Continue Decline".
61. [http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2011/10/26/Research-and-Ratings/MLS-TV.aspx Sports Business Daily, MLS Regular-Season Audience Up Across ESPN/ESPN2, Fox Soccer, October 26, 2011]
62. World Soccer Talk, [http://worldsoccertalk.com/2010/10/31/mls-2010-season-viewership-down-12-on-espn2/10493/ "MLS 2010 Season Viewership Down 12% on ESPN2"], October 31, 2010,
63. Sports Business Daily, [http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2012/11/28/Media/MLS.aspx "MLS Has Best Regular-Season Audience Yet on ESPN/ESPN2; NBCSN Off To Good Start"], November 28, 2012,
64. Sports Business, Journal, [http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/11/04/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/MLS.aspx "Attendance strong, but MLS sees TV dip"], November 4, 2013,
65. [http://www.socceramerica.com/article/61350/big-jump-in-mls-viewers-on-espn2-and-nbcsn.html "Big jump in MLS viewers on ESPN2 and NBCSN"], Soccer America, November 3, 2014.
66. (October 27, 2015). "MLS TV numbers increase on FOX Sports and ESPN for 2015 regular season – World Soccer Talk".
67. [http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/07/27/tv-ratings-mls-are-last-year-all-espn-platforms "TV ratings for MLS are up from last year on all ESPN platforms"], July 27, 2016.
68. [http://worldsoccertalk.com/2016/07/28/mls-improved-tv-ratings-on-fox-and-espn-are-welcome-but-theyre-only-baby-steps/ "MLS’s improved TV ratings on FOX and ESPN are welcome, but they’re only baby steps"], July 28, 2016.
69. [http://worldsoccertalk.com/2016/10/25/fox-sports-mls-viewing-numbers-increased-37-percent/ "FOX Sports’ MLS viewing numbers increased 37% in 2016 compared to last year"], July 28, 2016.
70. (September 29, 2017). "Most-watched soccer games on US TV for September 19–24, 2017 – World Soccer Talk". World Soccer Talk.
71. (November 20, 2017). "Better TV windows boost viewership for MLS".
72. [http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-95228840/ "MLS attendance, TV ratings up in 2017"] {{Webarchive. link. (April 13, 2020 , Chicago Tribune, November 17, 2017.)
73. (August 26, 2021). "Major League Soccer Audience on ABC and ESPN Networks Up 50 Percent in 2021 Compared to 2020 Regular Season".
74. (August 26, 2021). "Major League Soccer Audience on ABC and ESPN Networks Up 50 Percent in 2021 Compared to 2020 Regular Season".
75. "The 2018 MLS TV Thread". BigSoccer Forum.
76. (October 25, 2018). "Most-watched soccer games on US TV for October 10-21, 2018 - World Soccer Talk". World Soccer Talk.
77. (November 8, 2018). "MLS Regular-Season Viewership Up For Fox Sports, Down On ESPN".
78. "The 2020 MLS TV thread".
79. "Average MLS regular season TV viewers in the U.S 2019".
80. Crupi, Anthony. (November 16, 2021). "MLS Takes on NFL Thanksgiving in Quest for TV Deal as EPL Looms".
81. Porter, Rick. (November 30, 2021). "TV Ratings: CBS' Thanksgiving NFL Game Hits 28-Year High".
82. Tannenwald, Jonathan. (November 8, 2022). "Philadelphia helped MLS Cup draw its biggest U.S. TV audience in 25 years". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
83. [http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/12/mls-wrap-mls-cup-earns-second-lowest-rating-regular-season-up/ "MLS Wrap: MLS Cup Earns Second-Lowest Rating; Regular Season Up"], Sports Media Watch, December 7, 2012.
84. (December 14, 2016). "MLS Cup Hits High in Primetime Broadcast Debut".
85. (December 15, 2017). "Ratings Roundup: MLS Cup, Manchester Derby, Boxing".
86. Lind, Jason. (December 9, 2018). "2018 MLS Cup broadcast scores historic audience ratings". MLSsoccer.com.
87. (November 12, 2019). "Ratings: NFL overnights, MLS Cup, NBA".
88. Goff, Steve. (December 15, 2020). "MLS Cup on UniMás delivered 459,000 viewers, +2% vs. 2019 on Univision and +137% vs. 2018 on UniMás.So overall, M…".
89. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.12.2020".
90. Goff, Steve. (December 14, 2021). "This year's finals – MLS: 1.5m viewers (ABC, UniMas, TUDN), NWSL: 525,000 (CBS), USL Championship: 84,000 (ESPN)".
91. (November 8, 2022). "MLS Cup has second-best English/Spanish audience on record".
92. Lewis, Jon. (December 2023). "Weekly sports ratings: NFL, NBA, Army-Navy, MLS Cup and more".
93. Breeze, Braylon. (December 2024). "Ratings: UConn-Notre Dame, MLS Cup, NHL, College Cup".
94. mlssoccer. "Colorado-Portland Thanksgiving game on FOX sets MLS playoff viewership record {{!}} MLSSoccer.com".
95. Werner, Collin. (July 10, 2019). "Most-watched soccer games on US TV for June 24-July 7, 2019".
96. [https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1019332274444226560 "Fox's Atlanta United-Seattle Sounders broadcast right after the World Cup final drew 1.558 million viewers"], Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News Twitter, July 17, 2018.
97. (July 7, 2018). "Most-watched soccer games on US TV for June 25-July 3, 2018 - World Soccer Talk". World Soccer Talk.
98. Bailey, Ryan. (April 14, 2021). "WSOC-TV, TV64 & Telemundo Charlotte announce first-ever television partnership with Charlotte Football Club".
99. (April 8, 2021). "NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SIGN NEW BROADCAST DEAL WITH CBS BOSTON".