Fox Sports will continue to broadcast MLS matches in the United States as part of a four-year agreement, while ESPN and ABC will stop broadcasting matches, cutting continuity that had been in place since 1996.
MLS also announced Tuesday television agreements with TSN and RDS in Canada, as well as TelevisaUnivision.
The soccer league was thus left with only one English-language TV partner within the United States. The decision comes as MLS has established a 10-year partnership with Apple, starting next season.
The rights deal with Apple, originally announced in July, will allow fans to watch every game without local restrictions.
Fox Sports will broadcast at least 34 regular season games, eight playoff games and the final. At least 15 regular season matches will be available on Fox and the rest on FS1.
All matches on Fox and FS1 will be broadcast in Spanish on Fox Deportes.
The agreement also includes 16 matches of the Legues Cup by FS1 until the round of 16. Starting next season, the Leagues Cup will be a summer competition between MLS and Liga MX teams.
TelevisaUnivision will broadcast 21 Leagues Cup matches, including the final.
TSN and RDS will average two games per week over the 34 dates of the campaign, including one per matchday involving a Canadian club. They will also include eight playoff games, the MLS final and some Leagues Cup games.
These deals complete MLS’ portfolio of broadcast rights following the announcement with Apple. The MLS Season Pass, which allows you to view the entire campaign, will be available in more than 100 countries, exclusively through the Apple TV app starting next year.
The MLS Season Pass will launch on February 1, while the campaign kicks off on the 25th, with matches including the so-called “El Tráfico” between Los Angeles FC and the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl.
LAFC beat Philadelphia on penalties to win its first MLS title last season.
Most of the matches will take place on Saturdays and some on Wednesdays. The full schedule will be announced this month.