The Powers That Be: Daily MLS’s Bad Apple & Netflix’s Sports Media Endgame
Nov 26, 2025
Julia Alexander, a media and streaming journalist for Puck, dives into the fallout from Apple's early exit from its MLS rights deal, highlighting how measurement issues and paywalls hindered audience growth. She discusses the need for MLS to partner with established sports platforms for wider reach. The conversation shifts to Netflix, exploring its strategy to host marquee one-off sports events like the Home Run Derby to boost viewership and monetize audiences. Julia also touches on the implications of these licensing strategies for the future of sports media.
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Streaming Paywall Hurt MLS Growth
- MLS's Apple deal hid the league behind paywalls and stunted casual discovery.
- Julia Alexander argues that being siloed on Apple prevented MLS from building broader viewership.
Streaming Metrics Obscure True Viewership
- Apple and MLS reported viewers with inconsistent streaming metrics that obscured true audience size.
- Julia Alexander highlights that these nonstandard metrics make comparisons to Nielsen meaningless.
Streaming Shifts Audiences, Rarely Builds New Ones
- Streaming shifted existing sports audiences rather than creating new ones.
- Julia Alexander notes audiences will move platforms but streaming didn't build mass new viewers for leagues like MLS.