The 2022 Major League Soccer campaign is right around the corner with Philadelphia and Minnesota set to kick off the season at Subaru Park on February 26th. It’s a good time to look at how to watch the 2022 MLS season in the UK, and there’s plenty of storylines to follow this term.
Will New York City pose another title bid? Can Bruce Arena do better in the postseason after his New England side dominated the Eastern Conference? Or will Phil Neville turn the corner with his Inter Miami side?
How to watch 2022 MLS season in UK
Unlike the NFL, there isn’t a global games scheme yet, so if you’re a New England fan in Leeds or an Austin supporter from Nottingham, watching these teams means a lengthy trip on an airplane or in front of a television screen.
Sky Sports
Sky Sports are the key figure when it comes to UK MLS broadcast rights, showing a few games live per week. Typically showing a game from the East and West Coast allows a decent crossover without missing kickoffs as a New York Red Bulls home game will have long finished by the time LA Galaxy kick-off.
In addition to that Sky sometimes show games they don’t broadcast live on their channels, at more sociable hours. They’ll often add such content to their on-demand library so that MLS games can be enjoyed well after the original broadcast.
Moreover, Sky Sports do give an immersive experience with MLS. The website alone has lots of content surrounding the competition to go further than just the results. There are key moments, wonder goals and post-match interviews. There’s a visible slant to former Premier League players with Phil Neville appearing frequently — excellent for Inter Miami followers!
Now to enjoy all this, you will require Sky’s viewing equipment and a Sky Sports subscription. If you already have that, then put your feet up and enjoy some football. If not, you’ll have to get on their website and get set up before the end of next month.
Alternatively, Sky’s sister-product, NOW, offers instant access to their services. The Sky Sports content is available through this system, meaning Major League Soccer can be enjoyed too! Both this and the traditional Sky method come with accompanying online players, giving you MLS streams when the games are on.
Click here for the latest NOW TV offers
Premier Sports & FreeSports
Should you not already have Sky Sports and don’t fancy the price, there is another way to watch MLS. Sky Sports initially reported the division was exclusively on their platform yet in recent years it seems Premier Sports have started an interest in the league across the pond.
In prior seasons Premier Sports had taken the games which Sky didn’t select and put them on FreeSports. For those of you who aren’t au fait with FreeSports, it’s a channel in which Premier Sports operates on a free-to-air basis. You can watch it on your Freeview box on channel 64 (as well as being available on other set-top boxes) and on the channel webpage. Check their schedule to find out when they intend to start MLS streaming for the season.
Last season FreeSports aired the MLS Cup final between Portland and New York City, at the same time as Sky. Viewing options such as definition selection, playback, recording and catch-up might be less optimizable on FreeSports. However, this complimentary offering still merits setting up a free account. It is noteworthy that the free service only works at the time of broadcast.
Subscribing to Premier Sports will give you more access to watch a bigger range of their portfolio, including on-demand content.