Major League Soccer may have gone all-in with Apple, but some clubs are starting to find clever ways to get back on linear television…even if it’s a couple of days late.
FC Dallas is the latest team to announce a tape-delay partnership with a local station. Starting this season, full replays of FC Dallas games will air on KDFI More 27, typically two to three days after the original match. It’s a workaround that still respects Apple’s exclusive live-streaming rights. Games must air at least 48 hours after they’re played, but it brings local MLS broadcasts back to traditional TV.
Dallas is the second club to pursue this option, following Charlotte FC, which struck a similar deal in March.
“FC Dallas Rewind is another great way for fans across North Texas to connect with our team and experience every moment of the 2025 MLS season,” said FC Dallas VP of Broadcasting Gina Miller in the team’s announcement.
Why It Matters for Cord-Cutters and Casual Fans
MLS’s 10-year streaming deal with Apple TV+ took nearly all live matches behind the MLS Season Pass paywall. Outside of 32 games aired each season on Fox and FS1, the league has had almost no presence on traditional broadcast or cable. That’s been a sticking point for fans and even some league insiders, who argue MLS has become “out of sight, out of mind” without regular linear exposure.
Tape-delay deals like this may not help hardcore fans who already pay for Season Pass, but they can serve a huge purpose for casual viewers. Airing replays on Tuesday nights, for example, gives local teams a chance to be discovered during a much more favorable TV window than the typical Saturday evening game slot.
These replays won’t be live, but they’re still a free, easy way to reconnect with hometown teams. And with two clubs already using this method, expect more MLS franchises to follow suit as they look to strike a balance between streaming exclusivity and traditional visibility.