MLS reports 29% viewership surge, 3.7M weekly

Major League Soccer reported a 29% year‑over‑year increase in weekly live viewership for the 2025 regular season, averaging 3.7 million gross live viewers per match week across combined linear and streaming platforms including Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, FOX Sports, TSN/RDS, Comcast, DirecTV, Amazon Prime Video, TikTok and international partners. Apple TV saw an 18% year‑over‑year gain, and MLS said the 3.7 million aggregate counts came from measuring roughly 12–15 weekend matches per slate, a methodology the league and media say limits direct comparisons with other leagues. Stadium demand remained strong: MLS reported 11.2 million regular‑season attendees in 2025 (an average of 21,988 per match), with 19 clubs averaging more than 20,000 fans and total attendance up 12% since 2022. Digital engagement registered a record 13.7 billion impressions (up 17%) and more than 109 million total followers (up 10%), which MLS says represents the fastest year‑to‑date engagement growth among major North American leagues. Merchandise sales were led by Lionel Messi, who topped MLS jersey sales for a third straight season, followed by Son Heung‑Min, Hirving Lozano, Luis Suárez and Miguel Almirón, and MLS executives including SVP/Media Seth Bacon described the publicly released multi‑platform numbers as "bullish" as the league enters the postseason.