Apple is officially launching its new multiview feature for sports fans on the Apple TV 4K, which allows viewers to watch up to four simultaneous streams at once. The feature was previously in beta and is currently limited to watching select sports content, including Major League Soccer games, Friday Night Baseball games, and select MLS and MLB live shows, Apple says.
The ability to watch multiple streams, not just a picture-in-picture mode, has become a selling point for some TV streaming platforms. YouTube TV, for example, recently gave access to its own multiview feature that also allows for four streams.
The new Apple TV version of multiview is fully customizable, Apple notes, as users can choose which games are displayed and how they appear on screen. That is, sports fans can move games around on the screen, make one game bigger than the next, or watch games on two or four evenly spaced screens. When one game is the main focus, the other games are stacked on the right side of the screen.
Viewers can also switch audio using the remote control, allowing them to control which game they want to hear. This includes access to the home radio feed for MLS Season Pass.
Apple has made its TV platform more appealing to sports fans with the addition of Friday Night Baseball, which is included with the $6.99/month Apple TV+ subscription. To access MLS Season Pass, fans must pay either $12.99 or $14.99 per month, depending on whether they are an Apple TV+ subscriber. Non-subscribers can watch some games for free, but from the beginning of this year, Friday Night Baseball will no longer be free.
However, Apple is now rolling out a 1-month free trial of MLS Season Pass alongside the multiview launch.
The company is also teasing a special MLS announcement that will be streaming live today at 1:45 p.m. ET on the MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. Presenters include MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Mr. Mohamed Mansour and Sycuan Tribe, who will be joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other special guests.