Major League Soccer Confirms Significant Viewership Gains During 2025 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

Roger Hampel

Image: MLS

Major League Soccer has confirmed that Inter Miami CF will host the 2025 MLS Cup Presented by Audi, facing the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, December 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The match will mark Inter Miami’s first MLS Cup appearance and continues a postseason marked by notable audience growth across linear and streaming platforms.

Broadcast coverage will span FOX, FOX Deportes, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, TSN, and RDS, with the championship match available free worldwide on MLS Season Pass in over 100 countries.

Viewership Growth: MLS Shows Momentum Across the 2025 Season MLS

MLS reports significant year-over-year gains across both linear and streaming distribution. According to league data:

• 711,000 average viewers per playoff match, a 23% increase compared with the same stage in 2024.

• 3.7 million average gross weekly match viewers during the regular season across all platforms — a 29% increase year-over-year.

These figures reflect the combined effect of the league’s global distribution network and continued star power, including performances throughout the postseason from Lionel Messi, Thomas Müller, Tadeo Allende, Anders Dreyer, and Son Heung-Min.

MLS continues to market itself as the only major North American league where every match is available globally through a unified distribution model, anchored by Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.

Inter Miami and Vancouver Advance Under Contrasting Paths

Inter Miami reaches the league’s final for the first time, a milestone shaped by high-profile signings and the club’s rapid commercial growth since joining MLS in 2020. Vancouver Whitecaps, representing the Western Conference, return to the league’s biggest stage after a decade-long effort to reshape their sporting project.