Apple is officially launching its new multiview feature for sports fans on the Apple TV 4K, allowing 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 matches, Friday Night Baseball games, and certain 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 instance, recently opened up access to its own multiview feature that allows for four streams.
The new Apple TV version of multiview is fully customizable, Apple notes, as it allows users to choose which games are displayed and how they’re shown on the screen. That is, sports fans can move games around on the screen, make one game larger than the others, or watch games in either two or four evenly split screens. When one game is the main focus, the other games get stacked to the right side of the screen.
Viewers can also switch between audio using the remote so they can control which game they want to hear. This includes access to the home radio feed for MLS Season Pass.
Image Credits: Apple
Apple has been making its TV platform more engaging for sports fans with the addition of Friday Night Baseball, which is included with the $6.99 per month Apple TV+ subscription. To access MLS Season Pass, fans have to pay either $12.99 or $14.99 per month, depending on whether they’re Apple TV+ subscribers. Nonsubscribers can watch a few matches for free, but Friday Night Baseball is no longer a free offering as of earlier this year.
However, Apple is now rolling out a one-month free trial of MLS Season Pass alongside the launch of multiview.
The company is also teasing an MLS special announcement that will stream live today on the MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app at 1:45 p.m. EDT today. Presenters will 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.