The 21st season of Major League Soccer (MLS) begins on Sunday, March 6 with the entire sport (all 20 teams) playing in matches — four of those matches get the marquee national TV treatment. First is a rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup as the defending champion Portland Timbers welcome Kei Kamara and Columbus Crew SC on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 4:30 p.m. ET. FS1 and Fox Deportes will showcase Clint Dempsey-led Seattle Sounders FC versus Benny Feilhaber’s Sporting Kansas City at 7 p.m. ET; TSN and RDS will air Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s home opener vs. the Montreal Impact in Canada at 5:30 pm ET; while UniMás rounds out the night by featuring a match between five-time MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy and four-time champions D.C. United at 10 p.m. ET.
Coming off a season that generated record numbers in total television viewership, 2016 marks the second year of a current eight-year agreement between MLS and its TV partners Fox, ESPN and Univision networks to broadcast matches in the United States.
Again, there will be the weekly Viernes de Futbol (Friday Night Soccer) on UniMás and Soccer Sunday doubleheaders on the networks of ESPN and Fox. This year, MLS action make its debut on Fox broadcast television; four matches on Fox and the additional 30 games on FS1, most of which will kick off on Sundays in prime time. The New York City FC vs. New York Red Bulls match on May 21 live from Yankee Stadium, part of Heineken Rivalry Week, will serve as the debut game and is part of a Fox network soccer doubleheader that includes live coverage of the FA Cup Final from England.
29 of ESPN’s 34 matches will be showcased on ESPN (5 will air on ESPN2), up from only 8 on the ESPN flagship in 2015.
All 28 Univisión Deportes matches will air live on UniMás, with select matches simulcast on the cable network Univisión Deportes Network (UDN).
During Week 33, the penultimate week of the season, all 10 games will take place on Sunday, October 16 and consist of intra-conference matches pitting East against East and West against West as teams jockey for postseason positioning.
Similarly, Decision Day will also see exclusively intra-conference matches as all 10 games will be played at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 23 to settle the standings and determine who is in, and who is out of the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Both Week 33 and Decision Day will feature flex scheduling allowing FS1, ESPN and Univision Deportes to decide which matches to telecast late in the season.
The AT&T MLS All-Star game will return to ESPN, as well as UniMas, TSN and RDS, live from Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes, during the last week in July. Additional details about the match date and opponent will be released in the coming weeks.
Sunday, Mar. 6
4:30 PM – Portland vs. Columbus (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Seattle vs. Sporting KC (FS1)
10:00 PM – LA Galaxy vs. D.C. United (UniMás)
Friday, Mar. 11
7:00 PM – Orlando vs. Chicago (UniMás)
Sunday, Mar. 13
5:00 PM – NYCFC vs. Toronto FC (ESPN2)
7:00 PM – San Jose vs. Portland (FS1)
Friday, Mar. 18
7:00 PM – NYCFC vs. Orlando (UniMás)
Sunday, Mar. 20
5:00 PM – D.C. United vs. Colorado (ESPN2)
7:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. Toronto FC (FS1)
Friday, Apr. 1
7:00 PM – New England vs. NY Red Bulls (UniMás)
Sunday, Apr. 3
8:00 PM – Orlando vs. Portland (FS1)
Friday, Apr. 8
7:00 PM – Philadelphia vs. Orlando (UniMás)
Sunday, Apr. 10
4:00 PM – Houston vs. Seattle (ESPN)
7:00 PM – NYCFC vs. Chicago (FS1)
9:30 PM – LA Galaxy vs. Portland (FS1)
Friday, Apr. 15
7:00 PM – Houston vs. LA Galaxy (UniMás)
Sunday, Apr. 17
3:30 PM – Orlando vs. New England (ESPN)
7:00 PM – FCD vs. Sporting KC (FS1)
Sunday, Apr. 24
3:30 PM – San Jose vs. Sporting KC (ESPN)
7:30 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. Orlando (FS1)
Friday, Apr. 29
7:00 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. DAL (UniMás)
Sunday, May 1
3:30 PM – Portland vs. Toronto FC (ESPN)
8:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. LA Galaxy (FS1)
Friday, May 6
7:00 PM – Orlando vs. NY Red Bulls (UniMás)
Sunday, May 8
3:30 PM – LA Galaxy vs. New England (ESPN)
7:30 PM – D.C. United vs. NYCFC (FS1)
Friday, May 13
7:00 PM – D.C. United vs. NY Red Bulls (UniMás)
Sunday, May 15
3:30 PM – Sporting KC vs. Orlando (ESPN)
7:30 PM – Portland vs. NYCFC (FS1)
Friday, May 20
7:00 PM – Philadelphia vs. D.C. United (UniMás)
Saturday, May 21
3:00 PM – NYCFC vs. NY Red Bulls (Fox)
Sunday, May 22
4:30 PM – Portland vs. Vancouver (ESPN)
7:00 PM – LA Galaxy vs. San Jose (FS1)
Friday, May 27
7:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. D.C. United (UniMás)
Sunday, May 29
4:00 PM – NYCFC vs. Orlando (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Montreal vs. LA Galaxy (FS1)
Sunday, June 19
5:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. DAL (ESPN)
7:30 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. Seattle (FS1)
Saturday, June 25
5:00 PM – Seattle vs. NYCFC (ESPN)
10:00 PM – San Jose vs. LA Galaxy (UniMás)
Sunday, June 26
6:00 PM – Portland vs. Houston (ESPN2)
Friday, July 1
8:00 PM – Chicago vs. San Jose (UniMás)
10:30 PM – Real Salt Lake vs. D.C. United (UniMás)
Sunday, July 3
12:00 PM – NYCFC vs. NY Red Bulls (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. Columbus (FS1)
Friday, July 8
8:00 PM – Orlando vs. Houston (UniMás)
10:30 PM – San Jose vs. DAL (UniMás)
Saturday, July 9
3:00 PM – Seattle vs. LA Galaxy (ESPN)
Sunday, July 10
6:00 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. Portland (ESPN2)
8:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. NYCFC (FS1)
Friday, July 15
11:00 PM – LA Galaxy vs. Houston (UniMás)
Sunday, July 17
3:00 PM – Portland vs. Seattle (Fox)
5:00 PM – Montreal vs. NYCFC (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Philadelphia vs. NY Red Bulls (FS1)
Friday, July 22
11:00 PM – Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose (UniMás)
Saturday, July 23
3:30 PM – Portland vs. LA Galaxy (ESPN)
Sunday, July 24
1:00 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. NYCFC (Fox)
3:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. Seattle (ESPN)
Sunday, July 31
2:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. Portland (Fox)
4:00 PM – Seattle vs. LA Galaxy (ESPN)
Friday, Aug. 5
11:00 PM – San Jose vs. NYCFC (UniMás)
Sunday, Aug. 7
4:00 PM – Portland vs. Sporting KC (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Orlando vs. Seattle (FS1)
9:30 PM – LA Galaxy vs. NY Red Bulls (FS1)
Friday, Aug. 12
11:00 PM – Vancouver vs. San Jose (UniMás)
Sunday, Aug. 14
3:30 PM – Chicago vs. Orlando (ESPN2)
7:00 PM – Seattle vs. Real Salt Lake (FS1)
Friday, Aug. 19
11:00 PM – San Jose vs. Houston (UniMás)
Saturday, Aug. 20
3:30 PM – NYCFC vs. LA Galaxy (ESPN)
Sunday, Aug. 21
3:00 PM – D.C. United vs. NY Red Bulls (ESPN)
9:30 PM – Seattle vs. Portland (FS1)
Friday, Aug. 26
8:00 PM – Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado (UniMás)
Sunday, Aug. 28
2:30 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. New England (ESPN)
5:00 PM – Portland vs. Seattle (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Orlando vs. NYCFC (FS1)
Friday, Sep. 9
8:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. Houston (UniMás)
Sunday, Sep. 11
1:00 PM – NY Red Bulls vs. D.C. United (ESPN)
7:00 PM – LA Galaxy vs. Orlando (FS1)
Friday, Sep. 16
8:00 PM – Chicago vs. D.C. United (UniMás)
Sunday, Sep. 18
1:00 PM – Sporting KC vs. LA Galaxy (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Toronto FC vs. NY Red Bulls (FS1)
Friday, Sep. 23
8:00 PM – NYCFC vs. Chicago (UniMás)
Sunday, Sep. 25
TBD – LA Galaxy vs. Seattle (ESPN)
7:00 PM – Columbus vs. New England (FS1)
Wednesday, Sep. 28
7:30 PM – Toronto vs. Orlando (FS1)
Friday, Sep. 30
8:00 PM – Houston vs. NYCFC (UniMás)
Sunday, Oct. 2
1:00 PM – Orlando vs. Montreal (ESPN)
8:00 PM – Vancouver vs. Seattle (FS1)
Sunday, Oct. 16
5:00 PM – TBD (ESPN)
7:00 PM – TBD (FS1)
Sunday, Oct. 23
4:00 PM – TBD (ESPN)
4:00 PM – TBD (FS1)
