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Former ESPN soccer analyst Taylor Twellman leads the list of new talent hires as Major League Soccer (MLS) and Apple unveiled their inaugural team of broadcasters for Apple’s MLS Season Pass coverage.
The service will launch on February 1, 2023, on the Apple TV app in more than 100 countries worldwide. The new announcer team will include:
Match Analysts: Twellman, who recently announced he was leaving ESPN after nearly 13 years; Maurice Edu; Lori Lindsey, Danielle Slaton, Kyndra de St. Aubin; Marcelo Balboa; and Sebastian Le Toux.
Studio Analysts: Sacha Kljestan, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Diego Valeri.
Studio Hosts: Liam McHugh, Jillian Sakovits, Tony Cherchi (McHugh’s role on TNT’s NHL coverage will not be impacted, said sources).
Play-By-Play Announcers: Max Bretos, Steve Cangialosi, Jake Zivin, Pablo Ramírez, and Frederic Lord.
The complete on-air broadcast team will be announced before the start of the MLS 2023 season, which begins February 25.
MLS used Creative Artists Agency sports media agent and former Pac-12 network executive Kristin Bredes LaFemina as a consultant to “architect” the new broadcasting team. And she delivered big-time, according to Apple and MLS.
“MLS Season Pass will deliver the best viewing experience that MLS fans have ever had, in large part to these incredible announcers, who will be calling the matches and bringing their passion, energy, and know-how for this league, these clubs, and this sport each and every week,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services in a statement. “Today is a milestone moment for our partnership with MLS, as we begin to unveil some of the faces and voices of this unprecedented streaming service, and we can’t wait for fans to start tuning in next month.”
MLS Commissioner Don Garber added: “This talented group of men and women has taken part in the biggest moments across the soccer and sports landscape for the past decade; whether covering them on air or taking part in them as players, they have been at the center of building our sport in North America. We are excited to see how their diversity of experiences will elevate our coverage and storytelling across our live matches and studio shows, bringing our sport to fans around the globe like never before.”
A.J. Perez and Doug Greenberg contributed to this story.
