MLS, Apple TV announce first group of league pass announcers

Taylor Twellman, Marcelo Balboa, Danielle Slaton and Liam McHugh will be the announcers for the first season of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the league and Apple announced Tuesday.

MLS Season Pass will launch on Apple TV on Feb. 1 while the 2023 season begins on Feb. 25. The 10-year rights deal allows fans to watch every game without local blackouts or restrictions. The service will be available in over 100 countries exclusively through the Apple TV app.

Twellman previously was ABC and ESPN's lead soccer analyst for 11 years. Before going to the booth, he played nine seasons for the New England Revolution and scored 101 goals in 174 matches.

Balboa, a former U.S. national team defender and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, will be a Spanish-language analyst. He was the lead analyst for ESPN/ABC's coverage of the 2006 World Cup and was a part of Univision’s MLS and international soccer coverage since 2014.

Slaton, who played on the U.S. women's team, was part of Fox’s coverage of the men’s and women’s World Cup as an analyst.

Long Island's McHugh — also the host of TNT's NHL studio show — will cohost a weekly show that will cover key moments from matches.

Among others announced as analysts are former MLS players Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Diego Valeri and Sébastien Le Toux.

Jillian Sakovits will be a pregame studio host while Tony Cherchi will handle studio duties for Spanish-language broadcasts.

Max Bretos and Steve Cangialosi were among the group of five play-by-play announcers announced Tuesday.