Chicago Fire moves local broadcasts to new ESPN streaming product

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Mar 10, 2018

The Chicago Fire became the first MLS team to entirely eschew a local or regional broadcaster, signing a three-year rights agreement with ESPN for 27 Fire games in 2018 to be available in both English and Spanish on ESPN-Plus, ESPN's soon-to-launch streaming product.

Fire fans will have to pay a $4.99 monthly subscription but it will also give them access to all MLS games on ESPN-Plus. Those MLS games consist of out-of-market games not broadcast nationally.

"The partnership between ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, and our storied club is a powerful combination," said Fire president and general manager Nelson Rodriguez. "Our fans will receive top-quality streaming and production, available anytime, anywhere and across any devices."

Until ESPN-Plus' launch, Fire fans will enjoy free access to MLS Live matches.

Los Angeles FC has signed a streaming agreement with YouTube TV for its English-language broadcasts. It has assumed that KMEX will air local broadcasts in Spanish but no agreement has yet been announced.

Seattle also signed a streaming deal with YouTube TV but that it is addition to the regional package it also has.