Credit: Sports Business Journal
Delivering live game content directly to fans — on their terms and platforms — remains one of the biggest priorities for sports broadcasters, streamers, and leagues. This season, MLS, Apple TV, and EA Sports partnered on a novel experiment: streaming live matches within EA’s FC Mobile app.
The initiative, branded as FCM TV, allowed users who reached account level 4 in the game to access around five MLS regular-season matches. EA had previously used the portal to showcase La Liga highlights, leveraging its title sponsorship of Spain’s top league.
As the pilot concludes this weekend, the early feedback has been revealing.
Fan Response and Engagement
According to John Reseburg, EA Sports VP of Marketing, Partnerships, and Communications, fans responded “really positively,” with notable increases in both in-app engagement and live tune-ins. Beyond streaming matches, users interacted with highlights and claimed reward incentives, boosting retention in ways reminiscent of esports integrations on Twitch.
The experiment also attracted new users to FC Mobile, giving EA valuable behavioral data on how fans balance live sports viewing with gaming. Reseburg emphasized that success was measured not just by viewership numbers, but by understanding what aspects of the experience truly captured fan energy and attention.
Why Gaming Matters for Sports Properties
At the core of this effort is a bigger challenge: how to reach Gen Z and Gen Alpha sports fans. These demographics represent nearly 1 billion of the world’s 4 billion sports fans, according to Reseburg. Unlike previous generations, they are digital natives, with interactive entertainment and gaming at the center of their cultural experience.
For many, video games are not just play — they’re how they consume sports, discover athletes, and connect with communities. Embedding live match access within a game creates a seamless ecosystem where sports are experienced both virtually and in real time.
EA Sports’ Broader Content Experiments
This isn’t EA’s first attempt at blending live content with gaming:
- MaddenCast on Peacock: a companion broadcast infused with EA branding.
- Madden NFL docuseries on Prime Video: a deep dive into gaming and sports culture.
- F1 movie integration: EA branding placed on the fictional APXGP team in Apple’s upcoming Formula 1 film.
These moves reflect a broader strategy: positioning EA not just as a gaming company, but as a sports media brand with influence across platforms.
What’s Next?
While Reseburg says it’s too early to confirm whether the MLS experiment will extend to other leagues under EA licenses — including the NFL, UFC, F1, and PGA Tour — the blueprint is clear. Integrating live sports into gaming ecosystems is a powerful way to reach digital-native fans, capture new data, and build long-term engagement.
For leagues and broadcasters, the question is no longer if gaming should be part of their distribution strategy, but how fastthey can adapt to meet fans where they already are: inside the game.
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IMAGE: EA FC
