With the Apple TV era of Major League Soccer set to get underway in the coming weeks, the team of studio analysts and broadcasters has finally been announced. On it, is some names that Portland Timbers fans will be both familiar with, and fond of.
The MLS regular season is less than two months away, and as the teams prepare for their duties on the pitch, the league has been revamping their duties off of it. In 2022, MLS announced a 10-year partnership with Apple for comprehensive coverage of the league. The coverage will be the most formidable to date, with Saturday night whip-around shows, pre and post-match coverage, and more.
While the deal with Apple has meant the death of the local club broadcasts, Timbers fans have received some consolation as it was revealed in Major League Soccer's Apple roster announcement that long time Timbers broadcaster Jake Zivin will be apart of the play-by-play team for the upcoming season. Alongside Zivin, Timbers legend Diego Valeri will be a studio analyst for the 2023 season, allowing the green and gold faithful to see their hero's return to MLS action - in some capacity at least. “It’s a new challenge in my life. I like challenges.” Valeri said on joining the Apple team.
Back on the pitch, the Timbers are back in Portland for pre-season training, and will soon head out for a flurry of pre-season friendlies. First up is a friendly against their opening day oppononents, Sporting KC, in Arizona. Following that clash, the Providence Park club will take part in the Coachella Valley Invitational between February 12th - February 18th where they will face off with the LA Galaxy, Toronto FC, and NYCFC before returning home for the start of the regular season.