NEW YORK – Major League Soccer Friday announced the schedule and broadcast details for the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The postseason will kick off on Friday, Nov. 20 and culminate in the league’s 25th championship match, 2020 MLS Cup, on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. ET, live on FOX, UniMás, TSN, and TVA Sports.
In an expansion of the postseason, 18 clubs will qualify for the playoffs. Seventeen postseason matches will be played after the November FIFA international window within a 22-day span from Nov. 20 through MLS Cup Dec. 12, including an MLS record 14 postseason matches played over 13 days.
This year’s playoffs will once again feature single-game elimination matches hosted by the higher-seeded club.
All 17 games of the expanded postseason will be broadcast nationally in the U.S. on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN Deportes, FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes, and Univision’s UniMás and TUDN networks, in Canada on TSN and TVA Sports networks, and in more than 190 countries around the world.
FOX Sports will cover matches in every round of the postseason, from the Eastern Conference play-in round to 2020 MLS Cup. Consistent with 2016 and 2018, FOX Sports will air MLS Cup on FOX, the third consecutive time FOX Sports has aired MLS Cup on the over-the-air network. FOX Sports’ presentation of the 2018 MLS Cup holds the record for the most-watched MLS Cup since 1997.
ESPN also will cover each round leading up to the MLS Cup, highlighted by an ABC showcase of a conference finals match that will determine one of the two MLS Cup finalists. This marks the first non-championship MLS postseason match on ABC since 2006.
Univision’s UniMás/TUDN will again bring fans Spanish-language coverage of two playoffs round one matches, as well as expansive coverage of the MLS Cup.
The entire MLS Cup Playoffs and 2020 MLS Cup will be carried live in Canada – in English on TSN and in French on TVA Sports.
MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule
Subject to change All times Eastern.
Eastern Conference Play-In Round (2 games)
(The lower-seeded advancing team will face the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed in Round 1, while the higher-seeded advancing team will face the Eastern Conference No. 2 seed.)
Friday, Nov. 20
(two games)
- 6:30 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports .
- 8:30 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
Eastern and Western Conference Round One (8 games)
(Western Conference No. 1 vs. No. 8 seed, No. 2 vs No. 7 seed, No. 3 vs. No. 6 seed, Nov. 4 vs No. 5 seed. Eastern Conference No. 1 vs lower advancing Play-In Round seed, No. 2 vs. higher advancing Play-In Round seed, No. 3 vs. No. 6 seed, Nov. 4 vs No. 5 seed)
Saturday, Nov. 21
(two games)
- 12 p.m. UniMás/TUDN, TSN, TVA Sports
- 3 p.m. UniMás/TUDN, TSN, TVA Sports
Sunday, Nov. 22
(three games)
- 4 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
- 7:30 p.m. ESPN/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
- 10 p.m. ESPN/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
Tuesday, Nov. 24
(three games)
- 6 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
- 8 p.m. ESPN/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
- 10:30 p.m. ESPN/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
Eastern and Western Conference Semifinal (4 games)
(One single-elimination game, winners advance to Conference Final)
Sunday, Nov. 29
(two games)
- 3 p.m. ABC/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
- 8 p.m. ESPN/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
Tuesday, Dec. 1
(one game)
- 6:30 or 9 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
Wednesday, Dec. 2
(one game)
- 6:30 or 9 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
Eastern and Western Conference Final (2 games)
(One single-elimination game, winners advance to MLS Cup)
Sunday, Dec. 6
(two games)
- 3 p.m. ABC/ESPN Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
- 6:30 p.m. FS1/FOX Deportes, TSN, TVA Sports
2020 MLS Cup (1 game)
(Eastern Conference Champion vs. Western Conference Champion One single-elimination game that will crown the 2020 MLS Cup Champion.)
Saturday, Dec. 12
- 8 p.m. FOX, UniMás//TUDN, TSN, TVA Sports
