While it’s still too early to say that the partnership between Apple TV and Major League Soccer is a resounding success, early indicators are suggesting things are off to a great start. Before the arrival of Lionel Messi to Inter Miami, it was reported that MLS Season Pass subscribers stood at around 1 million.
Granted half of those subscribers came from season ticket holders and partnerships like T – Mobile that got the service for free. Since the arrival and the success of Lionel Messi in MLS, that number has doubled according to Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas and doubled down by executives at Apple.
Another promising sign for Apple TV and MLS is that viewership is up for Major League Soccer, according to Statista Research Department, MLS games in 2023 have either surpassed or matched the MLS Cup final viewership from 2022, which was around 2 million viewers.
The future of MLS and Apple TV deal
The biggest winner of the Apple TV deal besides MLS is Lionel Messi, who for his 2-and-a-half-year deal will see a percentage of new subscriptions, the fear that a worldwide audience would have little interest in MLS is being debunked. While MLS on Apple TV is seeing their best numbers in years when it comes to viewership, in Argentina for example ESPN Argentina is reporting all-time record lows for its ratings, even with having the rights to Argentine soccer, Champions League, Serie A among other leagues.
Most of the audience is now moving to streaming platforms and while MLS is solely on a streaming platform, the experiment seems to be working. With talks that MLS will be lifting certain roster restrictions and increasing their salary cap, and even talks of adding a 4th DP, the idea is to “spread the wealth” so to speak and have more teams in MLS sign players of worldwide recognition, such as Neymar who is being touted by an MLS side rumored to be NYCFC.
The effort is clear, have big name players playing in more markets to make MLS more than a one man show in Lionel Messi, although it will be a tough task for the league to sign a better player than the Argentine. Strategically attacking huge markets like Brazil, France, and Mexico who in turn can attract Asian and Middle Eastern markets is a smart move in getting more exposure for the league.
MLS Season Pass was met with a lot of skepticism, especially considering the historically low ratings of MLS on major television networks, and was a huge gamble for the league to take themselves off of linear television, well at the moment MLS, Apple TV, and Lionel Messi have all turned up aces.
