MLS Season Pass Subscriptions Have Doubled Since Lionel Messi Joined League
The Messi Effect is very real, but it’s hard to get Apple to talk about it. That’s par for the course with the tech company, which never reveals more than it has to about the inner workings of its business. That means it falls to Major League Soccer representatives to reveal details about MLS Season Pass, as they’re the only ones outside of Apple boardrooms privy to the information.
Inter Miami CF owner Jorge Mas was not as reticent as Apple to share just how many eyes the addition of superstar Lionel Messi to his club has brought Apple’s nascent streaming platform. Mas took to Twitter to announce that subscriptions to MLS Season Pass had more than doubled since Messi joined the team. Spanish-language viewership has also grown, suggesting the new subscribers have come from international as well as domestic sources (MLS Season Pass offers both English and Spanish-language broadcasts for every game).
The Messi Effect is real! 🐐 Subscribers to #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV have more than doubled since Messi joined @InterMiamiCF. Also, Spanish language viewership on #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV has surpassed over 50% for Messi matches and continues to rise. How exciting for a truly…
— Jorge Mas (@Jorge__Mas) August 10, 2023
A report from late July indicated that Apple had accrued around 1 million subscribers for MLS Season Pass even before Messi’s arrival. If his presence has doubled subscribers on the service, rough math would indicate that the platform now has 2 million paid customers.
The revelation from Miami’s owner is just the latest indication that Messi has been a hugely important signing for the league and its partner streaming service. MLS Season Pass recorded its three most-watched matches of the season the week that Messi started playing for Miami. A price drop may have helped as well; the service lowered the subscription rate of MLS Season Pass from $99 for the year to $49 at the midway point of the season.
Financially, the benefits could reach the pockets of MLS owners, as well as the players and even Messi himself. As part of its 10-year deal with Apple, MLS gets a percentage of subscription revenues from MLS Season Pass once a certain user threshold is reached. The players also get a bump in their paychecks, as they’ll get 12.5% of media revenues if the league makes $100 million more than it did last year. Finally, there were discussions when Messi joined the league that his contract would also include a portion of MLS Season Pass subscription profits.
In short, the arrival of Messi in the MLS has been good for just about everyone except Miami’s opponents on the field. The superstar forward already has seven goals in four games with the club, and Miami is not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, despite currently residing in last place. If it climbs into ninth, it has a shot at a play-in game, and if it makes it into the postseason tournament, MLS Season Pass could see another subscription explosion.
MLS Season Pass
MLS Season Pass is a video streaming service that offers every match—including Leagues Cup and the entire Audi MLS Cup Playoffs—with no blackouts. It offers both English and Spanish announcers. MLS Season Pass also offers pre-match coverage, post-match analysis, highlights, player profiles, interviews, club content, match replays, live MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches, and more.