How has Messi helped Apple and MLS generate huge profits?

Because of Messi, Apple increased television rights fees for MLS.

According to Marca (Spain), the number of people subscribing to the MLS Season Pass on Apple.com has skyrocketed, reaching 110,000 on the day Inter Miami announced their agreement with Messi in July 2023. Then, within just one month, another 300,000 people had registered.

Messi has had a huge impact on MLS.

This growth immediately led to a new deal, with Apple increasing its television rights fees to MLS – Major League Soccer – to $250 million per year for 10 years (until 2033). The total value of this deal reached over $2.5 billion, nearly three times the previous amount of approximately $100 million per year.

Despite the increase in television broadcasting rights costs, Apple has reaped enormous profits from its subscribers. To date, the number of subscribers to MLS Season Pass (live streaming of MLS season matches) continues to grow daily, reaching over 2 million people, according to a February 2024 report by Sports Business Journal .

In a recent event, when Messi made his MLS Cup playoff debut, Inter Miami defeated Atlanta United 2-1 at home in Chase on October 26th. Apple TV streamed the game live and free to major cities in the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico, attracting an unprecedented number of viewers. In a statement, Apple confirmed that this was the most-watched sporting event ever on its television platform.

Messi played in Inter Miami's 2-1 victory over Atlanta United on October 26th.

Additionally, the exclusive "Messi Cam" broadcast on TikTok, featuring the MLS and Inter Miami accounts, attracted over 150,000 concurrent viewers. This was TikTok's first football broadcast focusing on a single player.

According to Marca : "This is a new trend targeting Gen Z users, who will watch sporting events with a different experience than traditional viewing and simply as ordinary spectators. These include elements such as the interaction of the main characters, experiencing a match from a unique perspective with the participation of star players, intimacy, and the ability to connect..."

MLS is close to catching up with one of the top four sports leagues in the US in terms of revenue.

According to Marca , a recent analysis by the IEG organization (USA) estimates that MLS revenue in 2024 will reach $680 million. This figure is close to matching the revenue of the NHL (North American Ice Hockey Championship), which is approximately $750 million. If this growth continues, with Messi's immense influence still evident, MLS could enter the ranks of the top leagues in the US in the not-too-distant future.

Messi's move to Inter Miami brought huge profits to MLS and Apple.

Historically, in the US and North America, the NHL (ice hockey), NFL (American football), MLB (baseball), and NBA (basketball) have been the four biggest leagues, consistently attracting viewers. However, since Messi's arrival in the US in 2023, the growth of MLS (soccer) has propelled it closer to joining the top four, potentially overtaking the NHL due to its continued revenue growth.

In early October, MLS announced that the league had broken another record: for the first time, more than 11 million people attended games in the regular season, surpassing the 2023 season, which had 10.9 million spectators.

MLS announces attendance record for the 2024 season.

"These figures are directly related to Messi's presence, bringing in an average of 23,240 spectators to MLS games. Incidentally, this record was also set thanks to an Inter Miami game, where 72,610 paying fans came to Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, to watch their football game against their city rivals, Sporting Kansas City. What does this tell us? Football in America has begun to compete with American football, the number one sport in America," Marca stated.

The record attendance for an MLS match featuring Messi is also likely to be broken if Inter Miami's upcoming match against Atlanta United at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on November 3rd at 6 PM in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs attracts over 75,000 spectators.

Due to Messi's immense popularity and the crucial nature of the match, the organizers at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium increased its capacity to over 75,000 seats to meet the fans' demand.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/messi-da-giup-apple-va-mls-thu-loi-khung-nhu-the-nao-185241102122952822.htm