Messi Drives Jump in Apple TV+ and MLS Subscriptions

livemint.com:

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi helped drive a surge in U.S. subscriptions to Apple and Major League Soccer’s streaming services ahead of his North American debut in July, a sign that their partnership is bearing fruit. MLS Season Pass saw more than 110,000 new U.S.

sign-ups on July 21, when the Argentine donned a pink jersey for his first match with Inter Miami, up from 6,143 the prior day, subscription analytics company Antenna found. That was a bigger jump than both the day MLS Season Pass became available and opening day of the season. Apple—which has the exclusive rights to show MLS games and distribute MLS Season Pass—enjoyed a bump in subscriptions to its $6.99 a month Apple TV+ streaming service in July as well, Antenna found, making it the strongest month for new U.S.

customers this year. While Messi also has a large following internationally, including his home country of Argentina, overseas subscribers aren’t captured in Antenna’s data. “There is only one Lionel Messi, so this was a very big moment for the sport in this country," said Jonathan Carson, chief executive of Antenna.

“Sports are definitely star-driven but that has never before translated into an enormous subscriber bump." Messi’s draw for MLS Season Pass and Apple TV+ is a sign of how rights and distribution partnerships with major sports leagues can have knock-on benefits for streaming platforms. Live sports are a major driver of subscriptions and engagement across streaming services, but companies from Apple to Alphabet’s Google to Warner Bros. Discovery are still figuring out how much to charge consumers to watch games.