Since joining Inter Miami CF last month, much has been written about how he can raise the profile of Major League Soccer both at home and abroad. Which would be good news for both the league and Apple Inc.
The iPhone maker signed a reported $250 million a year deal last year to secure MLS’s global broadcasting rights. The nature of the contract differs from those that, for instance, Amazon.com Inc. has with the National Football League, Premier League and others. Apple has the whole kaboodle: rights to broadcast every single match, everywhere.
Apple has such a vested interest in seeing MLS succeed that it played a seemingly significant role in bringing Messi to Miami. As part of his compensation package, the Argentine will get a cut of the revenue Apple makes from non-US subscriptions to its MLS package, which costs $99 a year and is separate from the typical Apple TV+ subscription.
It’s a significant detail because it seems to hint at what exactly Apple wants to get out of the deal, namely more international subscribers… In countries such as France, Apple licenses its shows to local broadcaster Canal+. That could indicate that it’s struggling to attract subscribers on its own there.
Messi could help. He was a sensation in France for the last two years when he played for the country’s biggest club. He has a huge global following, with some 481 million followers on Instagram.