• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Stephen A. Smith vs Clay Travis at Tuned In on September 16 in NYC. Don’t miss it. Buy tickets now!

MLS, Apple Ready to Cash In on Messi’s First Playoffs

  • The MLS playoffs are underway after a banner regular season.
  • Lionel Messi is playing in the postseason for the first time.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Lionel Messi’s postseason debut is putting Major League Soccer’s intricate media-rights deal in the spotlight.

Inter Miami hosts Atlanta United on Friday night to kick off the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. The game will be free to stream on Apple TV, which is in the second season of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with MLS. So will every other Game 1 of the eight best-of-three series in Round 1 (six of them will be simulcast on FS1), as part of a push to gain more viewers.

Typically, games are available only behind the MLS Season Pass paywall, but Apple will sometimes make big matches free. The streamer doesn’t release traditional TV ratings, but it reportedly surpassed 2 million subscribers last season.

The MLS Cup final in December will be simulcast on Fox, and so will other select matches throughout the playoffs. But as evidenced by the strategy for Round 1, Apple may want to use Messi and Inter Miami—should they advance—to draw as many fans as possible straight to its streaming service.

Messi Mania

Beyond the traditional match coverage, a “Messi Cam” will follow the superstar and be livestreamed on the TikTok accounts of MLS and Inter Miami. It will mark the first time TikTok has streamed an entire live soccer match with a single-player focus. (In February, Peacock had a “Caitlin Clark Cam” for an Iowa game.)

Atlanta United, which advanced out of the single-elimination wild-card round Monday night, will get to host Inter Miami in Game 2 next weekend. In September, nearly 68,000 fans turned out to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch Messi, who played only the final third of the game.

Inter Miami is the betting favorite to win the championship, and Apple lead soccer analyst Taylor Twellman thinks Messi is taking the opportunity more seriously than some of his former international counterparts.

“[When] other European global stars came into this league, they always said something about Major League Soccer with a smirk,” Twellman said on a preview call with reporters. 

But Messi has acknowledged the goal at hand, despite Inter Miami already winning the Supporters’ Shield after finishing the regular season with the most points. “He’s different,” Twellman said. “It’s all about winning. It’s only about winning.”

Gaining Steam

The playoffs begin after another landmark regular season for MLS. The league’s final attendance tally was 11.4 million, up from 10.9 million in 2023, and another new record alongside the 23,234 per game average.

MLS also reported the league office and clubs each raked in 13% more revenue from sponsorships than they did a year ago.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Fans watch as players make it into the 18th hole during round three of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC in Scottsdale on Feb. 8, 2025. Arizona Republic

Country Club Initiation Fees Soar With Golf’s Popularity

In many areas, would-be members are joining decade-long wait lists.
Bill Chisholm

Wyc Grousbeck Won’t Continue As Lead Celtics Governor After Sale

Two sources said that Grousbeck will keep the CEO title.
exclusive

Paramount Nears Deal With TKO and Saudi-Backed Zuffa Boxing

Alalshikh is an advisor to Saudi Arabia’s royal court.

Featured Today

Schultz of Israel-Premier Tech

Rice Krispies Treats Are Upending the Billion-Dollar Athlete-Fuel Wars

The world’s most elite athletes are eating like first graders.
Dec 14, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; President Donald Trump wave during the second quarter of the game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights at Lincoln Financial Field
August 9, 2025

‘Political Gold’: Trump Putting His Stamp on College Sports 

Trump has embraced executive action on hot-button college sports issues.
August 3, 2025

Inked Under Anesthesia: Athletes Getting $50,000 Tattoos

High-end studios, elite artist teams, and hours under anesthesia.
Coco Gauff at New York Liberty
August 2, 2025

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.

Fever-Sky Viewership Dips As Clark, Reese Absences Take Toll

It was the eighth game between the two teams since last year.
Nov 16, 2024; New York, NY, USA; President-elect Donald Trump speaks with Dana White (left) during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.
exclusive
August 11, 2025

Dana White on UFC’s Paramount Deal: ‘It’s Going to Be Huge’

White predicts a big influx of viewers by opening up distribution.
August 12, 2025

Dana White Says Increasing UFC Pay on Table After $7.7B Paramount Deal

The fighting promotion is doubling its media-rights revenue.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
Barcelona
August 11, 2025

LaLiga Closing In on Long-Desired Miami Regular-Season Match

The Spanish football federation gave the league the green light.
August 11, 2025

Cincinnati Open Showcases $260M Bet to Be Tennis’s Fifth Slam

Several former Cincinnati Open champions have praised the event’s renovations.
Roger Goodell
August 11, 2025

NFL Recommends Teams Make Security Changes After Shooting

The league recommended armed security and weapons screening at facilities.
Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; From left: Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, Jason Kelce and Marcus Spears on the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown set before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
August 11, 2025

NFL Lobbying Blitz Shows Political Pitfalls for ESPN Deal

“I don’t see what’s on the plus side for the consumer.”