Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber said that the league’s streaming deal with Apple TV has exceeded expectations.
“We have more subscribers than we and Apple thought we would have. We have more people watching our games, Garber told CNBC Sport.
Garber didn’t disclose specific numbers. “At some point there’ll be more transparency. Apple and other streaming services aren’t distributing subscriber numbers, but we’ll see how that looks in the future,” he said.
The MLS signed its deal with Apple in 2022. The deal called for Apple TV to stream every MLS and Leagues Cup match. Games had been on ESPN, Fox and Univision and some games continue to appear on Fox outlets and stream on Fubo, The MLS-Apple deal was reportedly worth $2.5 billion over 10 years.
It was reported earlier this year that the MLS had more than 2 million subscribers by the end of 2023.
The MLS liked the deal with Apple because it gave the league a more consistent video home Before Apple, “we had 60 different start times with our linear broadcasters. We get programmed the way the broadcasters wanted to put our games, as opposed to when our fans wanted to see our games,” he said. Now “every MLS game, we’ve got two start times, as opposed to 60. Every game is produced like it’s our version of Monday Night Football.”
Working with a giant like Apple has been a positive experience because while the tech company is is huge, it is also innovative, Garber said. “Our game will be broadcast – our MLS Cup in Times Square this weekend, probably not something that we would be able to do with a linear partner,” he said. We have the ability to have technology and data and multi stream experiences, things we wouldn’t have been able to do with linear perhaps even with other streaming services. So when you can partner with a company like Apple, you have opportunity to solve issues and lean into a better future. That’s something we’re very excited about.”
Having a superstar like Lionel Messi has also helped the league, attracting fans, viewers and subscribers.
“Here we have the most popular player, one of most popular athletes in the world, arguably, in my opinion, the GOAT, the best soccer player ever to lace boots, and he’s had enormous impact. You could see that pink Inter Miami jersey everywhere around the world. It’s the number one selling jersey that adidas has, and I think there’ll be another Messi at some point, Garber said.
“We’ve constantly evolved from having big name players that could really make a difference and break through this very, very busy market, both domestically and globally. But I’m as excited about the young players that are in Major League Soccer and the kids that are coming through academies. And the fact that in our MLS Cup, we’ll have two great 22 and 23- and 24-year-old players that really, really are big stars in their country, played for their country’s national teams.”
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