Messi: Why Lionel Messi is the key to Apple’s multi-billion dollar bet – Times of India

GOAT or no GOAT, Lionel Messi is one of the best football players of all-time. Be it for Barcelona or Argentina (not so much for Paris St. Germain) — Messi has proven to be the player that gets eyeballs. It’s those eyeballs which could prove critical for Apple as Messi now plys his trade with Inter Miami in the US. Last year, Apple struck a deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) committing $2.5 billion for the next decade for media rights. Messi has been in Miami for less than 10 days and Apple seems to be reaping some rewards.

According to multiple reports, an Apple spokesperson said that the three “most-watched matches ever on MLS Season Pass” were between the week July 19-26. Messi came on as a substitute on his debut and banged in a peach of a free kick to win the game for Miami in the 94th minute. It was the first victory for the rather beleaguered team in 11 matches. Two days later, Messi — on his full debut — scored two goals and assisted one as Miami romped to a 4-0 win.

The Messi effect

Football — or soccer as they call it — isn’t that big in the US as basketball, American football, baseball take precedence. The MLS has tried to rope in big names from time to time yet it doesn’t rank among the leagues that are followed by football fans across the world. David Beckham moved to Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 and managed to raise the profile of MLS a bit. The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard all have played in MLS but it never felt MLS could take off. With Messi, it looks a bit different this time.
Apple knows that Messi — along with Cristiano Ronaldo — is the most known face in football. Winning the World Cup with Argentina last year further boosted Messi’s already high-profile image. Prior to Messi’s arrival, Apple went in a bit of a promotion drive. There was a billboard put up in Miami and even issued a press release. MLS Season Pass will feature an enhanced production for Inter Miami’s matches during Leagues Cup, including 18 cameras; Steadicam; four super-slow-motion cameras; Skycam; drone coverage; sideline reporters in Spanish and English; a dedicated one-hour pregame show onsite with features, interviews, and expert analysis; and a postgame show to wrap things up, said Apple. It’s the Messi effect and Apple knows that it can cash in on that and get more subscribers for Apple TV+.
That’s not all. Apple, according to The Athletic, also has a revenue sharing arrangement with Messi on the number of new subscribers that get added after his arrival.
$2.5 billion over 10 years is about $250 million per year. For a $3 trillion company, that doesn’t seem a lot of money, and that too when Messi is involved. Apple’s investment — at least in the short-term — is set to pay off as Messi gets fans in the stadium and in front of their TV sets. For Apple, each of those fan in front of their TV will be watching it on the company’s platform.