(Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP, Getty Images)
If this isn’t another sports metaphor, Apple has announced that the MLS Cup Playoffs, which begin this weekend, will start with Friday night’s soccer match between superstar Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF. It can be said that full-court press is applied to promotion and streaming distribution. Atlanta United FC is an unlikely new team.
Lionel Messi on multiple Apple devices
This was the first game in which Messi, an eight-time champion of the tournament, participated. ballon d’or The world’s best soccer player is available for free to anyone in more than 100 countries through Apple’s season pass subscription package, Apple.com, streaming service Apple TV+, Apple devices such as iPhone and Mac computers, or the Internet. . Emeka Ofodile, Apple’s head of global sports marketing, said the web will be available on “billions” of smart TVs, gaming consoles and other devices. The company also plans to display the game at its flagship stores in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and six other countries.
“We want this game to be the most widely streamed game in MLS history,” Ofodile said in a virtual conference with MLS executives Wednesday morning. “We want to bring this work to as many fans as possible.”
The big push also includes a deal with TikTok to run a dedicated livestream of cameras tracking Messi’s every move on the pitch during Atlanta games. It will be streamed live on both MLS and Inter Miami’s TikTok accounts, Ofodile said.
This is the latest culmination of Apple’s unique 360-degree video rights deal signed with MLS in 2022, which includes essentially every game, anywhere, anytime. The value of this 10-year, $2.5 billion deal increased significantly when Messi joined David Beckham’s then-5-year-old Miami franchise midway through the 2023 season.
And while Apple won’t reveal subscriber numbers (executives at Wednesday’s conference did not respond to media questions), it’s clear something is driving the league’s rise in popularity. .
“MLS enters the playoffs in another record-breaking year,” said MLS Vice President of Competition Nelson Rodriguez. “Eleven million people came to the stadium, which is a record. The attendance averaged 23,000 per game, which is also a record.”
Rodriguez said 20 clubs averaged more than 20,000 fans per game, and there were 213 packed games. That’s a fraction of the 100,000 fans who flock to a typical SEC or Big Ten football game, but then again, MLS teams play 34 regular season games instead of 12 or 13. fight.
The league is also famous for its attack-first circuit, compared to the defense-focused circuit common in some top leagues around the world.
“I’m predicting…goals, goals, and more goals,” Rodriguez said. This year’s playoffs featured teams with most of the league’s most prolific scorers, including 14 players with double-digit goals and assists. And yes, this year’s average points total of 3.15 points per game was another league record.
The tournament will feature 16 teams after two play-in games this week, including tonight’s game between Vancouver and Portland. Matches in the first round will be played on a best-of-three basis, and in case of a tie, the game will go straight to a penalty shootout after regulation time. Subsequent rounds will be decided by one game, culminating in the MLS Cup Championship Game on December 7th.
Apple will make all first-round games by all teams available for free through the Season Pass in the Apple TV app. Select full matches will also be broadcast every weekend on Fox’s FS1 Sports Network, including seven games this weekend.
There are plenty of storylines for fans.
In the Western Conference, LAFC finished the final day of the regular season as the top seed, just ahead of rival Los Angeles Galaxy on the 110 Freeway. Miami, who won the Supporters’ Shield trophy with the most points of the season, will face Atlanta United, the team coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino previously coached in the 2018 MLS Cup as an expansion team. .
Broadcast announcers Taylor Twellman, Jake Zibin and Kaylin Kyle also participated in the briefing to select the candidate with the best chance of winning the Cup.
“Any Matachup in the first round is interesting,” Twellman said. “Colorado’s style of play and (Denver’s) altitude might surprise (first-round opponent Galaxy). The Galaxy allow a lot of goals with their style of play.”
More generally, Twellman said he expects the Western Conference to be less likely to be “choke, for lack of a better word,” or dominated by championship favorites in each matchup.
Zibin agreed, saying, “The West is wide open.”
Zivin and Kyle both chose Inter Miami as their favorite to win the Cup. Twellman selected the Columbus Crew, which finished second in the Eastern Conference and will play Red Bull New York in Round 1. The Crew is one of MLS’ original 10 teams and has won the MLS Cup three times, including last year.
