It’s been another Messi season for Major League Soccer. After joining the league and Inter Miami last season, the superstar captain Lionel Messi and his team are for the first time heading to the MLS Cup Playoffs that kicked off this week.
Historically, soccer has struggled to reach the level of popularity in North America that it’s achieved in other countries. But with Messi set to compete in his first MLS playoffs starting Friday, vying for his 47th career trophy, Apple TV—which has the exclusive rights to MLS matches as part of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal—is betting that the Messi effect has the potential to bring in a massive international audience for the postseason.
“Working with the league, what we want to do is put our best foot forward and make these playoffs feel like a big event,” Emeka Ofodile, Apple’s global head of sports marketing, told Marketing Brew.
Big time(s): Ofodile said he wants Apple’s promotion around the playoffs to “feel as big as possible,” starting with Friday’s matchup of No. 1 seed Inter Miami and Atlanta United. That match will stream for free, which Ofodile said is meant to boost the audience for the start of the playoffs—and hopefully, beyond.
“We felt this was a great moment to bring as many people in, to really kickstart this conversation and this journey, this energy around the MLS playoffs,” he said. “No better way to do it than making it for free for everyone.”
Beyond that first game, Apple has plans to stream another playoff game on a 70-by-300-foot screen in Times Square, Ofodile said, though the company hasn’t yet announced which game will get the big-screen treatment. He said his team intends to get local creators involved with that event to help further generate hype and awareness, and Apple has already partnered with Messi himself to promote the first game.
Messi cam: Apple is also focusing on the small-screen experience through TikTok. Not only is that platform a major focus for MLS, but it also has significant global reach, which makes it attractive to Apple, Ofodile said.
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Apple and MLS teamed up with TikTok to create a livestream focused specifically on Messi during Friday’s game. The livestream, called “Player Spotlight: Messi,” will be available on the MLS and Inter Miami TikTok profiles. It marks the first time TikTok is streaming a soccer match in its entirety with a camera trained on one player in particular, Ofodile said.
“We really think about this player spotlight…as a way to get fans closer to the playoff action, get them closer to the game and Messi, and really get them excited about the playoff run to come,” he said.
Goalazo: For Apple, the ultimate goal is to have “as many people as possible” tune into Messi’s first playoff match and the subsequent games, Ofodile said. In addition to the TikTok stream, Friday’s match will stream in Apple stores around the world, he said. Apple is also pushing playoff content through the Apple Sports app.
“It’s really about creating that energy, creating that level of access, and also allowing as many people, as many fans, whether you’re a core fan or casual fan, to participate and enjoy and celebrate this incredible moment,” Ofodile said.
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