Soccer legend Lionel Messi recently joined Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, and Apple TV+ hopes to score off the Argentine star’s high-profile arrival. The streaming service is offering a range of MLS Season Pass content complementing the games it will air, starting July 21 with Leagues Cup coverage.
“Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami marks a historic moment for the sport in the U.S. and reflects the incredible momentum behind Major League Soccer,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a press release Friday. “We couldn’t be more excited to give fans around the world the opportunity to watch the greatest footballer of all time on MLS Season Pass.”
Watch Lionel Messi in MLS Leagues Cup games on Apple TV+
Bringing former Paris-St. Germaine and Argentina national team star Messi to MLS was obviously a very big deal, and Apple TV+ cut a unique revenue-split deal to do it, ESPN reported. As Fortune noted, technical glitches marred the superstar’s on-air introduction Sunday, unfortunately. But the important thing is that he’s here and you can watch him on Apple TV+ with MLS Season Pass.
Leagues Cup action
Inter Miami kicks off the Leagues Cup with a match against LIGA MX’s Cruz Azul, and “fans in more than 100 countries and regions can tune in to the match in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass, and enjoy elevated production elements in honor of this historic moment,” Apple TV+ said. The month-long Leagues Cup includes 47 clubs, including 18 from the top Mexican league and 29 from MLS. Both leagues pause their regular seasons for the tournament.
And in addition to matches, fans can access a range of content featuring MLOS and LIGA MX clubs in English and Spanish. See the MLS Season Pass section below.
Messi’s arrival followed Apple and Major League Soccer’s launch of a 10-year partnership starting in early 2023. After the Leagues Cup tournament, Inter Miami resumes regular season play on Sunday, August 20, against Charlotte FC.
Here’s how the streaming service described some of its special plans:
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. MLS Season Pass can be accessed through the Apple TV app on smart TVs, streaming devices, Apple devices, set-top boxes, and game consoles, as well as on the web at tv.apple.com.
MLS Season Pass matches and on-demand content
Photo: Apple
With an MLS Season Pass subscription, you can watch all MLS and Leagues Cup matches, plus MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT games in English, Spanish, or French on any device or smart TV via the Apple TV app, or online at tv.apple.com.
The top three finishers in the Leagues Cup, which runs July 21 to August 19, qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Viewers can watch Leagues Cup Countdown and Leagues Cup La Previa, pregame shows available in English and Spanish, before each match. Each day’s recap comes via Leagues Cup Wrap-Up and Leagues Cup El Resumen.
And that’s not all, Apple said:
In addition, fans can enjoy a wide variety of on-demand content that celebrates the action, excitement, and distinct cultures of MLS, LIGA MX, and each of their clubs.
Fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app for $14.99 per month during the season or $49 for the rest of the season, and Apple TV+ subscribers can sign up at a special price of $12.99 per month or $39 for the rest of the season.1 A subscription to MLS Season Pass is included with each MLS club full-season ticket account. Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share the subscription using their own Apple ID and password.
Apple Fitness+ takes the field
If you planned to just lay on the couch while watching Messi run around, Apple has other ideas. There’s an Apple Fitness+ tie-in:
Apple Fitness+ is introducing a special new 20-minute HIIT workout with a Latin Grooves playlist to celebrate Messi’s arrival to MLS with Inter Miami CF. The workout is led by Fitness+ trainer Bakari Williams and will feature four moves that are repeated with soccer-themed variations. Bakari and his fellow trainers are rocking Inter Miami jerseys. The playlist features songs from Inter Miami’s playlist on Apple Music, which is inspired by Latin culture and brings to life the atmosphere and sounds of the club’s home city.
Apple Music, Apple News and Apple TV+
There’s even an MLS Season Pass collection on Apple Music where you can listen to the official MLS playlist, club playlists, and more, Apple TV+ said.
And on Apple News:
To keep up with all the happenings throughout the league, fans can find and follow their favorite MLS clubs in Apple News, and automatically sync with the Apple TV app to watch games with MLS Season Pass. Apple News recently introduced a new Sports tab for users to easily follow their favorite teams and leagues; receive stories from hundreds of top publishers; access scores, schedules, and standings for the top professional and college leagues; and watch highlights right in the News app.
And regarding Messi, Apple TV+ will air a new untitled, four-part documentary series from Smuggler Entertainment. “The series features exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Messi and his FIFA World Cup career, culminating in Argentina’s dramatic Qatar 2022 win,” Apple said.
Get Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is available by subscription for $6.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After first airing in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 299 wins and 1,451 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
Those include multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy Ted Lasso and historic Oscar Best Picture winner CODA.
Source: Apple
