Apple
TV got a big lift from sales of its Major League Soccer streaming service as Argentine superstar Lionel Messi joined the league.
MLS Season Pass got more than 110,000 U.S. sign-ups when Messi played his first match for Inter Miami on July 21, up from about 6,000 the previous day, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from analytics company Antenna.
Messi, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player, now 36, has won the Ballon d’Or prize given to the best soccer player in the world a record six times. He is also a World Cup winner, having led Argentina to victory in December.
Apple has exclusive rights to show professional U.S. soccer from the MLS. Its Apple TV+ subscription streaming service also enjoyed a wave of new customers in July, the research found.
The report adds to evidence that consumers are willing to pay for live sports.
Disney
is considering selling its ESPN unit, and Apple is a potential buyer, analysts say.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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