Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami controls the ball during the second half of the game against St. Louis City at Chase Stadium on June 01, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Megan Briggs | Getty Images
Major League Soccer is teaming up with German digital media platform OneFootball to provide highlights, stats and other content to a global audience. As part of the deal OneFootball will have access to highlights of hundreds of MLS matches each season.
MLS will also take a stake in OneFootball, joining a long list of financial investors and European soccer clubs that are shareholders, including Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Manchester City, among others. Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed.
The deal comes as MLS continues to look for ways to expand its audience and capitalize on its recent surge in popularity since superstar Lionel Messi joined the American league a year ago.
“As we think about ways that we can capture new fans and new eyeballs and get consumers more engaged, we’re always looking for creative and innovative partners that we can work with,” said Seth Bacon, executive vice president of media at MLS. “OneFootball certainly ticks those boxes, and has a huge reach and a really creative way of approaching both the marketplace but also how they cover soccer.”
Since joining Inter Miami, Messi has fueled MLS’ attendance and audience, and there has been an increase in sponsorship revenue, according to data from the league. That’s continued even as Messi missed a part of this season due to an injury.
Global social media engagement has also increased substantially for MLS, particularly on YouTube and TikTok, according to data from the league.
OneFootball, which is available to fans as a mobile app, TV streaming app and website, will offer the new content internationally as well as through its co-branded partnership and content hub with Yahoo Sports in the U.S.
MLS’ deal with OneFootball is not exclusive, so MLS content will still live on other sources.
For OneFootball, adding MLS made sense as the U.S. has become one of the fastest-growing markets for soccer, said OneFootball CEO Patrick Fischer.
“In the U.S., with the arrival of Messi, the game has changed in terms of participation, in terms of awareness and in terms of fan interest,” said Fischer. “It’s a completely different ballgame. And looking ahead there will be the FIFA World Cup [in 2026].”
Apple partnership
New York City FC forward Valentín Castellanos (11) passes the ball forward against Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Chara (21) during the MLS Cup Final between the Portland Timbers and New York City FC on December 11, 2021 at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.
Brian Murphy | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
MLS, which was founded in the U.S. in the 1990s, still lags behind other more prominent and mature professional sports leagues in the country, such as the National Football League and National Basketball Association, in terms of viewership and ticket prices.
The league set itself apart from those peers recently when it signed a media rights deal with Apple. While the NFL, NBA and other leagues have various media rights partners in the U.S. and globally, MLS has signed an exclusive global deal with Apple.
MLS Season Pass on Apple TV is available as a separate subscription alongside the tech giant’s Apple TV+ streaming service. All MLS games are available through the monthly service, although there are some that also air on traditional broadcasters.
Since the $2.5 billion, 10-year deal with Apple began last season, viewership stats have been hard to come by for MLS. Apple doesn’t release ratings. However, Apple executives have said publicly that viewership has grown, particularly since Messi’s arrival. During a conference last November, an Apple TV executive reportedly said some of the biggest matches last season attracted more than a million viewers.
MLS is often looking at ways it can drive subscriptions for its Apple TV platform.
“We’re constantly looking at different avenues and different distribution platforms that we think can broaden the reach and awareness of the league, our players and our clubs,” said Bacon.
OneFootball’s Fischer said the company’s partners and investors also benefit from the data that stems from the platform.
“We know that this kid is following Messi on OneFootball, so we give him the highlights, the updates and the whole system. Then we work with the clubs very strategically when it comes to lead generation, customer data, stuff like that,” said Fischer. “Whereas social media platforms do not share relevant data with the content creator.”