Major League Soccer (MLS) is making significant strides in its global expansion strategy, recently announcing a landmark partnership with leading digital media platform OneFootball. This collaboration, which includes a strategic investment by MLS in OneFootball, aims to capitalize on the league’s recent surge in popularity, fueled largely by the arrival of global superstar Lionel Messi. The partnership will deliver MLS highlights, statistics, and other engaging content to a vastly expanded international audience, marking a crucial step in the league’s ambitious growth plans and leveraging its unique Apple TV deal for broader reach.
Key Takeaways: MLS’s Bold Play for Global Domination
- MLS partners with OneFootball to distribute highlights and other content globally, boosting international viewership.
- MLS invests in OneFootball, joining a roster of high-profile investors and European football clubs, showcasing the strategic value of the partnership.
- The deal leverages Lionel Messi’s impact on MLS popularity to attract new fans worldwide and further capitalize on the league’s recent growth.
- This strategy complements MLS’s exclusive deal with Apple TV, creating multiple avenues for content distribution and maximizing audience reach.
- The partnership underscores the rapid growth of soccer in the U.S. and MLS’s proactive approach to capturing this expanding market.
MLS and OneFootball: A Strategic Alliance for Global Reach
The partnership between MLS and OneFootball is a significant development in the league’s ongoing effort to build a global presence. OneFootball, with its massive reach and innovative approach to digital soccer content, provides an ideal platform for MLS to tap into new markets. The deal provides OneFootball access to highlights from hundreds of MLS matches every season, ensuring a steady stream of engaging content for its users worldwide. This move is particularly important as MLS seeks to capitalize on the recent surge in popularity it has experienced since the arrival of **Lionel Messi**.
Messi’s Impact and Beyond
The impact of Messi’s arrival on MLS cannot be overstated. The Argentinian superstar has undeniably **fueled attendance, audience engagement, and sponsorship revenue** for the league. Even during a period when Messi was sidelined due to injury, the positive momentum created by his presence continued. Global social media engagement for MLS has substantially increased, notably on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, demonstrating the wider cultural impact of bringing such a global talent to the league. This growth creates an opportune moment for MLS to expand internationally, showcasing the league’s compelling content to a broad global audience through OneFootball’s established user base.
OneFootball’s Perspective
For OneFootball, the partnership with MLS represents a strategic move into a rapidly expanding market. As OneFootball CEO Patrick Fischer stated, **”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. It’s a completely different ballgame.”** The addition of MLS content enhances OneFootball’s appeal to a growing audience of soccer fans in the United States and globally, particularly considering the upcoming FIFA World Cup in 2026, hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. **This positions OneFootball strategically to capitalize on the increased interest and engagement from fans leading up to and during the tournament.**
MLS’s Apple TV Deal And Its Complementary Role
The MLS’s groundbreaking partnership with Apple TV, a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal, offers another key component of its expansion strategy. While the deal provides exclusive global streaming rights for all MLS games via “MLS Season Pass,” Apple’s non-disclosure of viewership data makes it challenging to quantify the partnership’s immediate impact. However, Apple executives have publicly reported increasing viewership figures, and particularly significant engagement with high-profile games.
A Complementary Strategy
The collaboration with OneFootball is not meant to replace the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Instead, it offers a complementary approach. The league actively seeks to enhance its presence across multiple platforms, reaching fans through diverse methods that serve their preferences. This strategy maximizes exposure for the league and reduces reliance on a single platform for delivering content. While the Apple TV deal grants exclusive streaming rights, OneFootball complements this by offering highlights, statistics and short-form content designed for engagement on mobile and other platforms.
Data-Driven Decisions and Future Growth
OneFootball isn’t just providing a platform for showcasing MLS; it is creating a data-rich ecosystem. Fischer highlighted the valuable data OneFootball can provide its partners and investors. **”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. This ability to offer targeted marketing and engagement is a significant advantage compared to less data-rich, broader social media platforms. This data-driven approach will prove critical for developing future growth strategies.
MLS’s Pursuit of Parity with Established Leagues
Despite its remarkable recent growth, MLS still trails established professional leagues in the U.S., such as the NFL and NBA, in terms of overall viewership and ticket prices. This partnership with OneFootball, combined with the Apple TV deal, reflects a concerted effort to bridge this gap, **exploiting new technological and marketing avenues to propel the league onto a par with the most established professional sports leagues in the country.** The focus on digital engagement and global expansion are pivotal components in achieving this ambitious goal.
The partnership with OneFootball is not simply a media rights deal; it is a strategic investment in the future of MLS. By joining forces with a digitally savvy, global platform and leveraging the explosive popularity generated by Messi, MLS is positioning itself for long-term success in a fiercely competitive global sporting landscape. The resulting combined impact of these strategies promises to redefine how MLS reaches and engages football fans worldwide.
