Apple immediately introduced that it had its 3 most-watched matches ever on MLS Season Cross up to now week, between July 19 – July 26.

Though Apple didn’t particularly attribute the expansion in viewership to something particularly, the timing is apparent: final week noticed the arrival of soccer famous person Lionel Messi be part of Inter Miami, together with his MLS debut going down on Friday, July 21.

Messi has performed twice to this point within the MLS, on Friday towards Cruz Azul and final night time towards Atlanta United, main his crew to victory each instances.

Curiously, Apple famous it had its 3 most-watched matches ever, which implies a non-Messi match have to be included in that, maybe indicator that the MLS as a complete is garnering a wider viewers, not simply Inter Miami video games.

Moreover, Apple stated that throughout these 3 matches, viewers had been evenly cut up between the English and Spanish broadcasts. As a reminder, MLS Season Cross broadcasts all video games with separate English and Spanish language streams, plus a French-language stream for any recreation involving a Canadian crew.

As normal, Apple declines to launch precise subscriber numbers and official viewing figures for its video streaming providers. A report from earlier this week stated MLS Season Cross was approaching the 1 million subscriber mark, notably hitting that milestone earlier than Messi’s arrival.

As a part of a ten-year deal between MLS and Apple, the Apple TV app is the unique streaming residence of all Main League Soccer common season matches, Leagues Cup matches and extra. MLS Season Cross is accessible in additional than 100 international locations, streaming all matches with no blackouts or geographic restrictions. Apple reportedly pays round $250 million yearly for the rights.