The first round of MLS playoffs begins on Friday and the league is doing everything in its power to make sure Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami postseason debut is available for everyone to watch.
Well, everything except putting the game on linear television.
Inter Miami square off in the first game of a best-of-three series against Atlanta United on Friday, an occasion that will mark Messi’s MLS playoff debut. As such, the league and Apple TV will air the game for free in front of the MLS Season Pass paywall. But that’s far from the only move the league is making to ensure those who want to watch the game can.
MLS will also produce a special “Player Spotlight: Messi” broadcast that will stream live on the league’s TikTok account. The broadcast’s camera will follow Messi for the entirety of the match. Fox employed a similar strategy when broadcasting Caitlin Clark’s games during her college career at Iowa. In addition to the traditional broadcast, Fox would livestream a camera focused solely on Clark during her games.
In addition to Apple TV and TikTok, DirecTV subscribers can watch the game through more traditional means on channel 622. There haven’t been announcements about other distributors, but DirecTV is the third-largest pay-TV provider in the country, so having the game there is significant.
Earlier this month, MLS announced that the league had arranged to broadcast Messi’s debut on a giant screen in Times Square. But for fans not living in New York City, that don’t want to watch the game through Apple TV, DirecTV, or TikTok, you’re still in luck. Apple Stores worldwide will be streaming the game live in-store.
MLS really wants people to watch this game. Of course they do! The face of the league is playing in the postseason for the first time. After MLS struck its new media rights deal with Apple that went into effect last year, it has been largely out-of-sight, out-of-mind.
Getting people to tune into Messi’s first game could help build some momentum for the rest of the postseason. The question is whether MLS can get viewers to tune in when the game isn’t so widely available.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.