Apple said to see subscriber boost from Lionel Messi debut
Tomas Cuesta
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reportedly enjoyed a boost in subscribers to both its Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass streaming services, courtesy of international soccer superstar Lionel Messi.
The U.S. tech giant saw an increase of more than 110,000 new sign-ups in the U.S. on July 21, up from 6,143 from the previous day, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from subscription analytics company Antenna.
Antenna also pointed out that July was the strongest month for U.S. subscribers for Apple TV+ in 2023. Apple TV+ costs $6.99 per month and includes access to shows and movies such as For All Mankind, Severance and CODA.
Last June, Apple (AAPL) signed a landmark 10-year deal with Major League Soccer to air its media rights on its Apple TV+ streaming service.
The service, which launched on February 1, was initially priced at either $14.99 per month or $99 per season. According to MLS's website, it costs $12.99 per month or $25 per season for those who subscribe to Apple TV+ already and $14.99 per month or $29 per season for those who do not. 
On Apple's (AAPL) most recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the Messi-related bump for Apple TV+.
"We're focused on original content, as you know, with TV+," Cook said in response to a question about the impact of MLS on Apple TV+. 
"And sport is a part of that because sport is the ultimate original story. And for MLS, we're -- we could not be happier with how the partnership is going. It's clearly in the early days, but we are beating our expectation in terms of subscribers, and the fact that Messi went to Inter Miami helped us out there a bit. And so we're very excited about it."

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