Just one day following Lionel Messi and Inter Miami securing the MLS Supporters’ Shield, the league revealed plans to broadcast the global phenom’s playoff debut in New York City’s Times Square.
The screen used for the grand occasion will stretch an entire city block on Broadway between 45th and 46th street. Inter Miami will begin its playoff quest on October 25th in the first game of a best-of-three series.
After Inter Miami’s coup to secure soccer’s preeminent superstar last year, MLS has looked to capitalize on the reigning World Cup champion striker. On the day of his MLS debut last year, Apple TV reportedly secured over 100,000 new subscribers to MLS Season Pass.
Reports early in 2024 indicated that the service had over 2 million subscribers, though many of those are likely season ticket holders who receive the service for free. Additionally, the subscription has been offered as a promotion with the likes of T-Mobile, which could also juice subscriber figures.
Nevertheless, Messi has certainly been a boon for MLS, and the league would like to maximize his exposure. Per a report in The Athletic on Wednesday, Inter Miami’s opening playoff game will be broadcast in-front of the MLS Season Pass paywall for all to view. That’s a good sign for a star that has been criminally underexposed on traditional linear television, with Inter Miami appearing just twice on Fox’s MLS package across the entire regular season.
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.