Garber: MLS had 'transformational year' with Messi's arrival - ESPN

COLUMBUS, Ohio — MLS commissioner Don Garber said 2023 has been «a transformational year for our league,» hailing the media partnership with Apple, record attendance and the arrival of Lionel Messi to Inter Miami.

Speaking to reporters during his annual state of the league address Friday, Garber said MLS set a record for total attendance at almost 11 million and reached new highs for digital and social media engagement and merchandise sales.

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Without supplying specific metrics, Garber quoted Apple CEO Tim Cook as saying on a recent earnings call that the company was beating its expectations for subscriptions. He also referenced comments by Apple senior vice president for services Eddy Cue that multiple games drew over 1 million viewers. Garber added that it's still early days for the partnership.

«What we're focused on is the amount of subscriptions that we're selling, the amount of time that those people who are watching those games in front of and behind the paywall are spending on our broadcasts,» Garber said.

«How are they engaging with that content? What is the demographic of that content? And then all of those things are things that we and Apple have to work together on so that we could, at the right time, communicate: 'Is all of this working for us? Is it working for Apple?'»

As for Messi's arrival in July, the Argentine superstar provided a jolt of excitement to the league and spurred interest in the Leagues Cup, the midseason tournament involving every team from both MLS and Liga MX.

«The magnitude of his decision to join MLS cannot be overstated,» Garber said. «He's playing in our league. We're now just not part of the global conversation of sports, but one of