Lionel Messi helped Apple TV+ beat its subscriber targets, Tim Cook says

• Lionel Messi joining Major League Soccer boosted Apple TV+ subscriber numbers, according to Tim Cook.
• The tech giant holds the US streaming rights for the competition.

Apple's streaming service is already feeling the benefit of soccer superstar Lionel Messi joining Major League Soccer, according to Tim Cook.

Cook said in a quarterly earnings call Thursday that Apple TV+ had beaten its subscriber targets over the three months ending July 1.

He attributed some of that success to an uptick in interest after Messi signed for Inter Miami CF last month, bringing his star power to the comparatively minor US domestic game.

"We are excited about our MLS partnership, and we're thrilled to see Messi suiting up with Inter Miami," the tech giant's CEO told analysts.

"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," Cook added.

Apple kicked off a 10-year partnership with the top US soccer league in February, launching a Season Pass that cost subscribers $13 a month and non-subscribers $15 a month.

In June, Messi signaled he would join Inter Miami upon the expiry of his deal with Paris Saint-Germain, with the signing officially announced the following month.

The World Cup winner has enjoyed a sensational start to life stateside, scoring five goals in his first three games for his new club.

The Florida-based team will pay Messi $150 million over the next two-and-a-half years, per Sportico, including a regular salary, signing bonus, and equity in the team.

The Athletic reported in June that Messi had also inked revenue-sharing agreements with both Apple TV and Adidas, which is one of MLS's largest corporate sponsors.