Sunday night, in front of a sold-out Fort Lauderdale crowd, Lionel Messi was officially revealed as an Inter Miami player.
Soccer fans from around the world were excited to see arguably the greatest player of all time in a bright pink Miami kit. Apple, however, had other plans, as the exclusive coverage was riddled with technical glitches, spotty coverage, and awful weather conditions.
The event was officially set to start at 6:30 pm ET at the DRV PNK Stadium, but heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area pushed the unveiling to 8 pm ET. When the event finally got underway, Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham took to the stage with poor audio that was essentially indistinguishable on the Apple stream.
The issues with audio continued when Messi and Inter Miami's new signing, ex-Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets spoke. Fans took to Twitter to voice their frustrations, with many pointing out the poor audio coverage.
Kind of shocking how terrible that Apple TV presentation for Messi was. This ceremony was a HUGE opportunity for them to show their platform and their service (biggest they’ve ever had) and it was weird camera angles, no video feeds during montages, and bad translation audio.July 17, 2023
The audio on this Messi thing on Apple TV is a disaster.July 17, 2023
Messi's move to the MLS is an historic acquisition for the league and was largely possible due to packages offered by Adidas and Apple for revenue share. Apple became the official streaming platform for MLS when it purchased the rights to the MLS Season Pass for 10 years, worth $2.5 billion.
Plenty of Messi on Apple TV
There will be a lot of Lionel Messi coverage coming to Apple TV and Apple TV Plus in the coming weeks and months. His Inter Miami journey will be widely televised, with his first training on Tuesday, 18 July, and his debut against Cruz Azul on Friday, 21 July.
Subscribers of MLS Season Pass via Apple TV can rewatch his unveiling on-demand for $14.99/month or $12.99/month if you already subscribe to Apple TV Plus.
Apple has also announced a new untitled four-part documentary series showcasing Messi's "World Cup career.
The show will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Messi and is filmed in Paris, Qatar, and Argentina. The documentary is executive produced by Emmy Award winner Tim Pastore (“Free Solo,” “Jane”), Emmy and Tony Award winners Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, and Emmy Award winner Matt Renner (“Free Solo,” “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth”) of SMUGGLER Entertainment, alongside Jon Henion (“Welcome to Wrexham”) and Juan Camilo Cruz (“In Her Hands”).
