Apple TV’s MLS broadcasters have seen the international impact of their streaming deal

The question gets asked all the time: Has the Apple-MLS deal been a success?

There are a few kinds of answers. The first is a simple yes, because as long as Apple’s checks keep clearing, MLS will bank at least $250 million a year for the next decade from the tech giant.

But the deal wasn’t just about the money far exceeding any other broadcaster’s offer, even though it meant taking games off traditional English TV channels.

Apple’s distribution means that for the first time in its history, MLS has a one-stop, worldwide platform for its games across the United States and Canada. As recently as last year, MLS had no broadcast deals in countries as big as Japan and France.

While the league’s talent level doesn’t equal the elites of Europe and South America, the idea of a big-time circuit here surely has global appeal — from viewers at home to players who might come here to make a living. American sports that already have that status, especially the NBA, are paying close attention.

Is this part of Apple’s involvement working? It’s impossible to know for certain, since the company isn’t publishing subscriber totals. But this reporter’s recent trip behind the scenes of the Apple-MLS studios in New York brought insights from the people whose words go around the world every weekend.

» READ MORE: Behind the scenes at Apple and MLS’ studios, where every Saturday is ‘like the Olympics’

Spanish-language studio analyst Chelsea Cabarcas was born and raised in New York to Colombian parents. She has worked for a range of U.S. and foreign outlets, and played pro soccer in Colombia for seven years.

“There’s nothing more satisfying when you turn on the TV and you see someone who kind of looks like you, or kind of has your type of background,” she said. “They understand the game the same way you understand the game.”

Cabarcas said that in Colombia, “a lot of people are actually watching on Apple, following MLS,” thanks to there being 30 Colombian players in the league right now. MLS also has a great tradition of stars from the country, starting with Carlos Valderrama in the inaugural season.

Former Portland Timbers star Diego Valeri returned to the U.S. this year after finishing his playing career in his native Argentina. He said that “in Argentina and most of the countries in South America, every year MLS is having more impact, is getting a position of a league that is very attractive to watch.”

There have long been big-time Argentines here, too. But things went to a new level when Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada became the first active MLS player to win a World Cup in Qatar last fall.

“He symbolizes all the Argentine great players that have come to the league, and they have not been called to the national team because of being in MLS,” said Tony Cherchi, a Spanish studio host and game-caller. “Thinking about him being able to be called to a team that is champion of the World Cup, it positions him on a different level.”

» READ MORE: Apple finally breaks its silence on how MLS Season Pass has performed in its first year

There’s plenty of crossover between the broadcasters behind the scenes, whether in the studio or at the many games each weekend. As French-language play-by-play voice Frédéric Lord told The Inquirer earlier this year, “We can bring each other something, and if you have ideas, go for it. There’s a collegiate way of approaching the game that’s really enriching for me in my craft.”

Those remarks — plus his appreciation of calling games to “a big market with Francophones all around the world” — came back to mind when speaking with Cherchi.

A Venezuela native who previously worked at ESPN’s Mexican network and Univision, he hosted Apple’s English-language studio coverage for a few weeks. Valeri and Melissa Ortiz have also taken turns on both the Spanish and English shows.

“You get the best of both worlds,” Cherchi said. “The fandom behind soccer in general [in the U.S.], a lot comes from the Latin American route. Even though part of that audience already speaks English, I know for a fact that many of them like to hear the matches in Spanish, because it’s a cultural thing.”

The best melting pot behind the scenes is the production meetings for the Saturday night wrap-up shows, when all the English and Spanish broadcasters are in the same room.

“It shows the talent of them, because they can speak fluently in both languages and dive deep into soccer tactics,” said Kaylyn Kyle, a former Canadian women’s national team player who’s now a veteran broadcaster. “And you learn a lot from them, because they grew up listening to some of the biggest Spanish commentators. So when they say something in Spanish, I’m like, ‘Ooh, what was that?’ and they’ll translate it to English — I’m like, ‘Oh, I love that word. I want to bring it to the English side.’”

» READ MORE: How to watch Union games in the Apple MLS Season Pass streaming package

Valeri said “it’s been great, at the end of the day, when we are together, making the wrap-up [show], how we can interact and we can understand better how we think the game — and how that impacts the way the league is, and soccer in the U.S. is, creating their identity.”

Jillian Sakovits, a host of pre- and postgame studio shows, has worked for a range of local and national outlets in eight years around MLS. She called those late-night meetings “one of my favorite things” about working on Apple’s shows.

“It’s not only good for the fans, I think it’s the bare minimum — that at this point in this country, and in the world, this has to be in English and Spanish, and if there’s a Canadian team, it’s in French,” she said. “And there’s plans, big plans to add even more languages. … It’s a worldwide audience, it’s no longer an American or North American audience.”

Sakovits added that global audience factors into how she and her colleagues discuss things on air.

“I think it’s a really good aspect of this that keeps us accountable,” she said. “When I started in 2015, it almost felt like speaking a new language — you could feel alienated at times as a new fan, and you don’t want people to feel like that. I feel like everyone’s doing a really good job here of making it good for the casuals, but then also really good for the diehards as well.”

» READ MORE: We know what MLS wants from Apple. What does Apple want from MLS?