Business

Major League Soccer has seen its sponsorship revenue rise in recent years as soccer gains popularity with a U.S. fanbase.
So far in 2025, MLS sponsorship revenue is up double digits compared to 2024. MLS counts brands like Adidas and Michelob as sponsors.
The addition of global soccer superstar Lionel Messi has helped boost the league, and the upcoming 2026 World Cup is expected to give a lift to fandom in the U.S.

Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami shoots during the first half against the Columbus Crew at Huntington Bank Field on April 19, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. Miami defeated Columbus 1-0.
Jason Miller | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The rising popularity of soccer in the U.S. has buoyed sponsorships and stadium attendance at Major League Soccer 30 years after the launch of the league.
While soccer reins supreme globally, the sport is still in its early stages of fandom in the U.S., where professional football, basketball, baseball and hockey have long been the favorites among sports fans.

So far this year, MLS sponsorship revenue is up double digits compared to 2024. Last year, Michelob Ultra became the official beer sponsor of MLS, and in 2023, sportswear giant Adidas reupped its partnership with the league.
Brands are gravitating toward the fledgling league, especially as it’s enjoyed a recent surge in ticket and merch sales since global soccer superstar Lionel Messi joined MLS’s Inter Miami CF in 2023.
The approaching 2026 World Cup — which will take place next summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico —coupled with “the sport’s rising cultural relevance” has helped fuel sponsorship growth, said Jen Cramer, executive vice president of partnership marketing at MLS.
Advertisers and marketers have been rushing to spend on live sports in the U.S. The category is the last bastion of high viewership ratings amid the shift to on-demand streaming, and consumers continue to spend on elevated experiences and team merchandise. In addition to the U.S. mainstay leagues, the ascent of women’s sports, youth sports and soccer has attracted advertisers, too.
Even in a moment of economic uncertainty when advertisers often pull back on spending, sports are expected to see little effect.

“Rather than hesitation, we’re seeing increased activity with early renewals, new brands entering the sport, and more multi-year commitments,” said Cramer. “It’s a clear sign the smart money is already moving. In this environment, brands are prioritizing opportunities that offer efficiency, relevance and cultural credibility.”

Sponsorships spike

Luca Petrasso #13 of CF Montréal passes the ball during the Major League Soccer game against the New York Red Bulls on April 26, 2026 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
Rich Graessle | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

Brands from Audi to Sports Illustrated Tickets — which recently took over the naming rights of the New York Red Bulls stadium in Harrison, New Jersey — have been spending on sponsorships.
In addition to its MLS partnership, AB InBev’s Michelob Ultra also inked a deal to become the global official beer sponsor of Concacaf Champions Cup and Concacaf W Champions Cup, contests that serve as a path to the FIFA Club World Cup (a separate tournament from the famed World Cup competition).
Sports have offered Michelob Ultra a big platform to grow its brand. The beverage company had a star-studded spot during the Super Bowl this year, when CNBC reported that ads cost up to $8 million apiece.
“Michelob Ultra has been an absolute rocket ship over the last few years and today is the No. 1 fastest growing beer in the U.S.,” said Ricardo Marques, senior vice president of marketing at Michelob Ultra.
Marques noted the MLS partnership fits into the company’s strategy of big investments in “passion points, like MLS and soccer more broadly.”
Last year the New York Red Bulls inked a 13-year stadium naming rights deal with Sports Illustrated Tickets, including enhancements to the fan experience at the 20,000-capacity arena. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
“From both venue and team standpoints, I have never seen this level of partner integration like Sports Illustrated Tickets has begun rolling out at Sports Illustrated Stadium,” said Scott Epstein, head of corporate partnerships at the Red Bulls.
For the 2026 season, Sports Illustrated Tickets will also become the official ticketing partner for all events held at the stadium.
Meanwhile, when Adidas agreed to extend its multi-year partnership with MLS in 2023, it served as the sportswear brand’s largest-ever investment in North American soccer.
The deal, which goes through 2030, is valued at $830 million, CNBC previously reported. When the contract was signed in 2017 it was valued at $700 million.
“Our relationship with MLS spans nearly three decades, and in that time we’ve seen the league evolve from a niche property into a culturally relevant force in the global football ecosystem,” said Zola Short, senior director of soccer sports marketing at Adidas North America.
Adidas has long partnered with top European soccer clubs and federations.
Short also noted how MLS fandom has changed in the U.S., saying, “It’s younger, more diverse and deeply rooted in community and culture. Fans aren’t just watching games — they’re building supporter groups, creating content and embedding clubs into their city’s identity.”
MLS Commissioner Don Garber told CNBC Sport during an interview in December that more than 12 million fans attended games in 2024.

More Messi

Fans with signs supporting Lionel Messi before the start a MLS League game between Inter Miami CF (1) and D.C.United (0) at the Chase Stadium on May 18th, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
Simon M Bruty | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Few singular events have been as galvanizing for U.S. soccer as when one of the greatest of all time signed with the Miami club.
When Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, the entire league’s stats were immediately lifted. Some wondered if MLS could not only sustain the growth, but capitalize on it.
So far Messi’s halo effect hasn’t dimmed.
When Inter Miami visited the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire — each time playing in NFL stadiums — more than 60,000 fans were in attendance for each game. The match-ups made for attendance milestones for both the Crew and Fire, who’ve been playing since the late 1990s in the MLS.
To be fair, attendance at MLS games without Messi has risen, too, such as that for an Atlanta United-CF Montreal game earlier this season, which notched more than 65,000 fans in attendance.
Social media has also been a big marker of growth for the league. Prior to Messi playing in the MLS, the league had 1 million followers on Meta’s Instagram. That’s since increased to more than 17 million.
MLS says 60% of its fanbase is made up of Gen Z or millennials. More than 35% is Hispanic. Both populations are attractive demographics for advertisers and marketers as growing spending bases.
Still, it’s been difficult to measure the MLS TV audience. MLS games are offered exclusively on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, which doesn’t disclose viewership metrics.
However, Garber told CNBC Sport last year there are “more subscribers than we and Apple thought we would have.”
The lack of MLS viewership transparency, plus the fact that there are far fewer ad breaks during soccer matches versus other sports, contributes to what appears to be lower consumer engagement when compared to other live games, according to EDO, an advertising data firm.
Live sports in general are still advantageous, though: Men’s soccer has been a reliable driver of ad engagement, with 14% more ad effectiveness overall than the primetime average, according to EDO. Ad effectiveness is measured by the likelihood that people will search for products and offerings they saw during the commercial breaks of soccer matches, making those slots more valuable to advertisers.
This is why sponsorships, especially those that come with team jersey patches or and in-stadium campaigns, have translated into the biggest dollars for the sport.

Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF dribbles the ball during a game between Inter Miami CF and Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on April 13, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Michael Miller | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

World Cup goal

The 2026 World Cup is more than a year away but is considered a key moment for MLS to capitalize on soccer fandom in the U.S.
“It’s no secret that we’re in a golden era of soccer here in the U.S. as we play host to multiple international events,” said Michelob Ultra’s Marques.
Last year, the Copa America tournament, hosted by the U.S., saw its final game between Argentina and Colombia average more than 6 million viewers in the U.S., marking the second-most watched non-World Cup soccer telecast in Fox Sports history.
In June, the FIFA Club World Cup, which pits teams from leagues all over the world against each other, including the MLS, will kick off in Miami.
But it’s the upcoming North America-hosted 2026 World Cup — in which national teams compete — that is expected to be the highlight and a major driver of U.S. fandom.
“The last time the U.S. hosted the tournament in 1994, it sparked the creation of MLS and led to a more than 30% surge in soccer interest in this country,” said Cramer of the MLS. “As MLS continues to evolve, more brands are recognizing that the league offers more than just visibility. It provides a direct connection to a dynamic fan base and an opportunity to build lasting cultural relevance in a sport that is helping shape the future of sports marketing.” More

Shares of Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Comcast fell in premarket hours after President Donald Trump proposed a tariff on film productions shot outside the United States.
Trump called tax incentives offered by foreign countries “a national security threat” in a post on Truth Social.
How Trump intends to implement these duties is unclear, as is exactly who is being targeted and who would foot that potential tariff bill.

Scenes of the mountains in front of the hollywood sign On March 5th 2017 in Los Angeles, United States of America.
James D. Morgan | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Investors in Hollywood’s top studios and streaming services were spooked Monday after President Donald Trump proposed implementing a 100% tariff on movies made overseas.
Shares of Netflix, Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery fell ahead of the opening bell, with Comcast-owned Universal also trading slightly down. Here’s how those share moves shook out:

Netflix down more than 5%
Disney down more than 3%
WBD down more than 3%
Paramount down more than 2%
Comcast down less than 1%

Trump called tax incentives offered by foreign countries “a national security threat” in a post on Truth Social Sunday night. He said he was authorizing the Department of Commerce to impose a levy on all films produced abroad that are sent to the United States.
How Trump intends to implement these duties is unclear, as is exactly who is being targeted and who would foot that potential tariff bill.
Hollywood studios have long filmed movies overseas, either for tax benefits or to capture the natural setting of international locations. Some films are shot in multiple countries, with many studios having satellite production hubs around the globe.
When Trump first instituted a 25% tariff on imports from Canada, a popular filming location for Hollywood movies and television shows, industry experts told CNBC that it wouldn’t have a major impact on production. After all, the majority of projects are shot digitally, and transporting the final product can be done online or with a data storage device. There isn’t a physical good that exchanges hands in the same way as, say, toys or clothing that’s made in another country.
Questions are already swirling. What part of the production process would be hit with this duty? Would it apply only to movie projects or will TV shows filmed internationally also incur this levy? Are already completed projects exempt?

Additionally, as with the first round of tariff announcements earlier this year, industry experts worry about how these duties will impact relationships with other countries. Hollywood relies on international box office sales to recoup lofty film budgets. China has already closed its doors to Hollywood product. Other regions could retaliate and do the same.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. More

Cadillac wants to regain its prominence as the premier American luxury brand.
It’s a crucial market for automakers like GM, as luxury vehicles have higher profit margins than their mainstream counterparts and cater to a more affluent customer.
Here’s how the brand is trying to get its portfolio back into shape and boost its status in the competitive luxury vehicle market.

The “Saarinen Lobby” inside General Motors’ global design headquarters on the campus of its Warren Technology Center outside of Detroit, Michigan.

WARREN, Mich. — Walking into General Motors’ global design headquarters is like taking a step back in time. Much of the midcentury-modern architecture and designs have remained untouched since the space opened in the 1950s.
The massive tech campus was built during a time when the Detroit automaker reigned supreme. It was GM’s so-called “Golden Era,” with its luxury Cadillac brand leading the way as “the standard of the world” — before decades of U.S. market share declines amid increased competition from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and others.

GM President Mark Reuss wasn’t alive to witness that era, but he’s harkened back to it as he and his teams have methodically overseen a product renaissance for Cadillac, which wants to regain its prominence as the American luxury brand.
“There isn’t a lot of American luxury brands. There just isn’t. I think it’s time, and I’m deeply passionate about that, for GM and Cadillac to show the world what we can do,” Reuss told CNBC from his second-story office adjacent to the lobby.
Cadillac’s domestic competition has historically been Ford Motor’s Lincoln luxury brand, which sells roughly a third of the vehicles in the U.S. as its GM competitor. Other luxury brands from Germany, Japan and, more recently, South Korea have entered the market as well. All-electric vehicle competitors Tesla and Lucid Group are also in the mix.
The luxury vehicle market is crucial for automakers. The vehicles have higher profit margins than their mainstream counterparts and cater to a more affluent customer that views them as much as a status symbol as a mode of transportation.

GM President Mark Reuss during the reveal of the all-electric 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ on Aug. 9, 2023 in New York City.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Reuss’ responsibilities as president include overseeing all the automaker’s products and brands, but he has always taken a special interest in Cadillac, which is on its fourth leader since 2015.

Those involved with the brand have described Reuss as a protector, vanguard and even spiritual leader of sorts for Cadillac.
While not everything has gone perfectly to plan — there have been issues with sales in China and electric vehicle production and adoption — Cadillac has largely stayed true to a plan that the company undertook to bolster the luxury brand a decade ago. It’s a not-so-easy accomplishment amid regulatory uncertainty and budget cuts in an automaker the size of GM.
“If you would have looked at Cadillac’s financials and portfolio, it was not delivering,” Reuss said. “It’s been a long road taking a 150-year-old brand from where it was, which was not healthy. It was not ‘the standard of the world.’ Still isn’t. We’ve got work to do, but the vision is there and it’s pretty clear.”
That vision currently relies heavily on all-electric vehicles, sporty sedans and the brand’s flagship Escalade — one of GM’s longest-standing and most prominent nameplates — to bring Cadillac back to prominence.
It’s a race Cadillac executives describe as having a never-ending finish line.

Resurrecting Cadillac

In the summer of 2018, Reuss, GM design chief Michael Simcoe and then-Cadillac head Steve Carlisle, among others, mapped out what they wanted Cadillac to be ahead of a broader executive rollout at GM’s renowned design dome. It was a re-evaluation of sorts of a plan laid out for Cadillac in 2015.
The overall strategy was to largely isolate Cadillac’s products from GM’s other brands and not allow the sharing of consumer-focused parts. They would share some bones, motors and other powertrain parts, but the interiors and even some of the engines would be exclusively Cadillac.

Mary Barra, chair and chief executive officer of General Motors Co., center, and Michael Simcoe, vice president of global design for General Motors Co., right, on the floor of General Motors Design West during an interview on “The Circuit with Emily Chang” in Warren, Michigan, US, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
Emily Elconin | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“We wanted to lay tracks down in terms of what the brand could be. We didn’t have a very consistent approach,” Carlisle recalled during a phone interview. “Many have tried and most have failed.”
The idea was to get Cadillac’s portfolio back into shape with sporty, sleek vehicles that elevate the brand’s status and, in turn, lead to higher residual values of the vehicles. The brand also sought to lower incentives.
Reuss, around that time, described it as Cadillac’s “one chance,” saying the Detroit automaker would “leave nothing on the table.” 
Cadillac has largely been able to get its house in order with most of those objectives, according to executives, auto analysts and industry metrics.
“Right now, I think they’re in really good shape.” said Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “They have been more consistent with how to handle the Cadillac brand, and that’s going to continue to be incredibly important … consistency over time is one of the most important things you can do.”

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V

Cadillac decided to focus its future products to be all-electric vehicles, in a bid to compete with Tesla’s pricey Model Y and Model X at the time. The plan was for Cadillac EVs to eventually take the place of gas-powered models as soon as 2030, but now it’ll offer a full lineup of EVs as well as gas-powered vehicles.
The first product released under the new strategy was the all-electric Lyriq that went on sale in 2022, but the pinnacle of the plan is the bespoke, $300,000 Celestiq that the brand is currently “relaunching.”
The 2018 showing at the design dome – hallowed ground for the automaker – was crucial to sell the current vision of Cadillac, according to Simcoe, Carlisle and others involved.
“In the dome, there was a vision for Celestiq and the Cadillac requirements,” Simcoe told CNBC from his corner design office overlooking the dome. “It was basically all the things that would define the brand.
“There was a vision for the customers we’re addressing. There was a vision for the portfolio we needed. There was a vision for pretty much everything inside the business,” Simcoe said.

People look at the Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle at the Cadillac booth at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan on September 14, 2022.
Geoff Robins | AFP | Getty Images

The dome show took place after the exodus of Cadillac’s last president, Johan de Nysschen (all other Cadillac leaders since have been vice presidents), who had discussed the need for the brand to have its own vehicle platforms and powertrains.
De Nysschen, an auto industry veteran who’s also led Audi and Infiniti, said he believes Cadillac “has made a lot of progress” since his departure. “I am pleased to say, in broad terms, that they’ve stayed true to the strategic direction that we had been agreed upon with GM top management,” he said during a phone interview.

Value over volume

GM’s rule of thumb has been to prioritize “volume over value,” which includes achieving scale on mainstream models ahead of producing luxury vehicles such as Cadillacs.
The strategy has helped GM’s profits but it’s been a challenge for Cadillac at times. It’s caused the brand to be late to vehicle segments and resulted in products such as the short-lived Cadillac ELR (a version of the Chevrolet Volt) a decade ago and, more recently, the outgoing XT6 crossover.
That is no longer the case for Cadillac as it’s refocused, officials said.
For example, there were expectations that GM would do a Cadillac version of the mid-engine Corvette, but Reuss said such a vehicle would not have fit into the brand’s new strategy, noting it would have shared a majority of components with the Corvette.
“It was developed as a secondary car to the Corvette, on purpose. We would never do that,” Reuss said, citing potential room for additional specialty, Cadillac-specific vehicles outside of its $300,000-plus Celestiq.

Mary Barra, GM chair and CEO, speaks during the unveiling of the Cadillac Celestiq electric sedan in Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2022.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

The all-electric Celestiq is a bespoke vehicle that the company is hand building at its tech and design campus in Warren. It was always meant to be low-volume production but orders as of the end of last year were only in the dozens.
After delayed starts to production and sales, Reuss said GM is essentially relaunching the car after the automaker has gotten its software — a crucial part of the business — in order.
“Just to be really transparent, we struggled launching our regular EVs, and so we’ve built our software capability to really execute and execute on time,” Reuss said. “We didn’t want to execute the car without everything being perfect on the software front. … To be honest, we’re relaunching the car.”
First customer deliveries of the Celestiq are expected by midyear, according to the company, which declined to disclose how many orders it has received for the car.
If successful, it could create a new two-unit business model for the company: one focused on hand-built, high-end vehicles and the other on mass-produced models.

Challenges remain

Wall Street is starting to once again take notice of Cadillac inside GM’s business, as other growth opportunities have faltered.
“One of the real gems is Cadillac that we don’t think gets enough airtime and there’s huge opportunity,” BofA analyst John Murphy said at an investor conference last month with Cadillac’s current leader, John Roth.
The decade-long plan for Cadillac also has the brand’s momentum building, particularly in North America — its home market.
During the first quarter of this year, Cadillac reported an 18% increase in sales, including its best retail performance since 2008, Roth said. It hit that while offering among the lowest incentives as a percentage of sales price on record average transaction prices of $77,900.
“That’s building brand health. That’s building brand value,” Roth, Cadillac global vice president, said at the BofA conference. “It’s a growth brand.”

April sales were the brand’s best for that month since 2007, GM CEO Mary Barra said on a call Thursday. She noted all of its U.S. vehicles are produced in America – a potential advantage over German luxury brands and others.
“So there is a huge opportunity for us to continue to build and leverage our product strength and the fact that these vehicles are built in the U.S.,” Barra said.
Reuss declined to comment on potential impacts to Cadillac as a result of tariffs, but said the American brand is well positioned to continue to grow.
While Cadillac grows domestically, Cadillac’s sales in China — its largest market for years until 2024 — have been in a freefall. It’s an industrywide problem, as Chinese brands grow in the country, dominating Western brands such as Cadillac, BMW and others.
“China is difficult for everyone. How Cadillac addresses that and improves that is not entirely in their control,” Brinley said. “Their products are strong, but I think the dynamics in China are just not in an imported brand’s favor right now.”
Cadillac’s sales in China peaked at nearly 232,000 vehicles in 2021, representing 62% of Cadillac’s global sales. In 2024, Chinese sales totaled roughly 110,400 units, or 38%, of its 294,200 sales globally — marking the first time since 2015 that they’ve dropped below 300,000.
Reuss, GM’s president, said China remains a focus for the automaker, which also is attempting to return to Europe with Cadillac. GM exited the market after selling its European operations in 2017.

A classic Cadillac is displayed in a dealership’s window in Manhattan on April 1, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Reuss declined to discuss sales targets for Cadillac, but said both China and Europe continue to have a “major role” to play for the brand’ renaissance.
“I think the way we execute vehicles globally will change, but Cadillac will be there with the latest and greatest, and we need to rebuild the sales capability, which we’re doing,” Reuss said.
Cadillac last year remained off the winner’s podium in terms of sales. It was fifth in the U.S. and seventh globally, according to industry data confirmed by Cadillac. It trailed global leader BMW as well as Mercedes-Benz and Audi, among others.
Roth last month said the brand’s success includes sales, but Cadillac’s goals are multifaceted and the race to profitably grow Cadillac continues.
“We talk about Cadillac being the ‘standard of the world,'” Roth told investors last month. “Every day that standard never has a finish line. We keep moving that finish line, keep raising the bar on what the brand needs to stand for in the marketplace and keep growing and evolving the brand on a forward-looking basis.” More

Major League Soccer is teaming up with video game company Electronic Arts to offer four regular-season matches on the EA Sports FC Mobile platform.
This will be the first time EA Sports FC Mobile will stream live sports.
MLS matches are currently offered exclusively on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.

Javier Hernandez, #14 of the Los Angeles Galaxy. takes a shot on goal during a game between New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on in Carson, California, on April 25, 2021.
Michael Janosz | Getty Images

Major League Soccer games are kicking off on Electronic Arts’ mobile gaming platform.
The top U.S. soccer league is teaming up with the video game company to offer four MLS matches this season via EA Sports FC Mobile.

The first match will be available to be streamed for free to players of the international soccer mobile game on Saturday, May 10. That game will be a rematch of the 2024 final game between the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy won its sixth MLS Cup in December after beating the Red Bulls.
The second match will be streamed on May 17, while the last two will take place in September, with dates that are yet to be announced. All four games will be simulcast with Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, which holds the global, exclusive media rights to the soccer league’s games.
Through the partnership, EA FC Mobile players who tune in to watch will get a free one-month trial of MLS Season Pass, and also receive in-game currency.
It will be EA’s first foray into live streaming a game, at a time when live sports attract the biggest audiences across various media platforms. The partnership also comes after a difficult quarter for EA, which it blamed on the underperformance of its games, particularly its soccer franchise, EA Sports FC. EA will report its next quarterly earnings on Tuesday.

Visitors play the EA Sports FC 25 game in front of a placard with England’s midfielder Jude Bellingham at the Electronic Arts booth during the media day at the Gamescom video games trade fair in Cologne, western Germany, on Aug. 21, 2024.
Ina Fassbender | AFP | Getty Images

MLS, which is in its 30th season, has experienced growth across its sponsorship and attendance in recent years, especially since global superstar Lionel Messi joined the league in 2023 and as the U.S. gears up to co-host the 2026 World Cup.

Still, the league falls behind in popularity when compared to other major sports leagues in the U.S.
EA’s soccer video game, which was marketed under FIFA branding until recently, has served as “an entry point for certain fan segments,” said Camilo Durana, executive vice president at MLS.
“We’ve worked hard with EA over the years to bring MLS to life within the game, whether it be through our players or uniforms or stadiums,” said Durana in an interview. “I think we’re always looking for interesting ways and new things to do with our partners.”
He called the four games that will be streamed this season the “initial phase” of the new partnership, adding the parties will see where it goes from here.
“I think we’re excited to try different things, learn and ultimately continue to innovate,” Durana said.
Durana described the league’s media rights partnership with Apple as a launchpad to experiment with various partners, with the goal of leading fans back to the MLS Season Pass platform, which is available through the Apple TV app.
In 2022, the league signed a 10-year media rights deal with Apple. All MLS matches are available through MLS Season Pass, which is offered as a stand-alone subscription, or an add-on to the Apple TV+ streaming service. The cost of MLS Season Pass begins at $12.99 for Apple TV+ subscribers, or $59 for the season, and steps up for those only paying for the soccer games.
Apple does not disclose the number of subscribers to MLS Season Pass. Last year, MLS Commissioner Don Garber told CNBC Sport the number of subscribers was exceeding expectations.
“We have more subscribers than we and Apple thought we would have. We have more people watching our games,” Garber told CNBC Sport in an interview.
In a push to broaden its audience, MLS and Apple expanded access to MLS Season Pass earlier this season. Pay-TV customers of Comcast’s Xfinity and DirecTV can subscribe directly through the providers rather than via Apple. The games are also now available for free to T-Mobile users.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. More

Private, direct-to-consumer brands such as Beis, Bare Necessities and Fashion Nova are leaning on President Donald Trump’s trade war as a marketing strategy.
Some companies may be looking to shore up their financials before consumer spending risks dropping in the coming weeks due to higher prices and potential shortages.
Brands such as Bare Necessities held an outright pre-tariff sale, while others such as Beis leaned on humor to remove the political “stink” from tariffs, still encouraging shoppers to buy.

Visitors are caught in the reflection of a store offering 50% off on all items on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica on July 16, 2024. 
Genaro Molina | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Retailers bracing for consumer spending to drop are using President Donald Trump’s trade war as a marketing strategy, urging consumers to buy now before tariffs lead to price increases or potential shortages. 
A host of private and direct-to-consumer brands such as Beis, Bare Necessities, Fashion Nova and Knix have mentioned tariffs in marketing campaigns in the weeks since Trump announced his plans for steep so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries.

While the administration later temporarily lowered rates for most countries, the announcement sent the retail industry into crisis mode because it is nearly impossible for businesses to plan while they don’t know how tariffs will ultimately shake out. Experts widely expect consumer spending will fall, creating challenges for companies big and small that could struggle to weather that storm. 
Some companies importing goods from China that now face a 145% duty have paused or canceled orders, while those with supply chains in other parts of Asia such as Vietnam and Cambodia are trying to stock up now as higher tariffs are still on pause.
The exact impact varies by retailer, sector and brand. But Trump’s trade war poses an existential crisis to many retailers that make their money selling consumers products they could ultimately live without. 
Some brands, such as lingerie store Bare Necessities, did an outright “pre-tariff sale.” The company offered discounts of around 30% as it told consumers to “stock up before tariffs hit.” 
“Tariffs? No clue. A good deal? We got you. Save up to 30% before prices shift,” Bare Necessities said to customers in a text message. “We didn’t know how to spell tariff last week, but we do know this: up to 30% off is a good idea!” it said in another message. 

Temporarily lowering prices as brands brace for costs to rise might feel counterintuitive, but anything retailers can do to “shore up their overall financials” ahead of a potential drop off in spending is a smart move, said Sonia Lapinsky, a partner and managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners. 
“Retailers should be doing anything they can to get as much demand as possible, as soon as possible, because from our perspective, things are going to really fall off a cliff. … We’ve been seeing a very skittish customer since about February, March, and it’s only gotten worse as the tariff talk has gotten kind of more constant,” said Lapinsky.
“They don’t want to give away all the margin now, but it’s a trade-off, right? Like it’s better to have 80% of the dollars now versus having to clear things or not getting any demand in the door two months from now. I think they’re really desperately trying to kind of forecast what this year looks like, and having a really challenging time.”
For smaller brands that lack the scale and maturity of their larger counterparts, boosting cash flow before demand falls could be critical to their survival. 
Tariffs are “going to impact every business, but I think it’s going to impact [smaller companies] more because they have fewer global options from their supply chain,” said Lauren Beitelspacher, a professor of marketing at Babson College in Massachusetts. “If you think about like a Target and a Walmart, I mean, they definitely have more of a global supply chain where they’re able to source from countries all around the world versus smaller brands … they have limited options.” 
Pre-tariff promotions could be a reason why some spending data in March came in better than expected because some shoppers are making purchases now before prices rise — particularly big-ticket items such as cars. 
“People who have the means are hearing all this talk, they’re hearing some of the advertisements, and they’re actually getting out there shopping so that they can get their purchases in before the prices go up,” said Lapinsky. 
Other brands, such as luggage company Beis, did not do an outright pre-tariff sale. The brand sent a letter to shoppers explaining it did not know if prices would increase or by how much, but rates would not change — “for now.” 
“Let’s skip the corporate-speak: This tariff situation is a complete dumpster fire, and we’re all getting burned. Here’s the situation: Costs are up, and unfortunately, our prices will have to follow suit,” Beis’ team wrote in the letter, adding that it is “financially traumatized.” “You’re probably wondering what this means for your cart. Unfortunately, so are we. Honestly, we’re just as confused as everyone else. But changes are coming. What kind of changes? Don’t know. When? Could be tomorrow or … ok we don’t know that either.” 
The company leaned on humor in its message, telling shoppers “our spreadsheets have spreadsheets,” and said it has considered everything from “company-wide ramen diets” to an OnlyFans account to avoid raising prices. But within the jokes was a subtle call to action: “if you’ve been eyeing something, now might be a good time to make your move, as current pricing remains in effect — for now.” 
Leaning on humor to discuss a politically divisive topic such as tariffs is strategic because most brands don’t want to alienate customers based on their political beliefs, said Barbara Kahn, a professor of marketing at The Wharton School. 
“Trying to remove the stink from it … so they don’t have to take sides because the tariffs are not only an economic mechanism, they are linked to political beliefs,” said Kahn. “You are seeing a lot of brands trying to neutralize some of the political statements that they’ve made in the past and so I think something like humor would diffuse any kind of political issue and just make it into something: ‘Here’s a good deal. Take advantage of it.'”

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Bridal boutiques and wedding dress designers are getting squeezed by steep tariffs on China, which is a major manufacturing hub for bridal and special occasion dresses and accessories.
Some wedding dress brands, such as Mon Cheri and Justin Alexander, have added tariff surcharges, and others like David’s Bridal have rushed to move production out of China.
The National Bridal Retailers Association, which represents thousands of boutiques across the country, started a letter-writing campaign to lawmakers to speak out against the tariff and ask for an exemption.

Denise Buzy-Pucheu, founder and owner of The Persnickety Bride, said steep tariffs on imports from China are hurting U.S. businesses, including bridal shops and wedding dress designers. Some of the brands she carries have added a tariff surcharge.
Courtesy of The Persnickety Bride; Photograph by Stella Blue Photography

Days after President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on imports from China, Denise Buzy-Pucheu sat on the couch in her bridal boutique and fired up the shop’s iPhone.
In a video later posted on Instagram, the founder of The Persnickety Bride in Newtown, Conn. spoke directly to brides and prospective customers and outlined how the 145% tariff on Chinese imports would roil the bridal business, in particular.

Almost all bridal gowns are made in China or other parts of Asia — and so are many of the fabrics, buttons, zippers and other materials they use. Skilled seamstresses are hard to find and often come from older generations in the U.S. And manufacturing in other countries, where labor generally costs less, has put the prices of high-quality bridal gowns within reach for many American families.
“This type of work is not just not something you can pick up and bring to the United States,” she said in the video. “We just don’t have those technicians here to do that.”
Tariffs on Chinese imports have hit a wide range of consumer goods, including T-shirts, patio furniture, baby strollers and toys. Yet the bridal gown and special occasion apparel business illustrates the damage duties can cause to small businesses ingrained in the global supply chain.
Most of its sales come from independent shops across the country that carry bridal gowns, tuxedos, prom dresses and more. They cater to customers with firm deadlines, tight budgets and high expectations, often making custom orders placed weeks or months before an item is made or shipped.
On top of those dynamics, the industry is particularly vulnerable to the tariffs. An estimated 90% of wedding dresses are made in China, according to the National Bridal Retailers Association — though a growing number of brands have moved manufacturing to other parts of Asia, such as Myanmar and Vietnam. The industry group represents approximately 6,000 wedding and special occasion shops across the U.S.

David’s Bridal has sped up moving its production out of China because of tariffs. By July, it aims to produce all of its dresses in other countries, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
David’s Bridal

The particular pain the industry will feel has led it — like others highly exposed to tariffs — to push for carveouts from the duties. In the past two weeks, NBRA has launched a letter-writing campaign to U.S. senators and representatives to urge lawmakers and the White House to allow an exemption. The industry already pays a tariff that started during the first Trump administration, along with a separate duty.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump would consider an exemption.
Some big names in bridal gowns started an online petition, including Stephen Lang, the founder and CEO of Trenton, N.J.-based brand Mon Cheri.
Lang said he’s lost sleep over the tariffs. He worries they will put the 120-employee company he started in 1991 — and many of the shops that carry his dresses — out of business.
Many of those stores were already struggling to cover expenses like rent and employee wages, he said. And the boutiques’ business models have felt squeezed as some customers use them as “try-on shops,” only to buy a similar, cheaper alternative online.
If shops and dress brands close their doors for good, he said not just businesses — but also the ritual of finding garments for special occasions and family milestones — will be lost.
“Our industry is going to get wiped out if it doesn’t change,” he said.
If tariffs continue at the same level, mom-and-pop shops like those owned by Sandra Gonzalez will have to make tough choices. Gonzalez, the vice president of NBRA, said dresses she carries in her Sacramento, Calif. shop have cost her between 5% and 25% more because of tariffs.
She’s held off on raising prices, but she said she’s not sure how much longer she can wait.
“It’s on a week-by-week basis,” Gonzalez said.

Sticker shock for brides

For many brides, wedding dresses already cause sticker shock.
A bride in the U.S. spent an average of $2,100 on a wedding dress, according to the 2025 Real Weddings Study by The Knot, a global company that sells wedding-related services and has a directory of wedding vendors.
And that’s not the only expense on the list. Altogether, the average spending per wedding totaled $31,428, according to The Wedding Report, a market research company for the industry. Some estimates run even higher: The Knot puts the average cost at $33,000, while David’s Bridal estimates it is an average of $37,500.
The financial crunch brides already face has made it more urgent for bridal shops and designers to find ways to manage higher costs from tariffs without losing their shoppers to cheap online alternatives.

Shoppers exit from David’s Bridal Shop near Harrisburg. David’s Bridal LLC announced on Monday, April 17, 2023,.
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images

David’s Bridal, which has nearly 200 stores across the country, has sped up efforts to move all of its manufacturing out of China. The Pennsylvania-based wedding company, which has gone through bankruptcy twice and is in the middle of an effort to modernize its business, sells wedding dresses that range from $99 to approximately $6,000.
As of the end of last year, about 48% of the company’s merchandise was made in China. By the end of this year, the company aims to have nearly all of its production out of China and in other countries, including Myanmar, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, CEO Kelly Cook said. Imports from those countries face a much lower tariff than China — at least for now — after Trump announced a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for some countries in early April.
Cook said the company also worked to get 300,000 dresses to the U.S. before tariffs began and has looked for ways to cut costs across the business, such as using new artificial intelligence tools, so it does not need to raise prices.
“Our last resort, absolutely last resort, is to pass an increase on to the customer due to a tariff,” she said.

Surcharges and slowed production

As they face the cost increases, major bridal brands have started to add tariff surcharges, a percentage-based added cost that’s typically shared by bridal boutiques and customers.
Mon Cheri, for example, has tacked on a 39% tariff surcharge for shops. It’s also taken other steps to manage costs, including cutting its production roughly in half since tariffs started, Lang said. It is only shipping orders that it needs, such as custom dresses for specific wedding dates. 
The company imports about 90% of all merchandise and about 80% of bridal items from China. It sells wedding dresses ranging from $500 to $20,000 that are carried by specialty shops across the country.
For brides, the new surcharge for shops translates to a roughly 15% retail price increase, Lang said. For example, the average price for the company’s bridal dresses is $2,200, so it would add $300 to the price paid by a customer.
Another New Jersey-based bridal brand, Justin Alexander, has also added tariff surcharges to its dresses, said Justin Warshaw, its creative director and CEO. For brides, he said, those surcharges have translated to an approximately 6% retail price increase. For example, he said, a $2,000 dress will now cost a customer $120 more.
Yet he said the company decided to absorb the cost difference for dresses that brides ordered before the tariffs began, a decision that could wipe out its profits.
“We understand a bride said yes to the dress at a price,” he said.
About half of the company’s production is in China, followed by 45% in Vietnam and 5% in Myanmar, Warshaw said. Its dresses range in price from about $1,500 to $12,000.
But some designers, wedding dress shops and companies said their plans may change if tariff levels drop. David’s Bridal, for example, said it may keep up to 25% of production in China if duties decrease. Some boutiques are telling brides or including in contracts that they will subtract the portion of tariff surcharges included in the price if policy changes and import costs decline, Gonzalez of NBRA said.

Courtesy of Anne Barge

Atlanta-based bridal dress brand Anne Barge is wrapping up its business in China and exiting the country altogether, the company’s CFO Steven Jacobs said.
If the company had stayed in China with the higher tariff level, its retail prices would have shot up, he said. For instance, Anne Barge’s Norfolk dress – which currently costs $3,730– would have jumped nearly 65% to $6,150.
Jacobs and his wife, creative director and CEO Shawne Jacobs, bought the higher-end bridal brand in 2014. Back then, all of the company’s dresses were made in China, which has long had the specialized workforce to produce wedding dresses.
Yet the husband-and-wife team has seen firsthand the complexities – and cost challenges – of manufacturing in the U.S., one of the Trump administration’s stated goals of the tariffs.
Motivated in part by Covid-related supply chain shocks, Shawne and Steven Jacobs opened a manufacturing facility for their luxury bridal line near the company’s Atlanta headquarters. The line of wedding dresses range between $4,000 and $14,000.
“It worked because of our price points,” Shawne Jacobs said. “But we’re talking about luxury goods.”
It has taken about two years to scale up to a 35-person facility and to recruit the pattern makers, seamstresses and other workers needed to make the detailed dresses, Shawne Jacobs said. Many of the company’s skilled sewers are immigrants, she said, a pool of talent now threatened by Trump’s stricter immigration policies.
And she said Asia is still crucial for production: All of Anne Barge’s lower-priced bridal line, Blue Willow, is made in Vietnam. She said making those dresses and maintaining their under $3,000 price points in the U.S. wouldn’t be possible. More

More than 1,000 Newark flights have been disrupted this week.
United blamed FAA technology and staffing for many of the disruptions.
The airline issued travel waivers for affected customers.

United Airlines airplanes proceed to a runway at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 20, 2025.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

United Airlines will cancel 35 roundtrip flights a day from its schedule at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after thousands of passengers faced hourslong delays this week, CEO Scott Kirby said Friday, blaming the disruptions on air traffic controller staffing shortages and the Federal Aviation Administration’s technology problems.
The flight cuts amount to about 10% of United’s daily schedule at its Newark hub.

More than 300 flights in and out of Newark were delayed as of Friday afternoon, adding to more than 1,400 other delays and cancellations earlier this week, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
“It’s disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers,” Kirby said in a note to customers on Friday.
The schedule cuts will begin this weekend.
Kirby said that 20% of air traffic controllers for Newark “walked off the job” in recent days after several technology failures.
“Keep in mind, this particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it’s now clear – and the FAA tells us – that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” he said.

The FAA said in an advisory that staffing issues were delaying operations at Newark on Friday.
Kirby said the airline is now urging the agency to more tightly control capacity at the airport by establishing flight restrictions like those in place at other highly congested facilities like New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Last year, the FAA moved air traffic controllers responsible for airspace around Newark to Philadelphia instead of a facility in New York in an effort to help alleviate congestion.
The FAA and the Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Kirby’s statement. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X that he visited the Philadelphia facility that “to talk with our hard working air traffic controllers as we work to fix these equipment outages caused by outdated technology. It’s unacceptable.” He called for an “all-new air traffic control system.”
The air traffic controllers’ union declined to comment.
Kirby said he spoke with Secretary Duffy on Friday and praised the Trump administration for vowing to invest and fix aging air traffic control infrastructure in the U.S.

United said Thursday that FAA technology outages, runway construction and high winds led to the disruptions, which forced it to divert at least 21 flights.
Newark is one of the most congested airports in the country, and Kirby has repeatedly complained about shortfalls of air traffic controllers. United has also trimmed its Newark schedule in recent years because of excessive delays, blaming similar factors.
The Transportation Department on Thursday offered a new slate of incentives to help alleviate staffing shortages of air traffic controllers, a problem that has persisted for years and worsened during training pauses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
United Airlines said it would waive change fees or fare differences for customers affected by the Newark disruptions.

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Netflix’s stock has traded for 11 straight days without a decline, the company’s longest positive run ever.
This new streak comes on the heels of Netflix’s most recent earnings beat in which it revealed that revenue grew 13% during the first quarter of 2025.
Netflix has been one of the top performers during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, with shares up more than 30% since mid-January.

Cheng Xin | Getty Images

Netflix is on a winning streak.
The streaming giant’s stock has traded for 11 straight days without a decline, the company’s longest positive run ever. It gained 2% Friday.

Stock chart icon

Netflix stock since April 17.

Its previous record was a nine-day stretch in late 2018 and early 2019 when the stock traded up for four days, was unchanged for a day and then traded positively for another four days.
The stock is also trading at all-time-high levels since it went public in May 2002.
This new streak comes on the heels of Netflix’s most recent earnings report on April 17, in which it revealed that revenue grew 13% during the first quarter of 2025 on higher-than-forecast subscription and advertising dollars.
Netflix has been one of the top-performing stocks during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, with shares up more than 30% since mid-January. The company has been largely unaffected by Trump’s tariffs and trade war with China and is a service that consumers are unlikely to cut during a recession.
Meanwhile, traditional media stocks have been slammed by a tumultuous market prompted by Trump’s trade policy. Warner Bros. Discovery has lost nearly 10% since Trump took office, while Disney is down 13% during that same period.

Netflix continues to forecast full-year revenue of between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion.
“There’s been no material change to our overall business outlook,” the company said in a statement last month.
As investors worry about the potential effect of tariffs on consumer spending and confidence, Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters said on the company’s earnings call, “Based on what we are seeing by actually operating the business right now, there’s nothing really significant to note.”
“We also take some comfort that entertainment historically has been pretty resilient in tougher economic times,” Peters said. “Netflix, specifically, also, has been generally quite resilient. We haven’t seen any major impacts during those tougher times, albeit over a much shorter history.”
JPMorgan said Thursday that it sees more upside for shares.
“NFLX has established itself as the clear leader in global streaming & is on the pathway to becoming global TV … Advertising Upfronts in May should serve as a positive catalyst to shares,” analysts wrote.
While Netflix has hiked its subscription prices — its standard plan now costs $17.99, its ad-supported plan is $7.99 and premium is $24.99 — it appears to have retained its value proposition for customers. But it is unclear if the subscriber base is growing or shrinking because the company recently stopped sharing details on its membership numbers, instead focusing on revenue growth.

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