Son Heung-min’s arrival at Los Angeles FC in 2025 has had a transformative impact on MLS, delivering significant sporting and commercial benefits to LAFC and the league.
Son’s record-breaking transfer from EPL’s Tottenham Hotspur instantly transformed the Black & Gold attack and elevated the international profile of MLS, making him one of the league’s most impactful signings ever, as evidenced by his goal and assists contributions, the MLS Goal of the Year award for a superb free-kick against FC Dallas, and his tenth ‘Best Footballer in Asia’ honour in 2025.
LAFC fell short in the playoffs, losing the MLS Western Conference Semi-final clash against Vancouver Whitecaps at a sold-out BC Place on penalties. Despite Son’s best efforts, scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw in normal time. The second goal being an overtime free-kick. The game was a great advert for the league and both clubs helping MLS attract unprecedented global attention.
The line chart shows the impact Son had on the total broadcast viewership for LAFC matches on and after 10th August 2025. Only Inter Miami with their array of global icons sit above them in the table.
On-Pitch Influence
In just his first ten regular-season games, Son scored 9 goals and provided 3 assists, while also making key contributions in playoff matches. His arrival elevated LAFC’s attacking output, raised the team’s on-field standards, inspiring teammates and driving the club’s confidence in pursuing honours.
South Korea Tunes In
Son Heung-min’s move to LAFC has triggered a dramatic surge in LAFC match viewership and engagement across South Korea, leading to new multi-year broadcast deals with SPOTV and Coupang Play that specifically prioritise LAFC matches, the only MLS games aired on Korean TV outside of Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
Since Son’s arrival in August 2025, SPOTV broadcasts have seen an unprecedented 61% rise in viewership, coupled with massive social media response (339 million impressions and 14 million engagements), and a wave of new fans and sponsors for both MLS and SPOTV, while Coupang Play also recorded record-breaking audience growth, new demographics, and increased commercial partnerships and engagement, all attributed to the Son’s MLS move on Korean sports media.
The Treemap chart illustrates the ‘pre’ and ‘post’ Son arrival, LAFC viewership impact from South Korea. As captain of the South Korean national team and previously English Premier League team Spurs, Son was a household name in South Korea long before joining MLS, however LAFC and its U.S.-based league were both largely unknown.
User Searches in Korea
The Google Trends data for MLS in South Korea since August, shows substantial increases in interest compared to both previous periods and the established domestic ‘K League 1’ (South Korea premier soccer league) and ‘NFL’ search terms.
On LAFC match dates, MLS outpaces both the NFL and K League. MLS, once a niche topic in South Korea, is closing the gap with NFL and sometimes rivalling the K League in digital interest during major matchdays, which is unprecedented.
Son’s arrival in MLS for 2025 directly elevated MLS’s visibility in South Korea, and is starting to transform MLS’s reputation and media footprint in the region.
Commercial Impact
LAFC’s summer signing, Son Heung-min, is now the second-highest-paid player in the MLS. His total package of $11.2 million, which includes an annual salary of $10.4 million, places him only behind Lionel Messi of Inter Miami. Since Son’s arrival, his LAFC jersey has become the second best-selling shirt in MLS, trailing only Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami jersey. The signing has dramatically boosted LAFC’s profile, generating over 34 billion social media views (a 594% surge), alongside notable increases in match attendance and merchandise sales. Son has rapidly become one of the league’s most marketable players. The Korean fan base has notably expanded, driving international sponsorship and further globalising MLS.
LAFC partner boost
LAFC partners are reaping rewards from LAFC’s increased live television exposure following Son’s arrival. The ‘Sonic Boom’ has led to a surge in global and Korean media coverage, new broadcasting deals, and expanded sponsor visibility, especially in Korea and among Korean audiences in the USA and internationally. K-pop company HYBE have recently partnered with LAFC to sponsor a K-culture event at a playoff match. Every club partner benefits from the expanded reach through TV broadcasts and greater media attention:
- BMO (Bank of Montreal): front-of-jersey sponsor
- Adidas: The global kit supplier for LAFC
- Ford: Jersey sleeve partner
- Club partners, DoorDash, Heineken, Pepsi, Toyota, Heineken, Zelle, Kaiser Permanent, 1800 Tequila
LAFC are reporting a record-high sponsorship pipeline predominantly from Asia. Coupang Play & SPOTV, Korean broadcasters are now crucial partners that, through new deals, air LAFC’s matches across South Korea, increasing all visible partners’ exposure.
MLS League Partners
Apple and Adidas benefit from the most visibility during MLS live broadcasts:
- Apple, due to its comprehensive global streaming deal, benefits from unmatched integration and branding across broadcasts, documentaries, highlights, digital platforms, and jersey sleeve patches customised by team. However, MLS and Apple have cancelled the MLS Season Pass and prematurely ended their ten-year, US$2.5 billion global streaming deal, now concluding after the 2028/29 season. The early termination suggests the deal failed to attract sufficient Apple TV subscribers or significantly impact MLS viewership & visibility in the USA and beyond.
- As the league’s exclusive supplier, Adidas provides all kits, training gear, footwear, and the official match ball. Adidas extended its MLS partnership in 2023 with an $830 million, six-year deal through 2030.
- Several other global brands & major league partners such as Audi, Coca-Cola, Century 21, Heineken, AT&T, and Captain Morgan are benefitting too. Branding appears in a variety of broadcast touchpoints, including field LEDs, jersey patches, halftime and in-game segments, on-screen graphics, integrated commercials, and experiential activations during league tentpole events such as the All-Star Game and MLS Cup.
Conclusion
In summary, Son Heung-min has supercharged MLS’s visibility, competitiveness, and commercial success, marking one of the most impactful signings in league history and delivering benefits that reach far beyond the pitch.
LAFC are now rivalling Inter Miami for ‘eyeballs’ and the Son vs Messi showdown is exactly what the football world wants to see, and we don’t have to wait long, just until the opening day of the 2026 MLS season (February 21st), as LAFC take on Miami at the LA Coliseum.
How Eyeballr Compiles This Data
Eyeballr data is agnostic of medium and market. Data is included for every MLS match, consumed on any device, TV network, OTT platform, streaming service or mobile app. The data is segmented by geography, meaning you’re seeing the full picture, across all televised matches. Eyeballr integrates open-source intelligence, direct streaming, broadcaster and YouTube data, alongside proprietary AI modelling to measure and validate major sports broadcast audiences. For the MLS, this includes aggregating data from international rights holders, analysing digital stream performance.
Get ahead of the pack and learn more about the Eyeballr approach to sports broadcast viewership by emailing us at: stephen@eyeballr.ai
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