Apple Films Entire MLS Match With 15 iPhone 17 Pro Max Cameras, Setting Broadcast First
Updated
Updated · CNET · Jun 1
Apple Films Entire MLS Match With 15 iPhone 17 Pro Max Cameras, Setting Broadcast First
5 articles · Updated · CNET · Jun 1
Fifteen iPhone 17 Pro Max units captured the full May 23 LA Galaxy-Houston Dynamo match, marking the first time a major professional sports game was filmed entirely on smartphones.
Eight phones used native lenses in tight positions such as behind goals and beside benches, while seven were mounted behind broadcast zoom lenses that resembled $265,000 Fujinon Duvo rigs.
Each phone shot 1080p video at 60 frames per second, sending feeds by USB-C-to-HDMI and fiber into a mobile control room where crews switched the game in real time like a standard MLS broadcast.
MLS said the smaller cameras enabled angles conventional large-lens systems cannot safely or physically reach, while Apple said viewers likely could not distinguish native iPhone footage from traditional broadcast cameras.
The production doubles as a marketing proof point for Apple: pro-level live sports coverage can start with a $1,200 consumer phone, even if some shots still relied on costly external lenses and pro software.
With a $2 million lens budget, was the MLS 'iPhone broadcast' a genuine innovation or a brilliant marketing ploy?
As AI-powered cameras enter MLS, are traditional camera operator jobs in sports broadcasting at risk of becoming obsolete?