Apple TV experiments with broadcast production with iPhone 17 Pro

This Saturday, May 23, Apple TV will broadcast a special live Major League Soccer match recorded exclusively with iPhones 17 Pro, marking the first time that smartphones have been used exclusively to record the broadcast of a major live professional sporting event.

Developed in collaboration with the MLS, this historic broadcast will pit the LA Galaxy against Houston Dynamo FC and will be broadcast live on Apple TV from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, during the final matchday of MLS before the regular season is interrupted for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

The iPhone 17 Pro will capture live images throughout the match, including team warm-ups on the field, player presentations, goal angles from the goal and the atmosphere inside the stadium. With cameras located throughout the venue, the broadcast will bring viewers closer to the action, something that is possible thanks to the small size of the iPhone.

On the other hand, Apple highlights the capacity of the iPhone 17 Pro processor to manage high definition video almost in real time. The equipment also incorporates an advanced system of optical stabilization which will allow you to follow the fastest plays with more fluid and precise images.

Apple TV first incorporated iPhone into a live sports broadcast workflow during a Friday Night Baseball game in September 2025 between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, using iPhone 17 Pro to capture select moments from the game and cinematic images from inside the stadium. This historic production earned recognition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which added an iPhone used in the broadcast to its permanent collection. iPhone 17 Pro features three 48MP Fusion cameras, offering the equivalent of eight lenses in a compact design and pro-grade video features like Apple Log 2, used for this weekend's broadcast.

After the great reception from fans of the production of Friday Night Baseball, Apple expanded the use of the iPhone to other sports broadcasts — including the 2025 MLS Cup — before further integrating the technology into the regular production rotation of “Friday Night Baseball” and MLS broadcasts throughout the 2026 season.

This Saturday's match between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo FC marks the next big step forward: the first live professional sporting event captured entirely on an iPhone.