MLS Making iPhone TV History, But Can’t Shake Basic Production Hiccups

ConsumerSportsMoneyMLS Making iPhone TV History, But Can’t Shake Basic Production HiccupsByIan Nicholas Quillen,Contributor.Follow AuthorMay 22, 2026, 05:00am EDTHARRISON, NJ - AUGUST 26: Apple TV lead MLS analyst Taylor Twellman speaks prior to a game between Inter Miami CF and New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on August 26, 2023 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Howard Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images).Getty ImagesOn Thursday morning, Major League Soccer announced Saturday’s match between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo would be the first-ever televised sporting event shot entirely with iPhone cameras.If you’re worried this could result in key details of the game being missed on the Apple TV broadcast, you shouldn’t be: That’s already been happening far too regularly with the use of more conventional TV cameras, basically ever since Apple TV became MLS’ worldwide streaming partner ahead of the 2023 season.Don’t get it wrong. MLS and Apple TV have made many sensible steps forward since Apple TV acquired global rights to every fixture in the MLS Regular Season, MLS Cup Playoffs and Leagues Cup. Those include the creation of the Sunday Night Soccer package, the allowance of more daytime kickoffs in colder-weather markets, and most recently the erasure of the MLS Season Pass package in favor of making the entire match inventory available for all Apple TV+ subscribers.But from game to game, the average production values for MLS matches lag behind industry standards in other major North American professional sports, usually for one or both of these offenses:1) The camera direction fails to keep pace with important moments.2) The broadcast production mischaractierizes or avoids important narratives.MORE FOR YOULa Familia FeudIronically enough, one of the worst such cases of this came only four days before Thursday’s announcement, on a Sunday Night Soccer clash between Inter Miami and the Portland Timbers.The most important news coming out of Miami’s 2-0 win centered no...