Apple Newsroom, last Thursday:

This Saturday, May 23, Apple TV will present a special live Major League Soccer match captured exclusively on iPhone 17 Pro — marking the first time iPhone will be used to capture the entirety of a major professional live sporting event broadcast. […]

iPhone 17 Pro will capture live footage throughout the match, including team warmups on the pitch, player introductions, in-net goal angles, and the atmosphere inside the stadium. With cameras positioned throughout the venue, the broadcast will deliver the pristine video quality fans expect, alongside dynamic new perspectives that bring viewers closer to the action, made possible by the small form factor of iPhone.

Jeremy Gray at PetaPixel on Tuesday:

Now that the historic broadcast happened, it is worth taking another look to see not only how it went, but how Apple pulled off the impressive feat.

Fifteen iPhone 17 Pro Max devices, some connected to $265,000 Fujinon HZK 25–1000mm lenses (the massive broadcast lenses you’ve likely seen during many sporting events), but most simply using the built-in lenses. Video was shot using the Blackmagic Camera app in 1080p60 (not 4K, to my surprise). Gray links to Instagram posts from Apple, MLS, and others showing behind-the-scenes looks at the rigs.

The thing that struck me the most (other than shooting at 1080p) is that, outside a few specific situations, the results are effectively indistinguishable from a game shot using traditional cameras (and my guess is those quality issues might be mitigated by shooting in 4K). That didn’t stop people from well, actually-ing the setup, of course. (I’m convinced the complainers have never used an interchangeable lens SLR and don’t understand how cameras work.)