Apple Takes iPhone Out to the Ball Game

Friday’s baseball game between the Red Sox and the Tigers was worth watching because it was a tight game decided by a walk-off hit that clinched the playoffs for Boston.

But it was also a promotional moment for Apple, which had the game on Apple TV+ as part of its Friday Night Baseball Package.

Before the game, Apple announced that the new iPhone 17 Pro would be used as part of the production. The plan was for iPhones to be positioned around Fenway Park, including inside the home dugout and inside the Green Monster. 

The point was for Apple to show how the iPhone can deliver live premium quality video and provide new angles because it can fit into tighter spaces.

During the broadcast before the start of the game, announcers Alex Faust and Ryan Spilborghs discussed how using the iPhone video would make history, and urged fans to watch for a “shot on iPhone” bug in the top right hand corner of the screen which would indicate the picture coming from the new phones. (The first inning of the game was simulcast on X.)

The iPhone shots were mostly used between pitches and not so frequently that they interfered with the game.

Before the first pitch, there was an iPhone shot showing the back of Red Sox centerfielder Deddanne Rafaela taken from the Monster. There was also a low angle shot taken from the dugout. 

The Tigers loaded the bases and the telecast showed each of the runners in separate shots, but none used the iPhones, showing how many professional cameras the production employs.

In the bottom of the first, Tiger right fielder Wenceel Perez dove into the stands, making a great attempt to catch a foul ball. He gloved the ball but it fell out of his glove as he landed in the seats. Apple has multiple excellent views of the play. Unfortunately, the iPhone has a bad angle and didn’t quite capture what happened.

The closest the iPhone shots came to capturing live action in  the early innings was was showing pitcher Kyle Harrison going into his windup and showing runners taking leads off first base.

Many of the iPhone shots showed fan in the stands, particularly in the top of the ninth, when Boston reliever Aroldis Chapman struck out Spencer Torkelson to end the inning and set up Boston’s dramatic win. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Romy Gonzales singled to center and Rafaela tripled off the wall driving in the winning run.  As the Sox celebrated getting into the playoffs, iPhone shots provided replays of Rafaela’s hit and Gonzales rounding the bases to score.

There were also iPhone shots of Red Sox fans celebrating.

To my eye, the iPhone shots weren’t much different from those with the professional TV cameras. The website Phone Arena said agreed that “the iPhone 17 Pro was able to bring viewers quality live shots even from inside Fenway's Green Monster.” It also predicted that this is the start of a trend that will result in more pro sporting events using iPhones as part of telecasts.

The comments on Reddit weren’t as kind. “Um, great. I love sacrificing fidelity and quality for gimmicky marketing stunts,” said one. “So we went from flickering black n white tv to high tech now we are going backwards,” said another. I chuckled at this one: “They gonna bat with wiffleball bats too?”

But most of the online unhappiness came from the game being on Apple TV+, instead of the outlets where Sox fans regularly watch games.  “I think the fact that it’s on Apple TV is pissing off people a lot more than the iPhone gimmick,” was one (ckean) comment that represented a good share of online opinion.

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REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORK REBOUND

It’s possible that the biggest winner this baseball season wasn’t Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge or  Cal Raleigh. 

It might be the former Bally regional sports networks, now bundled up as FanDuel Sports Network.

After emerging from bankruptcy and getting rebranded, FandDuel Sports Network reports that with just a handful of games remaining, it averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 1.5 million daily viewers across linear, out-of-market and streaming platforms, up a whopping 18% over the 2024 season.

Total Audience Deliver is a measurement adopted by FanDuel to measure its national delivery, not just its in-market delivery of local team games, boosting the reach it offers national advertisers. 

The big numbers come for baseball as it is putting the finishing touches on negotiating new national deals following ESPN’s call that it was paying too much for its MLB rights. ESPN is expected to grab a different baseball package, with NBC and Netflix also playing ball with MLB.

Linear TV ratings were up 16%, with seven of the nine team FanDuel Sports Network has local rights to showing growth. 

With cord cutting, the FanDuel Sports Network have been aggressively pushing subscriptions to its local streaming services. It said that since Opening day, nearly 1 million unique users streamed their hometown teams through the FanDuel Sports Network app, an increase of 70% from last year.

Now FanDuel Sports Network is looking ahead to the NBA and NHL seasons. We’ll see who tunes in.

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BAD BUNNY, GOOD HALFTIME

Bad Bunny will be the star of the Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday. 

The Puerto Rican super star–real name Benito Antonio Oscasio–has been building a mainstream presence, appearing on Saturday Night Live and with Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2. He will be the host of the premiere episodes of Season 51 of SNL on Oct. 4.

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”

Last year’s Super Bowl halftime show featuring Kendrick Lamar was watched by 133.5 million viewers.

“We know his dynamic performances, creative vision, and deep connection with fans will deliver the kind of unforgettable experience we’ve come to expect from this iconic cultural moment,” said Jon Barker, SVP of Global Event Production for the NFL.