As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ever The event will be streamed free and broadcast live in three languages By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Friday, December 5, 2025 - 2:58 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In what has been called the MLS's Caitlin Clark must-see-TV moment, this weekend's MLS Cup production will be the largest in the league's history. With global icon Lionel Messi taking the pitch at Fort Lauderdale, FL's Chase Stadium on Saturday, MLS, Apple, and production-services partner NEP are pulling out all the stops - including deploying iPhones for game coverage - in what's expected to be one of the league's most-watched games ever.
Without question, this will be the biggest production we've ever had on an MLS match - MLS Cup or otherwise, says Seth Bacon, EVP, media, Major League Soccer. The number of cameras and level or production resources we're deploying is an indication of the growth that we've had, both as a league and as a production company. We want to take all the innovations that we've built over the course of the year and make them come to life in the biggest moment here at MLS Cup.
The busy MLS Cup compound at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, FL
In addition to streaming free on Apple TV, the match will be broadcast on FOX, FOX Deportes, RDS in Canada (in French), and TNT in Mexico. With Messi leading Inter Miami against one of the league's other major stars, Thomas M ller, and the Vancouver Whitecaps, many expect record viewership numbers for the most expansive MLS Cup presentation to date.
We will be lucky enough to have the eyes of the entire soccer world on us, with the FIFA World Cup Draw on Friday and Messi going out to win a trophy on Saturday in a phenomenal matchup, Bacon says. This is a huge moment for a league and one we've all been waiting for. And, because of the infrastructure and momentum and team that we've built [at MLS Productions], we are going to be ready to capitalize on it.
Onsite in Ft. Lauderdale: Studio Shows, 30+ Cameras, NEP Mobile Units The 38-camera complement at Chase Stadium is headlined by a quartet of iPhone 17 Pros, which will capture live game footage in a historic first for an MLS broadcast. Also on hand are two Ronin RF Steadicams (one of which is equipped with an iPhone 17 Pro), in-goal robots in the nets on both sides of the field, four super-slo-mo systems, a referee cam, and a drone. The production team will also have more than 50 EVS record channels at its disposal.
We had plans to make the show as big as we could regardless of the participant, Bacon notes when asked if the production levels increased as a result of Messi's participation. We were confident in the significant production levels we put together. Certainly, adding the world's greatest player to the game adds an element for us. We knew going in that we would have enough cameras and super-mos to tell the story many times over. We're more focused on the editorial side and how we use those cameras to tell the story.
MLS and Apple studio shows will broadcast from on-field sets.
MLS and Apple have rolled out their English- and Spanish-language studio shows at Chase Stadium. One corner of the field has been cordoned off, and two elevated platforms have been erected to serve both shows for pre/postgame and halftime broadcasts. Fox Sports also has an on-field set for its shows.
In the truck compound, NEP HD6 and Super B mobile units are handling Apple TV's English-language game and onsite-studio-show productions; NEP NCPII is home to the Spanish-language studio and game operations. In addition to the mobile units/broadcast facilities, NEP is supplying sets, lighting, power, transport/distribution, and commercial playout for Apple TV and continues to partner with MLS and FOX to provide above- and below-the-line staff.
We are going to be the engine that powers the storytelling around MLS Cup, says Bacon. We are learning every day, every week, every month, every year about ways to integrate new technology and find efficiencies with the resources we have onsite. As a result, we have been able to deploy a lot more resources and be very nimble to help us capture more content. That includes not only game content but also interviews and [shoulder] content that we can integrate into the Apple livestream and [linear] broadcast, as well as provide to our digital and social teams.
Roughly 110 crew members, engineers, and operators are on hand this weekend. On the NEP side, the 2025 MLS Cup broadcast is tech-managed by Joe Heck and Jamie Weber and supported by production operation leads George Williams, Emmanuel Wallace, Adam Willis, Steve Kravitz, and Hildelisa Gonzalez.
Behind the scenes with the MLS Cup onsite production crew
The English- and Spanish-language line cuts and 5.1 audio mixes will be produced onsite in Fort Lauderdale and sent via AT&T GVS network to MLS's production facility in Stamford, CT. All graphics will be integrated there (a new workflow that MLS launched this season), and multiple versions will be created for distribution: a clean feed, English sponsored and unsponsored, Spanish sponsored and unsponsored, Canadian French sponsored and unsponsored, Mexican Spanish sponsored and unsponsored, and Sportradar/IMG Arena betting feeds.
In addition, FOX Sports broadcast will be produced out of NEP M14, handled largely by the MLS/NEP crew that produces all of FOX's MLS regular-season and playoffs broadcasts remotely at NEP's South Florida REMI production facility.
iPhone Impact: Four iPhone 17 Pros Will Play Big Role in Coverage In a first for a live MLS broadcast, MLS Cup 2025 will integrate live game footage captured on an iPhone 17 Pro, with four devices positioned throughout F
North America Stories
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13 with guest ...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
04/12/2025
Lightware, a global specialist in AV connectivity, is looking back on a year defined by new advancements, strong collaboration and continued growth. Across the ...
04/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced a new partnership with Haivision, a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual col...
04/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann Engineering today announced a major milestone in their strategic collaboration, celebrating 20 successful broadband deployme...
04/12/2025
Creative software developer Foundry today announced Mari 7.5, the latest iteration of its artist-friendly paint toolset that can handle large, detailed assets w...
04/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at Dreamforce 2025 in San Francisco providing...
04/12/2025
LTN's purpose-built IP video network brings all-movie diginet to over 100 stations and streaming platforms in just three months while eliminating satellite ...
04/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data a...
04/12/2025
The HELM, a global expert in cinematic live broadcast and high-end production workflows, has signed a partnership agreement with Keslow Camera, one of North Ame...
04/12/2025
At ISE 2026, LiveU will showcase its expanded IP-video EcoSystem, enabling broadcasters, sports, production companies and pro-AV professionals to share their st...
04/12/2025
Since the beginning of commercial television, advertising has been a key part of broadcasting. Over the years, the technology for inserting ads into programs ha...
04/12/2025
MUNICH and MILAN Warner Bros. Discovery said HBO Max is expanding into Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein on Jan. 13, 2026, and ...
04/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO AudioShake has launched its first streaming-capable software development kits (SDKs) designed specifically for real-time music detection and copyr...
04/12/2025
NASHVILLE The mobile and REMI production company TNDV has announced that it headed south into Mexico to live-produce the three-day 2025 Zane Grey Championship P...
04/12/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Hollywood Professionals Association Executive Director Phil Kubel has stepped down from the organization to pursue new opportunities, the group ...
04/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission said it has closed 2,048 inactive proceedings, the largest number of dormant dockets ever terminated in a singl...
04/12/2025
A new tech blog from Netflix highlights the importance of the AV1 open video codec, which now powers about 30% of the platform's streaming and discusses a v...
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ever The event will be streamed free and broadcast live in three languages By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
