The USMNT’s match against Uruguay in the Copa América Group C Finale barely got underway Monday night when livid fans began complaining about the FS1 broadcast.
Fans blasted the extremely high camera placement at Kansas City’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which some said made the players look like ants. Everyone agreed it made the action harder to follow.
And soccer fans weren’t the only ones ridiculing the terrible placement. FS1 broadcasters John Strong and Stu Holden also criticized the situation early in the match. Both FS1 and Univision, which also broadcast the game in the U.S., took their feed from Copa América broadcaster HBS.
What could, or should, the broadcast have looked like? Here’s a look at an MLS match broadcast from Arrowhead earlier this year on Apple TV.
The exact camera placement should have been available for the HBS production team. Sports media pros and fans blasted the broadcaster’s decision to use that camera angle.
And there were so many complaints about the camera angles that midway through the first half, the view changed angles.
So Camera 1 is now where it has been for every US-produced broadcast since MLS started. Which means a camera was re-purposed and re-built there. Which means the original angle was a choice.
— Chris Alexopoulos (@chriszop) July 2, 2024
[Fox Sports]