Samsung Electronics, a global partner of Street League Skateboarding (SLS), announced that the Galaxy S26 Ultra was used to film a live Street League Skateboarding (SLS) competition for the first time during the SLS DTLA Takeover on April 4. The pro-grade camera of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is redefining the role of mobile devices in sports, offering a fresh visual experience that captures the intensity of skateboarding.
Sports broadcasting is evolving, with a focus on bringing fans closer to the action by positioning cameras nearer to the events. Samsung is at the forefront of this change, leveraging the Galaxy camera system to achieve broadcast-level performance through enhanced connectivity and mobility. Earlier this year, Samsung’s flagship device was used to stream the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. In collaboration with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), Galaxy devices were embedded throughout the venue, providing a new layer of visual storytelling that complemented traditional broadcast coverage. These capabilities were showcased at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026, demonstrating its ability to deliver professional-grade video capture and transmission.
Samsung is now leading this transformation in skateboarding competitions by embedding the Galaxy S26 Ultra directly into key course features like rails, ledges, and gaps throughout the entire SLS 2026 season. This initiative fully scales the Galaxy POV (point of view) first introduced at the 2026 SLS Sydney stop.
“Mobile innovation is opening new possibilities for how sports are captured and experienced,” said Joshua Cho, Executive Vice President and Head of the Visual Solution Team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics. “At Milano Cortina, we demonstrated how Galaxy technology can complement traditional broadcast systems. With Street League Skateboarding, we’re bringing that same approach directly into the course with our newest, most advanced device camera, and using mobile POV to capture skateboarding from entirely new perspectives.”
Embedded throughout the course, these devices provide skater-level perspectives, offering angles that traditional broadcast systems often cannot capture. This footage feeds directly into the live production workflow, enabling near-instant replay and offering viewers a fresh visual experience that reflects the intensity of the sport itself.
From speed to the precision of every landing, skateboarding is defined by details that are often lost from a distance. With mobile cameras placed directly inside the course, Samsung is reimagining how the sport is experienced, bringing fans closer to each mid-air movement, board flip, and landing. These new perspectives offer deeper insight into technique, timing, and control while strengthening the connection between fans, the sport, and the athlete.
Featuring Samsung’s most advanced mobile imaging system to date, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is designed to perform in fast-moving, unpredictable environments, much like the athletes themselves. It delivers professional-grade camera performance and high-quality footage across a wide range of shooting conditions with enhanced stabilization, intelligent processing, and the ability to maintain clarity in low-light or high-speed conditions. This allows it to operate alongside conventional cameras while maintaining clarity, stability, and detail within spaces traditional broadcast cameras cannot easily access.
The placement of Galaxy S26 Ultra devices follows the rhythm and flow of each run, revealing the style, speed, and precision of each trick from within the course itself. Galaxy features also extend the creative possibilities of production. Features such as Super Steady with horizontal lock stabilization help maintain smooth, level footage even during high-speed motion, while Instant Slow-Mo enables detailed replay of tricks as they happen. Together, these capabilities allow production teams to capture skateboarding with greater clarity, stability, and proximity — showcasing the precision, style, and technical skill behind every movement.
“Skateboarding is reaching more people than ever before, especially as the sport continues to grow on the global stage,” said Brett Clarke, Chief Revenue Officer at Thrill Sports, the parent company of Street League Skateboarding. “Collaborations like the one we have with Samsung help us evolve how the sport is shared with fans while staying true to the creativity and culture that define skateboarding.”
The debut of Galaxy S26 Ultra POV integration at the SLS DTLA Takeover signals where sports broadcasting is heading next. As the SLS Championship Tour continues, Samsung will explore how mobile technology can evolve into versatile broadcast tools. Looking ahead to major global sporting events and the road to Los Angeles 2028, this shift suggests a future in which the boundary between smartphone camera and broadcast camera continues to disappear, bringing fans closer to the action.
