Tennis Channel International Responds to Pandemic With Live Programming The OTT service has streamed more than 1,000 matches since its launch in May By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 12:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
When Tennis Channel International was launched in Germany last May, the OTT service didn't intend to broadcast live tennis programming. But COVID-19 and its impact on the tennis world opened up opportunities that were unforeseen only months earlier.
When we launched, says Tennis Channel SVP, international, Andy Reif, we thought live rights would not be available for two or three years, and our whole strategy was going to be classic matches and original features. But, when COVID happened and the tours were disrupted, there were exhibitions popping up, and Tennis Channel started discussions with those exhibitions.
Tennis Channel International picked Germany for its initial app because tennis is so popular in the country.
The impact has been large. The service has shown more than 1,000 live matches and was the official streaming partner of the ATP 500 Hamburg European Open and even the DTB German Tennis Championships (which never had a media partner before) in December.
Those championships did incredibly well and even had stronger viewership in Germany than the Hamburg Open, which had global players, says Reif. It showed there was an opportunity to be a major focus with live tennis and original programming.
The idea behind Tennis Channel International, he notes, was to bring some cohesion to a sport that has different tours, four independently run Grand Slams, and rights deals that can sometimes make it hard for fans to find the information they want.
The central concept was to be the meeting place for tennis fans, a place to grow and tell the story of tennis in multiple ways, says Reif. The Tennis Channel is that place here in the U.S., but the rest of the world does not have that central meeting place for tennis.
Figuring out how to launch an OTT service on a global basis is a challenge for any organization, and Reif and the team decided to focus their efforts on countries that have strong tennis federations.
We looked to see where tennis is popular and where there are a lot of players who play at least one time a month. Those countries tend to have strong tennis federations, he explains. We also wanted to launch where SVOD services are popular, people are used to paying for streaming, and there is an infrastructure to support it.
Germany, whose Deutscher Tennis Bund (DTB) has 1.4 million members, was the initial focus, and a partnership was formed. A subscription service priced at approximately $2.75 per month was launched with Sportradar, which oversees the app.
Tennis Channel International began live-streaming matches during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the pay service up and running, Reif says, attention turned to the launch of a free ad-supported streaming-TV service via Samsung, with technology partner Amagi powering the look and feel of the service.
We use the FAST channel to build awareness for TCI, and then fans can migrate over to the subscription service, says Reif. It was launched on Samsung TV Plus in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and also in the UK in advance of launching the app this year.
FAST gives people a lean-back experience, and Reif notes that the 24/7 channel is fully programmed with the tennis fan in mind, with weekly and monthly themes.
Amagi allows us to put in dynamic graphics so it looks like a channel and not just a playlist, he says.
Along with 24/7 content, fans will also find hundreds of hours of VOD content. The production team dove into thousands of hours of content created for Tennis Channel to find the content that would best appeal to a global audience.
Now, when I go to our service, says Reif, there is thousands of hours of stuff to watch, which is incredible to me.
And something truly original is MatchCast, a live-scoring application that allows fans to follow the match live from nearly any device.
Something like that has never existed for tennis fans, Reif points out. Sportradar is our technology partner for that, allowing fans to watch every match in the world live and follow how a point and a match play out, as well as stats and data.
MatchCast is still in beta test, but Reif expects it to be a hit for fans who want to be able to follow any match at any tournament and at any time. Hard-core fans will want to follow different matches even if they can't watch it.
Obtaining original content from around the world is important, and a team of preditors (people who both produce and edit content) travel with the tour and are focused on tennis 365 days a year.
The MatchCast app allows fans to follow matches live from nearly any device.
They have access to footage and interviews to tell the story of tennis, and, at the end of the day, that is the goal, he says. We have features on players, human-interest stories, and access to anything that was created for the linear channel.
Speaking of the linear channel, Tennis Channel is moving to a new production facility in Los Angeles, where it will have multiple sets and sound stages that could play a big role moving forward.
We will be able to create global and also local content as we can keep the lights and the cameras on and shoot German or French versions of shows, notes Reif. As we grow, we will see more opportunities to take a global service and localize it. It will become more impressive for the tennis fan.
Plans for this year include a launch in both the UK and Australia, keeping the service on a positive trajectory despite tumultuous times.
We're happy with how much we have accomplished in a crazy time as we launched a subscription service, a 24/7
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
01/07/2026
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy: A Reimagined, Hands-On Learning Expe...
01/07/2026
Amplium Captures Kawasaki Brave Thunders Game with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersiv...
01/07/2026
Boris FX Optics Expands Plugin Support to Apple Photos, Capture One, and Affinit...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
Tennis Channel International Responds to Pandemic With Live Programming The OTT service has streamed more than 1,000 matches since its launch in May By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
