Live from Wimbledon 2022: AELTC's Paul Davies on balancing innovation & tradition By George Bevir
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 - 10:15
Print This Story
(L-R) James Muir, broadcast technical manager; Paul Davies, head of broadcast, production & media rights; Georgina Green, broadcast & production manager
2022 has been a special year for Wimbledon, with the 100th anniversary of the first match to be played on the iconic Centre Court.
As the oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon is a famed observer of tradition, with players adhering to an all-white dress code and minimal advertising around the grounds. While the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) paid due reverence to Centre Court's 100th (more on this later), this year's tournament also saw a fairly significant break from the usual practice of play pausing on the middle Sunday of the two-week tournament.
A lot of the broadcasters used to still be on air on the middle of Sunday even though there wasn't any play, so one of the great advantages of having play is that the narrative continues and there's not that breaking in storytelling, says AELTC head of broadcast, production and media rights Paul Davies. Broadcasters love the idea and we're making the most of our resources.
While the continuation of play has been a boon for broadcasters, an arguably bigger shift is that for the first-time host broadcaster Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) committed to cover every single match.
Speaking with SVG Europe during the tournament, Davies says they decided to go deep into week two .
That includes some of the new events like the under-14 juniors, and the invitational events which are back this year but didn't happen last year, because of Covid.
So if broadcasters have got a an under-14 junior player from Peru or Italy, we can guarantee that they can receive coverage of that match. And then it's a question of whether they would like us to put commentary on it, which we generally can do because we commentate on 11 calls at any one time.
That means we can satisfy all the broadcasters around the world and they get value from their rights, because that's what it's all about seeing their players, as well as the top names, perform.
For broadcast technical manager James Muir, the additional coverage has been more of a logistical than technical challenge.
He says: We used to derig the southern end courts on the middle Sunday but because now the play extends the facility is already there doing the coverage, we just extend the time we keep it running.
There are some minor considerations around the amount of data storage as a result of having more coverage. But aside from more crew days, more equipment days and timing, it doesn't add any facility for us. That's why it's a good win for us; we can provide extra coverage without really having to rethink things.
In keeping with the theme of maximising coverage and output, this year has seen the culmination of a four-year project to digitise AELTC's archive of IMG-held content in order to make that content available as part of the marking of the 100th anniversary of the move to the current premises on Church Road, in southwest London.
Says Davies: There were probably 15,000 tapes and film stock that needed to be either transferred or interrogated to find out exactly what we had. There was a pretty good understanding of what it contained, but it wasn't until we started going through the archive that we realised exactly what we had. The process uncovered some pretty magical items which we included in our centenary celebration on Centre Court on Sunday.
The celebration included setting up a stage and separate sound unit along with a grand piano and a procession of 25 past champions just minutes before play resumed on centre court.
It was hugely emotional and had everybody in tears, but as a technical and logistical achievement for the for the whole club and for WBS, it was quite exceptional, says Davies.
Return from remote
While last year's Wimbledon was delivered with a reduced number of staff - and spectators - this year has seen a return to pre-pandemic levels. All of our studios, all of our production suites, edit facilities, stand-up positions on the roof, are all absolutely booked out. We've always been blessed to have huge interests from our broadcast partners to want to be on site, says Davies.
In response to that ongoing demand, AELTC is improving and expanding its facilities in southwest London. Visitors to this year's tournament may have noticed some construction work, with a new media facility being built to house interviews and press conferences. And, in 2018, the AELTC bought neighbouring Wimbledon Park golf club to provide it with room for expansion.
IMG-produced channel Wimbledon Uncovered
We are on a physical journey across the site, which centres on the long-term plan for the golf course, says Davies. We are tripling our footprint; the golf course site will provide new infrastructure in terms of additional tennis courts, but we also need to consider what we do from a media perspective. We've got the fairly old-fashioned studios upstairs, which are relatively small. Also, we're really trying to get broadcasters outdoors.
We want to showcase tennis in an English garden, so we want to see people presenting Wimbledon from outdoors but we have to enable them to do so. One of the ways we are doing that is via the new media pavilion which will allow us to put new outdoor presentation platforms on the second and third tier.
We are on a journey with our broadcasters to give them enhanced facilities, but also to get them out and about across the grounds and eventually, in probably six to eight years' time, to the site of the old golf course.
Read more Game, set and ma
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
Live from Wimbledon 2022: AELTC's Paul Davies on balancing innovation & tradition By George Bevir 
