World TeamTennis Returns With Marathon Tourney at The Greenbrier in West Virginia CBS, ESPN, and Tennis Channel will carry live coverage of three-week event By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 - 10:28 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
World TeamTennis is the latest pro league to embrace the bubble concept, taking over at The Greenbrier in West Virginia for a three-week season featuring nine teams and a limited number of fans in the stands. With strict health and safety guidelines in place to protect the crew, WTT's broadcast-production team will have produced 66 matches in 19 days from the luxury resort by the time the Final airs on CBS on Aug. 2.
For its return to live tennis coverage, WTT will deploy a studio desk with a single host.
It is a daunting task: we have three matches a day, sometimes four, says WTT Executive Producer Jim Townsend. We have an [onsite] truck environment, and we will be rotating people in and out with two crews a day. We will social-distance as best as we can, and everybody will be wearing masks. We will try to keep it [familiar to viewers], but it will be a lot different from anything we've ever done before.
In addition to CBS's first-ever broadcast of the WTT Final, the entire 66-match season will be televised or live-streamed on various platforms: CBS Sports Network carrying 13 regular-season WTT matches (plus the Semifinals on Aug. 1), ESPN2 airing 10 matches, ESPN+ live-streaming 25, Tennis Channel televising 19 matches, and the CBS Sports app and Facebook Watch live-streaming five matches.
Across every platform, fans can watch every single match, says World TeamTennis CEO Carlos Silva. We're grateful to have everyone, and I think all the broadcast partners are happy to have us as well. They've all been playing a lot of reruns, as we know, over the last couple of months. So I think everyone's excited to have us in their lineups, and it's great to have all 66 matches on.
The Venue: WTT, The Greenbrier Make Health and Safety Top Priority
When the WTT Celebrity All-Star Match concluded on March 1, the league fully expected to return on July 12 with its traditional home-and-away model for the regular season. However, when the coronavirus pandemic rocked the sports world, WTT quickly pivoted and began searching for a central location to host the 2020 season.
The Greenbrier in West Virginia offers a serene setting for the bubble housing the 2020 WTT season.
We quickly came to the realization that flying nine teams around in cities like New York, Philly, Chicago, DC, Vegas, and others was not going to happen, so we started looking at different options, says Silva. After looking at several [venues in] different states, The Greenbrier jumped in with a proposal that was very competitive. In hindsight, I think we probably look smart in choosing West Virginia because it remains very low in [COVID-19 cases] right now.
WTT has rolled out Ross Production Services' RMP6 truck to house its production team. WTT is operating two shifts of crews for all positions - an early shift and a late shift - to produce matches throughout each day. The truck is thoroughly cleaned between shifts, and all personnel are required to wear masks at all time and are assigned their own headset for the entire 19-day effort.
Ross Production Services has rolled out its RMP6 truck for the WTT productions, and PSSI is providing a sat uplink.
All personnel onsite were tested and delivered a negative result in their home city within five days of traveling to The Greenbriar and were required to complete another test on arrival. After testing negative (and being quarantined in their hotel rooms for the 24-hour testing period), they were able to enter The Greenbriar compound. In addition, they have their temperature checked when entering the stadium each day. WTT will also require a mid-season test for all players and staff. CLICK HERE for a detailed look at WTT's safety protocols.
The WTT will be one of the rare U.S. sports events to welcome fans, permitting 500 fans per day to enter the 2,500-capacity stadium at The Greenbriar. All fans must pass a temperature test, wear masks at all times, and maintain social distance throughout the lower bowl.
WTT on-air talent are onsite to call the action at The Greenbrier, but they are socially distanced.
In addition to the main stadium, WTT has set up a backup indoor court to ensure that all 66 matches are completed in case of inclement weather (matches can be moved inside in just 20 minutes). Fans will not be allowed access to the indoor court, but WTT has deployed a full complement of cameras to cover the matches should they move inside.
One challenge has been long fiber and Ethernet runs across a historic property not wired for connectivity, explains Paul Casey, SVP, engineering and technology, WTT. However, keeping to a single venue for the season creates a lot of efficiencies. We set up our equipment twice for the season: an outdoor court setup and another indoors for weather contingency.
On the Court: More Robos, No Camera Operators at Court Level
Court coverage is provided by nine cameras: the main game unit, a tight/follow shot, four robos (two on the court, one in the booth, one for interviews), a reverse shot, one at the host desk, and two Marshall POVs (wide shot and umpire cam). WTT made an effort to deploy minimal crew onsite and converted its low-level cameras to robos (no operators are allowed at court level) with robo operators located in a remote building far from the main compound.
It will look different, as does everything these days, but we're trying as hard as we can not to have it look that different, says Townsend. The [court-level] cameras will essentially be in the [usual] position, just operated remotely.
A limited n
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
World TeamTennis Returns With Marathon Tourney at The Greenbrier in West Virginia CBS, ESPN, and Tennis Channel will carry live coverage of three-week event By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
