Live From the US Open: ESPN's Jamie Reynolds Talks Production Philosophy, Ratings Boost Massive effort produces 1,300 hours of content for multiple platforms By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, September 5, 2019 - 12:04 pm
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As ESPN enters the homestretch at the US Open - its largest production of the year - the broadcaster's monumental production efforts look to be paying off. After 10 days of Open coverage, ESPN's 1.0 average overnight rating is up 25% from 0.8 a year ago. Through Tuesday, all key demos, including a 23% rise among female viewers and 11% among viewers age 18-34.
In total, more than 600 people (some onsite since mid July) are working to deliver more than 1,300 hours of content (including 160 hours on linear TV) from all 16 courts to ESPN's various platforms. That's in addition to ESPN's role as the host broadcaster of the event, serving the needs of networks around the world.
SVG sat down with ESPN VP, Production, Jamie Reynolds at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center this week to chat about ESPN's expanded coverage of the qualifying tournament, the success of its ACES semi-automated production system on outer courts, technology deployed at Arthur Ashe Stadium and the other showcase courts, balancing host-feed and domestic-coverage responsibilities, the impact of ESPN streaming on his production philosophy, and more.
ESPN's Jamie Reynolds: Tennis is connecting with more fans, and that success helps this event become more robust and intriguing.
ESPN expanded its coverage of US Open qualifying this year on ESPN and ESPNEWS. How did that go, and how did your approach change from last year's?
Last year, we took over the host-broadcast responsibility for five courts for qualifying week, working with Tennis Channel and USTA, and really took that to the next level this year. I think we underestimated just how much excitement and how much equity there was in that event. You have all these rising stars coming up and then also have [well-known] players trying to get back into the main draw. You have these two ends of the spectrum that are both really attractive.
We also don't have the same sponsorship obligations and restrictions [as for the main draw], so you can actually gain access to players in the middle of practice. We can go and talk to people around the grounds as they're signing autographs, so that was very exciting. We came in with a more integrated approach and show that friendly atmosphere here - and less so the tension and the drama. It's an open ticket, so anybody can get in, and these players are walking around the venue interacting with the crowd. We had six to eight hours in the day where players and personalities were actually around for a half-hour set visit, as opposed to a three-minute hit between matches. It opened up the format a lot.
The ACES semi-automated production system is back on the outer courts. How has the production quality from those courts improved since its launch last year?
I think we've gotten much stronger on the ACES court experience. We've finally got all the Camera 1 robo positions oriented with the same perspective on every court. And we aligned the experience of the courts to a point where they were approximating the traditional linear court-coverage schemes.
SMT also had made a more sophisticated integration program for scoring and officiating this year. You have this dynamic where your graphics on screen are more dynamic relative to what is happening on the court, and the chair umpire activates [elements] automatically. I also think the tracking is a little softer and the camera moves are smoother, so it feels closer to a traditional [show-court] experience.
What are some of the key production highlights on the showcase courts?
Obviously, this venue has changed a lot over the past few years, and I think the USTA has finally got to the point where the entire venue feels like a consolidated theater, court-to-court. We've been taking advantage of that experience throughout the tournament.
On Ashe, we've been really happy with the new [courtside] LED screens, which change the texture of the experience on a court. That has been a huge boost to the visual presentation. We still rely on Spidercam and multiple Steadicam systems on Ashe to showcase the featured matchups so that you can feel the electricity and energy inside that venue. As much as we've made it a priority to go into more aerial coverage, we're now also adding to our ground-level interactive experience with those Steadicams.
Armstrong has worked its kinks out, and we've got the Camera 1 platform solidified so that it's at the level we expect it to be. And they've had some tremendous tennis out there this year.
I absolutely love the Grandstand experience, and it has been a terrific court to showcase on ESPN now that we have that [platform] to serve. We haven't had as much linear time there, but we've featured it prominently on the ESPN side.
I think our grounds coverage has been great, too. We have that two-point [FlyCam] system over the Fountain Plaza, which is always a great shot and takes advantage of the record crowds they have had this year. That has been a huge asset once again.
Please expand on how the new LED board on the court at Ashe has impacted ESPN's center-court-coverage strategy.
We have experienced that in-arena system [at the Australian Open] in Melbourne for several years. What's interesting here, though, is how much they really leaned into the color blue since Chase [is sponsoring], and blue is such prominent identification for the USTA and this venue. We have to keep a close eye on how that deep blue reads on camera and keep the branding alive.
We haven't seen a lot of the in-show eleme
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Live From the US Open: ESPN's Jamie Reynolds Talks Production Philosophy, Ratings Boost Massive effort produces 1,300 hours of content for multiple platforms By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
