HBS and F d ration Fran aise de Tennis bring the score to deuce for Roland Garros 2021 By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, June 21, 2021 - 09:31
Print This Story
2021 at Roland Garros marked the first time in 30 years that French incumbent, France T l visions, had not held the reigns over the production, instead with F d ration Fran aise de Tennis with host broadcaster, HBS, setting a new standard
Host Broadcast Services (HBS) has just completed its first Grand Slam at Roland Garros as the new host broadcaster alongside partner, F d ration Fran aise de Tennis (FFT), managing the first event of the three year agreement with confidence.
This year the FFT put itself in control of the broadcast of the event, ramping up both the production quality and what it provides for rights holding broadcasters. For HBS, this has meant working hard to fulfil the dreams and desires of its new partner to push the French Open onwards and upwards.
The FFT aimed high for 2021, marking the first time in 30 years that French incumbent, France T l visions, had not held the reigns over the production. To make the FFT's ambitions come true, HBS bought in approximately 740 staff for the host broadcast operation. They worked tirelessly to produce over 800 tennis matches during the course of the three week tournament.
High production quality
On the production workflow, Philippe Oziol, HBS project director for Roland Garros tells SVG Europe: The production of the main courts is natively in UHD (HDR and SDR) with native UHD main cameras and upconverted/upmapped sources for additional shots and GFX. The rest of the productions is 1080p. Delivery to broadcasters is proposed in UHD HDR, UHD SDR, 1080p SDR and 1080i.
For rights holders we have a media server providing access to all the content generated around the event, offering differing standards based on the rights holders' needs whether premium or standard subscriptions - and offering on or off-site access
He goes on: Production is UHD HDR native on the Philippe-Chatrier court, UHD SDR on Suzanne-Lenglen, Simonne-Mathieu and court 14, and 1080p50 for all others production. The action is covered by 116 wired cameras (42 UHD natives), 15 RF cameras and seven ENG crews. Distribution is centralised at the MCR/CIR for on-site delivery with Eurovision delivering the worldwide transmission.
The FFT has created a new TV compound for 2021 based on temporary cabins, which will be fine-tuned year on year going forwards to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, when Roland Garros will host the tennis for both events.
Oziol explains the details of the new compound: The set up at the compound is structured around cabin-based galleries working with flyaway kits. The global workflow for the event is designed around 20 galleries: six main court galleries (UHD HDR/UHD SDR/3G); and 10 ViBox galleries for the outside courts. In addition, four galleries are available for additional content delivery (international super signals, FFT studio and stadium giant screen playout).
Everything is networked through the EVS system, which is based on a global workflow of 20 XT-VIA and 21 LSM-VIA remotes, sharing 168 sources between live replay operators, highlights and editing teams, he adds.
The operation is almost completely based on site, with match production, GFX, editing, and ENG crews all working from the Roland Garros complex. Notes Oziol: The only element we have off-site is the logging operation and media asset management, where we have 24 loggers based off-site at the HBS HQ in Boulogne-Billancourt, a few minutes' walk from the stadium. The logging operators are all connected into the same network as those working on site via the server we have based at the HB House, accessible through the cloud off-site.
Media server first
This year marks the first time Roland Garros has sported a media server for rights holders, which actually makes the French Open the first Grand Slam to provide this service for its broadcasters, greatly enriching the offering and therefore its coverage globally.
For rights holders we have a media server providing access to all the content generated around the event, offering differing standards based on the rights holders' needs whether premium or standard subscriptions - and offering on or off-site access, says Oziol.
The vision switchers used are mainly Grass Valley KFrame X, says Oziol. He adds: The Philippe-Chatrier vision mixer is a Sony XVS8000. Cameras are Sony HDC-3500, HDC-5500 (SSM and Ultra Motion), and Panasonic UE-150.
On whether HBS had decided to use IP or base band, Oziol says: The initial plan was a fully IP-based solution, [but] due to the change in dates of the event there had to be some adaptation to the set up. The IP-based solution was conserved for the central core audio and video resource sharing and distribution, while the production aspect has been handled with legacy core equipment linked via SDI<>IP gateways Imagine Selenio network processor.
Roland Garros took place from 24 May to 13 June 2021.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
HBS and F d ration Fran aise de Tennis bring the score to deuce for Roland Garros 2021 By Heather McLean, Editor 
