ATP Media is the latest major sports league to wade into the virtual-reality waters, teaming up with VR-production outfit LiveLike to produce matches live in VR from this week's BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA. The live VR experience, the first ever for pro tennis, features three camera angles from Stadium 2 matches and is being streamed to VR headsets inside a VIP viewing suite at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Virtual reality is something that we've been looking at for quite a while and have just been trying to find the right time to demo it, says ATP Media COO Stuart Taylor. Tennis is definitely great for the VR experience. We see VR as a potential development in the digital area and our TennisTV product for us. It's bringing fans closer to the action, even closer to the action no matter where they are in the world. They can get right up close to the stars of the ATP World Tour. It's about giving that money-can't-buy courtside experience or the thrills of men's tennis.
Inside the VR Offering at Indian Wells
LiveLike is using three unmanned, stationary Sony F-55 4K cameras outfitted with 8-15mmn Canon fisheye lenses to capture the three angles at Stadium 2. These feeds are integrated into an augmented-reality experience, created using Avid/Orad software, that features virtual videoboards above the court showing the linear feed of the match and simulates a luxury box as if the viewer were at the venue. In the virtual box suite, the viewer can switch between angles and see player statistics, while keeping track of the action via the linear-TV feed being shown on the virtual videoboard.
You can choose any of the angles, but then you also have the [virtual] Jumbotron showing the switched experience that's on your TV, including zoomed-in replays, highlights, and specific camera angles, says LiveLike Chief Business Officer Miheer Walavalkar. So, as a user, you get the best of both worlds because now you're sitting in the stadium but you can switch seats in the stadium at will and also see the director's cut on that giant display.
Keys to LiveLike VR: Camera-Agnostic, Small Footprint
LiveLike's production philosophy is camera-agnostic, according to Fabrice Lorenceau, co-founder/head of production, and the company has used a variety of Sony, Blackmagic Design, and RED 4K cameras on its productions. The Sony F-55 was selected for this production because the extreme shadows and harsh sun at Indian Wells necessitated a camera that offered as much latitude as possible.
We are using cameras that have large sensors because of the optics; obviously, when using an extreme wide-angle lens, we can work much better with a large sensor, says Lorenceau. We are investigating if there are any options with B4-mount [lens adaptors], but we haven't seen anything that has been appealing for our needs so far. Our goal is to be camera-agnostic and make it as broadcast-friendly as possible, but we also have to make it as high-quality an experience as possible, and we have yet to see a B4 option that fits those needs.
ATP Media and LiveLike's production from Indian Wells marks the first live VR production of pro tennis.
Walavalkar adds, The wide-angle fisheye lens is what really gives you that immersion. We have always been capture-agnostic, which has proven that we can create an amazing experience without the need for extensive specialty-camera rigs or stereoscopic rigs.
LiveLike's onsite footprint is extremely small, deploying just one camera operator to set up and manage all cameras, an augmented-reality engineer, a VR-streaming expert, and an AR engineer.
We have very limited space requirements, and our goal is to have as unobtrusive a setup as possible, Walavalkar explains. We have tried to make sure that, although we are innovating, we are also working within the confines of existing [broadcast infrastructure], because the more and more elements you add, the more complicated it gets. From a production standpoint, 3D TV was a big fad and then flopped [partially] because, from a production standpoint, it was very expensive and consumers did not [adopt] fast enough.
More VR Tennis To Come?
Taylor says that feedback from media, VIPs, and players like John Isner has been extremely positive, but he stops short of committing to productions in the near future.
We're just going to take this [VR content] back, look at our learnings, and assess it. We think it's an exciting possibility, but we need to discuss it internally and look at how VR can be part of ATP Media products in the future, he says. We are really focused on the live aspect because that is what our fans want to see on our products and on our broadcasts: live tennis. On-demand products would certainly complement the live product within the experience, but, for us, it's all about live.
As for LiveLike, which took home first place at TechCrunch's 1st And Future startup competition last month (winning $50,000 and a meeting with NFL execs), expect more live VR sports productions in the near future.
I think VR lends itself to tennis perfectly, and the setup is a similar setup for most stadium sports, says Walavalkar. Stadium sports are perfect for it, but, then again, we've also been thinking on looking into Formula 1 and golf, which are a different use case. In this case, you are switching seats in the stadium; in those cases, you are switching seats on the track or the course, where you don't normally get access.
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
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...
21/10/2025
Visual Data announces the appointment of Maz Al-Jumaili as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Localization, to advance client engagement, strategic partnerships, ...
ATP Media is the latest major sports league to wade into the virtual-reality waters, teaming up with VR-production outfit LiveLike to produce matches live in VR from this week's BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA. The live VR experience, the first ever for pro tennis, features three camera angles from Stadium 2 matches and is being streamed to VR headsets inside a VIP viewing suite at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
