
Wimbledon 2024: All-new ESPN broadcast centre adds flexibility and focus to coverage By Jo Ruddock
Thursday, July 11, 2024 - 16:55
Print This Story
It's been a year of change for ESPN at Wimbledon. Not only is it settling into a completely overhauled broadcast centre, complete with eye-catching new studios, but it's also working with a new vendor and adopting new broadcast video formats and a new production workflow.
Following an 18-month project, the roll out of a state-of-the-art new broadcast facility spread across two floors marks a transition to IP technology for ESPN. Following an extensive RFP, this year is also the first year of a new deal with EMG / Gravity Media.
We just went into a multi-year deal with EMG / Gravity, so this is their first time supplying our kit for the show, explains Larry Wilson, senior manager operations, ESPN. We were very comfortable with Gravity's technical solutions, as well as their pricing and the relationship that we've had with them on other slams, they also handle Roland-Garros, Australia and the US Open.
Going to RFP gave the team the opportunity to start from scratch and assess all the technologies and equipment that they wanted to deploy in the expansive new centre, which boasts expanded studio space, two new 1080p HDR control rooms, shared replay, graphics, and video areas, edit rooms and a whole host of technology innovations.
Sam Olsen, senior technical specialist, ESPN, adds: That was good to be able to specify an IP solution and switches with specific options and configurations that we wanted, the same with the audio consoles. We went all VIA in the EVS world and deployed a Riedel Bolero network across the site. And we continue the spirit with Gravity and with good partners, and we'll develop technology as it presents itself in the market.
Scale was one of the key reasons behind the decision to go down the IP route.
Olsen continues: The number of feeds that we take from hosts, coupled with the size of the system we have on site even as a rights holder, it made sense to go IP. We've got that scalability to continue to deliver whatever production asks for. The other thing is space. We've been able to put the engineers in a dedicated master control room and have a dedicated equipment room. But to fit everything into that, if that was done in an entirely baseband world, I don't think we would get everything into that room. So IP solutions just make sense.
As domestic rights holder for the US, ESPN is taking content from host broadcaster Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) so a lot of production could be done simply by putting the world feed on air, however ESPN opts to significantly enhance its coverage and IP is also enabling this.
Wilson explains: We have 25 additional unilateral cameras, we have our own graphics, we have our own edits, we have a massive 19 VIA servers that are downstairs doing ingest and replay, two control rooms, all that to customise that content from WBS for an American audience.
Olsen adds: On top of that, we've got the news operation for doing anything outside of tennis coverage on our linear networks, if we need to service SportsCenter or any other news and incident analysis that can be done as well, so we're supporting international as well.
We're already thinking about next year and how we can continue to deliver efficiencies and from the point of view of looking at potentially IP CCUs and so on, which will allow us to free up some of the baseband nodes so we can handle more third parties, more graphics and more on screen enhancements.
ESPN's coverage is also benefiting from a new 900sqft studio space (Studio 3), which is enabling the production team to be more flexible in their broadcasts, while also showing viewers the beauty of Wimbledon thanks to a 34ftx6ft window overlooking Court 18.
Wilson says: The studio changes the way that production thinks about how they want to handle the broadcasts. They can shoot four different sets within that one set. They've got their touchscreen, they've got their mega wall video display, they've got their four-person desk, and they've got a sit down position.
In addition, studio 12 has been enlarged by combining two studios and moving a corridor wall back, providing a more relaxed space for interviews. This has become our up close and personal type of operation, but it still has a lineage to what we're doing in the major studio, says Jamie Reynolds, executive producer, tennis. We're modernising and bringing the whole presentation up.
Despite the high-spec new space, the ESPN team is partially remote, with some graphics being handled from Connecticut.
Wilson explains: It's what we call our remco model where we have the hardware here, but we've essentially set up machine control to go down to Connecticut. Libero [Vizrt's enhanced graphic telestration system] is operated the same way. We're also delving into cloud-based edit as well. We have edits on site here and we're also doing edits in Connecticut, Florida, with producers in Bristol [Connecticut] and Chicago.
We're making calculated moves. We do have on site facilities for editing and cloud based for the graphics as well.
Reynolds adds: What we don't necessarily want to have happen is to become so electronically savvy that we make it more attractive to do this from Bristol, Connecticut, rather than being on site. There are pitfalls with both. Yes, it can be economically smarter, fiscally more responsible, to do things from a remote site, but you lose the intimacy, the connective tissue, you lose the ability to say, if you believe you're the steward of the sport, with what we do with the majors, if we're there our presence helps establish the community and we can be reactive.
For
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
18/09/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
18/09/2026
Qvest has appointed Jens Miedek as Senior Vice President Sales, Media and Entertainment. Before joining Qvest, Miedek spent 16 years at Riedel Communications an...
18/09/2026
Fonn Group has acquired full ownership of everviz, a cloud-native platform for interactive charts, maps, and data-driven graphics, and will rebrand it as Teikna...
18/09/2026
Other World Computing (OWC) has announced the acquisition of OpenDrives, a provider of software-defined video and rich media storage management solutions. The a...
18/09/2026
Kaltura and Verimatrix have announced a partnership integrating Verimatrix's Digital Rights Management and security capabilities into Kaltura's Cloud TV...
18/09/2026
The sixth edition of the World Nomad Games combined traditional sports, large-scale cultural performances, and some decidedly modern broadcast technology. Held ...
18/09/2026
DAZN and Super League Basketball (SLB) have extended their partnership for the 2026-27 season. Every Championship, Cup, and Play-Off fixture will be available l...
18/09/2026
Nielsen has announced that its Streaming Content Ratings (SCR) product will move from weekly to daily data delivery, with clients now receiving viewership data ...
18/09/2026
ESPN will present LALIGA's ElCl sico on ABC for the first time, with FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid airing Sunday, October 25 at 4 p.m. ET. A one-hour pre-mat...
18/09/2026
The University of Pennsylvania's Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate ...
18/09/2026
The Charlotte Hornets have announced DAZN as their exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming partner for the 2026-27 NBA season. The service launches immediately, ...
18/09/2026
Broadcast sports' original medium will let drivers keep on hearing the plays thanks to a new bill set to pass the Senate....
18/09/2026
Fourteen iPhone 18 Pro devices - eight connected over a T-Mobile Private 5G Netw...
18/09/2026
The Minnesota Lynx have announced that their final local broadcast of the 2026 regular season will air free on FOX 9 following the shutdown of Victory . The Ly...
18/09/2026
Monumental Sports Network (MNMT) has announced that its Monumental+ streaming service is now available as a subscription through Prime Video, giving Capitals an...
18/09/2026
WTGL, the women's team golf league created by TMRW Sports in partnership with the LPGA, has announced its inaugural season schedule. The season premieres Su...
18/09/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
18/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has won Best Journal Article at the 2026 IAMT Impact Awards for What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them, ...
18/09/2026
10 new voice models join line-up
The latest expansion for IK Multimedia's AI-powered vocal-modelling software has arrived, delivering a set of 10 new vo...
18/09/2026
A day of hands-on synthesis, sound design & performance
On Saturday 26 September 2026, The Museum of Synthesisers will be hosting a full day of hands-on syn...
18/09/2026
HPA is supporting Fix It or Risk It, a non-commercial, industry-wide public-service campaign helping organizations across the media and entertainment supply cha...
18/09/2026
AgileTV has successfully wrapped up its participation at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam, following four days of conversations with customers, partners and industry profe...
18/09/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, invites its shareholders and investors to a Virtual Investor Conference on Tuesday, September 29th, 2026, at 11.00 am.
...
18/09/2026
DHD reports a high level of interest in its range of audio production equipment on all four days of the September 11-14 International Broadcasting Convention in...
18/09/2026
Sonnet Announces Thunderbolt 5 eGPU With 850-Watt Power Supply and Integrated Do...
18/09/2026
DeckBridge adds live Resolve playback and Fairlight controls to Stream Deck
Brie Clayton September 17, 2026
0 Comments
DeckBridge starting profiles ac...
18/09/2026
Learn to arrange tracks using Color With Live's Free Stencil Pack
Brie Clayton September 17, 2026
0 Comments
Stencils are Color With Live's or...
18/09/2026
Berklee Establishes Susan Tedeschi Scholarship in Honor of Grammy-Winning Alumna The scholarship is announced as Tedeschi returns to headline the Berklee Bloc...
18/09/2026
The inside scoop on attention-grabbing market assets from those in the know 17 September 2026
(L-R): Sophie Green, Todd Brown and Edwina Waddy
Find this episo...
18/09/2026
Friday 18 September 2026
The new iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple Watch ...
18/09/2026
Senior Colorist Siggy Ferstl of Company 3 has been grading The Boys since the sh...
17/09/2026
Lions vs. Bills will also be the first regular-season game at new Highmark Stadi...
17/09/2026
Teradek has announced Bolt 7, a wireless video and data system that adds an integrated 900MHz radio to the Bolt's zero-delay video pipeline. The 900MHz chan...
17/09/2026
DAZN has announced three appointments to its executive leadership team, all reporting to CEO Shay Segev effective immediately.
Patrick Delany has been appointe...
17/09/2026
Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) has announced a leadership restructuring. Zach Leonsis has been named President and Vice Chairman, a newly created pos...
17/09/2026
CP Communications has been named Best of Florida for Audio-Visual Services, and its subsidiary Red House Streaming has been named Best Movie and Recording Studi...
17/09/2026
Scripps Sports and ION have announced a broadcast partnership for the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl, the nation's oldest college all-star football ...
17/09/2026
The 17th annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit, presented by Toyota, will take place October 14-16 at the Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, California, with virtual attend...
17/09/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...
17/09/2026
Lithuanian broadcaster LNK Group has completed a migration of playout and media management for its five national television networks - LNK, BTV, TV1, InfoTV, an...
17/09/2026
Net Insight has announced a pan-Asian live media network created with its regional partners, giving broadcasters, production companies, and media service provid...
17/09/2026
After a high school football injury, the Orlando native found a new path in video production, gaining experience on ESPN college football broadcasts, Tampa Bay ...
17/09/2026
Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool
Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...
17/09/2026
Promises unprecedented realism, dynamic nuance and clarity
Gibson have teamed up with acoustic pickup experts Baggs, creating a next-generation' pickup...
17/09/2026
Two new libraries join percussion line-up
VSL (Vienna Symphonic Library) have just launched two new libraries that bring some intriguing new instruments int...
17/09/2026
Hardware & plug-in versions gain new features
Arturia have just released a free update that brings some significant new features to their MiniFreak synthesi...
17/09/2026
Respected journalist Catalina Fl rez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News pre...