
2023 French Open: Tennis Channel Deploys Hybrid Workflow for First-Ball to Last-Ball Coverage Now in its 20th year, the 24-hour network aims to continue history of innovation By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - 10:48 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Nonstop action is a hallmark of Tennis Channel, and, in one of its biggest productions of the year, the French Open, the network is transporting viewers in the U.S. and around the globe to the clay courts of Roland Garros with a full slate of on-court and studio programming.
The amount of [coverage] that we have of the French Open is the most impressive thing that we do, says Bob Whyley, SVP, production/executive producer, Tennis Channel. This is our 17th year at this tournament, and we're extremely excited to be here.
NEP Ceres is back at Roland Garros to handle Tennis Channel's onsite production. (All photos: Fred Mullane/CameraWork USA)
To overcome the long distance between Tennis Channel's IP-based facility in California and the venue in Paris - they're more than 5,500 miles apart - the operations team has chosen a hybrid production model. Deployed for last year's edition, NEP Ceres will once again be in the compound to handle onsite necessities and supply a basis for the more than 100 credentialed personnel on hand. For a major production relying on a large crew and lots of equipment, Whyley and his team wanted to bring back a truck that worked extremely well in 2022.
Whether it be various court feeds, Hawkeye, announce booths, or press-conference rooms, he says, we have nearly 100 sources coming [to the truck]. We also have an RF camera that'll be roaming the grounds to give at-home viewers an opportunity to see how amazing this tournament is.
In the States, more than a dozen employees fulfill a multitude of responsibilities from multiple control rooms at network headquarters. A 3G pipeline connects them to the crew in France. Of that, 2G is dedicated to 24 individual court feeds being transmitted to the network's linear and digital partners, including Bally Sports' regional sports networks, the Tennis Channel Plus direct-to-consumer platform, the 1-year-old T2 FAST channel, and DirecTV's Mosaic viewing option with added commentary. The other 1G is used for remote editing, with three ENG crews gathering content and sending it via Signiant's file-transfer service.
Tennis Channel's Bob Whyley is heading up the network's 17th production at Roland Garros.
A massive endeavor like the French Open requires every crew member to bring their A game. The back-to-back, week-by-week nature of the sport has created a familiar rhythm for the production and operations teams, but Whyley stresses the importance of remaining organized and prepared.
We have divergent paths of bandwidth that come back to our [stateside] facility, he explains. If there's something [wrong] with one path, we can go to the other. In case something happens, we also have dirty world feeds that we can cut in an emergency at master control.
The game of tennis can take productions across the continent of Europe, with the crew constructing different sets in different locations. With the French Open starting soon after the 2023 Italian Open in Rome, the network needed to deploy onsite teams in two cities over the past week. After two weeks of setup, fans are treated to a picturesque set featuring on-air talent Steve Weissman, Prakash Amritraj, Chanda Rubin, and Jon Wertheim.
We have a beautiful set that's just outside of Musketeers Garden, says Whyley. We also have [connectivity] to the two main courts - Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen - so, if we're not bringing [the winner] to the desk, we'll interview them on the court.
Nearly 100 video feeds come in to the control room in the compound at Roland Garros.
Although the 2023 French Open will be the main priority, the Tennis Channel will use the tourney to highlight its 20th year. Working at the 24/7 home of all things tennis for two decades, Whyley was in at the beginning and has seen the technology evolved in numerous leaps. And the network has been at the center of them as one of the first to implement new workflows.
In 2003, programming was distributed in standard definition, but, when high definition became the go-to a few years later, Tennis Channel made the transition in a facility opening in Culver City, CA, in 2007. The same year, the network made a concerted effort to share multiple video feeds of tournaments to its audience online for free. Trends like 3D made their way into the mix at the French Open in the late 2000s, but one of the most noteworthy breakthroughs was the development and launch of Tennis Channel Plus in 2014.
Today, in a media-production landscape dominated by technologies like 4K, UHD, and IP and marked by fans' voracious appetite for content, Whyley's next task is to satisfy the cravings of the audience while staying ahead of the technological curve.
From left: Tennis Channel analysts Brett Haber, Caroline Wozniacki, and Lindsay Davenport at Court Philippe Chatrier
I've had the privilege of seeing where we started and how far we've come, he says. We take a lot of pride in being able to give our viewers everything that the game has to offer. Now we need to figure out ways to make sure that our product is seen by as many people as possible.
The network's success is on pace to continue in the right direction, reinforced by the guidance of Tennis Channel Chairman/CEO Ken Solomon and EVP/COO/CFO Bill Simon as well as by technical support from colleagues at Sinclair Broadcast Group, including SVP, Sports Engineering and Production Systems, Don Roberts; VP, Engineering and Technical Operations, Bruno Brunelle; and President, Techn
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
23/03/2026
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has renewed its multi-year partnership wi...
23/03/2026
The Snow League has named Google Cloud as its Official Cloud and AI Partner. The...
23/03/2026
Chyron has appointed Eric Wolff as Director of Venues Sales, North America. Wolff previously served as Director of Broadcast Operations & Media Production for T...
23/03/2026
Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) and Weigel Broadcasting's WCIU (The U, ch. 26.1) will simulcast 10 Chicago White Sox games during the 2026 season, the compani...
23/03/2026
Cosm has appointed Jon Werbeck as Vice President, Head of Sponsorships. He will report to Corey Breton, Head of Venues, and will focus on corporate sponsorship ...
23/03/2026
CP Communications has announced a partnership with Mark Roberts Motion Control (...
23/03/2026
NAB Show 2026, taking place April 18-22 (exhibits April 19-22) at the Las Vegas ...
23/03/2026
Bay FC and free streaming platform Victory have announced a partnership through...
23/03/2026
Gemini AI models will surface hidden context around pitches, matchups, rare stat...
23/03/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
23/03/2026
Growing from broadcast engineer to strategic planner, this Ithaca College grad h...
23/03/2026
16 Science-Focused Nonfiction Projects Selected for Funding
LOS ANGELES, CA, March 23, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films announced toda...
23/03/2026
It's been 20 years since Miley Cyrus introduced the world to Hannah Montana,...
23/03/2026
Made entirely from real natural recordings
Aimed at sound designers and editors working in film, TV and game audio, the latest release from BOOM Library com...
23/03/2026
Transcribe sheets, tabs or MIDI from audio files
Klang.io have announced the launch of a new AI-powered software tool that's capable of detecting multip...
23/03/2026
An auxiliary target has been affixed to the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage f...
23/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/03/2026
Pro8mm, the Super 8 experts, provided cameras, Super 8 movie film, and scanning services for Bruno Mars' Risk It All music video. The debut single from Br...
23/03/2026
Matthews, introduces their first aluminum grid clamp collection, engineered for the rigging needs of film, television and live production. Combining light weigh...
23/03/2026
Monday 23 March 2026
Hacks, the multi-Emmy -winning Sky Exclusive comedy, retur...
23/03/2026
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Reignites for a Second Season With th...
23/03/2026
Autonomous agents mark a new inflection point in AI. Systems are no longer limited to generating responses or reasoning through tasks. They can take action: Age...
23/03/2026
RT is sad today to learn of the death of legendary RT Sport broadcaster Michael Lyster, who died this morning aged 71 years.
Kevin Bakhurst, Director-General...
23/03/2026
RT Documentary On One has scooped its first ever dedicated music award. At the 2026 Icelandic Music Awards, composer lfur Eldj rn won Release of the Year in t...
23/03/2026
Inside Sport, Liveline, Morning Ireland and 2FM DRIVE will all be in Prague to bring fans to the heart of the action
Every Moment, Every GenerationRT | FIFA W...
22/03/2026
Free updates now available
VSL have just released some free updates that add some existing features to a selection of libraries in their expansive Synchron ...
22/03/2026
Back to All News
Live-Action Sins of Kujo' Premieres April 2: Main Trailer and Key Art Debut
Entertainment
22 March 2026
GlobalJapan
Link copied to cl...
21/03/2026
Presented to War Child UK's HELP(2) project
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have announced the launch of the MPG Impact Award, a brand-new honour that w...
21/03/2026
Microtuning support for Arabic, Persian & Turkish scales
The latest release from Best Service brings together a selection of string, wind and percussion ins...
21/03/2026
New campaign from NAATI and SBS CulturalConnect highlights how we all deserve t...
21/03/2026
Statement regarding Rhoda Roberts AO
21 March, 2026
Media releases
SBS is deeply saddened by the passing of Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Na...
21/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/03/2026
Cine Gear Connect NY, presented by Universal Production Services, is filling in the slate for a full day of panels, peers, learning the latest, and mixing it up...
21/03/2026
Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 20, 2026
0 Comments
StudioComm Model 794 Central Controller and Model ...
21/03/2026
Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K
Brie Clayton March 20, 2026
0 Comments
PYXIS' open gate provides cre...
20/03/2026
Net Insight will introduce a JPEG XS solution for full IP environments at NAB Sh...
20/03/2026
LTN has expanded its technology partnership with Harmonic ahead of the FCC's...
20/03/2026
Solid State Logic will preview SSL Live V6.2 at NAB Show, booth C6907. The softw...
20/03/2026
FUJIFILM North America Corporation's Optical Devices Division has announced ...