
Tennis Channel Moves to Sinclair's Santa Monica Facility With IP-Based Workflows, New Studio Devlin Design Group is responsible for the look of the new studio By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor
Thursday, November 11, 2021 - 2:41 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As the home of 24/7 tennis, Tennis Channel spent an extended time at its headquarters in Culver City, CA. One pandemic later, the network has moved to owner Sinclair Broadcast Group's operations center in Santa Monica, CA, to leverage a full SMPTE 2110 IP backbone and a new studio designed by Devlin Design Group.
This is a state-of-the-art facility, says Bob Whyley, SVP, production/executive producer, Tennis Channel. Where we were [vs.] where we are now is black and white. Our first live show was a month after [the building opened], and we never would've been able to do that in our old building.
COVID-Era Construction: Safety Protocols, New Workflows Serve Up Challenges The project began two years ago. The initial stages progressed without many issues, but then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the Los Angeles metro area and halted construction. Once the project was back online, staffers and third-party vendors had to adhere to stringent safety protocols established not only by the company but also by local and federal agencies.
Tennis Channel's lobby at Sinclair's facility in Santa Monica, CA. (Photo: Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging)
Near the end of the process, in October 2020, Sinclair Broadcast Group VP, Engineering and Technical Operations, Bruno Brunelle joined the company to push this ambitious endeavor over the finish line. With him on board, the network worked closely with Diversified to install an Imagine Communications IP-based infrastructure comprising the company's Selenio Network Processors, Versio playout platform, and Magellan SDN Orchestrator. COVID-19 presented its own set of issues, but these new SMPTE 2110 technologies meant a difficult learning curve.
You have to be fearless to go in with the new technologies, says Brunelle. They sometimes don't communicate, so the translation that happens [requires] a lot of support. It was quite a challenge, and we needed to be organized.
The resulting organization prompted development of certain tech redundancies. As the Tennis Channel slowly closed out its former home in Culver City, Brunelle and his tech team created a copy of each of the new products now in the Santa Monica facility to practice with before making the move. This decision also synchronized crews in the old building to the new building during the transition, and, with Sinclair improving workflows throughout the year, the facility now houses other operations besides Tennis Channel.
The Wall of Tennis Stars in Tennis Channel's new facility celebrates the sport's champions. (Photo: Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging)
We had some connection to [Tennis Channel] in order to track the activity in each of the two buildings, he says. We changed a few things [to flatten] the learning curve, but, as we started progressing, we've added another control room and studio for Bally Sports West.
Santa Monica Studios: New Set Features Dynamic Movement The Santa Monica facility is now being used more than 300 days a year, but a packed tournament schedule has made Tennis Channel one of its busiest occupants. To usher in a new era of the network, Whyley; Tennis Channel Executive Director, Creative Services, Chris Hiller; and Sinclair Director, TV Production, Mark Nadeau recruited Devlin Design Group (DDG) to construct a new-look studio. Because the project was greenlighted by Tennis Channel and Sinclair at the onset of the pandemic, weekly discussions about the design happened over Zoom. The resulting concept invoked the kinetic energy and dynamic movement that have become synonymous with tennis.
From left: Martina Navratilova, Steve Weissman, and Jon Wertheim at the new studio's main set. (Photo: Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging)
We had to create not only a very immersive environment for tennis fans but also a flexible environment that blends design with technology, explains Kartik Dakshinamoorthy, VP/scenic design director, Devin Design Group. The contemporary and modern materials are inspired by the sport, including the organic shape of the desk that looks like the arc of a tennis racket and background elements that represent the strings of the racket.
Other tennis-centric elements are a background with a changing dot pattern to emulate the bouncing of a tennis ball, Tennis Channel's branded colors, and white accents exemplifying the white lines on a tennis court.
To encourage large-scale movement, DDG constructed 18-ft.-high ceilings to allow sweeping shots with a jib camera. In addition, the studio features four storytelling backdrops representing the tennis majors: the color of clay for the French Open, green and purple for Wimbledon, etc. DDG wanted the on-air talent to feel comfortable enough in their new home to interact with these elements and use every square foot of the studio by moving around the set.
The studio's LED backgrounds feature elements of the sport, including tennis balls around the network's logo.
We wanted them to have the freedom to walk and talk around [the set], says Diane Fiolek, VP/creative services director, Devlin Design Group. [Tennis Channel was] going through a rebrand that was much more dynamic, so it felt like a whole new channel.
The new studio has become something of a symbiosis: the physical set is inspired by the on-air look, and the graphics package reflects some of these physical elements. Overall, Tennis Channel and Sinclair Broadcast Group are satisfied with the result.
Both the clients and the fans have enjoyed this look, adds Dakshinamoorthy. We're extremely prou
More from Sports Video Group
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
When MMA icons Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano meet inside the Hexagon at Intuit Do...
14/05/2026
Sweetwater and Airstream have announced a custom-built Dolby Atmos mobile recording studio inside an Airstream trailer, set to tour music festivals, schools, tr...
14/05/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has announced a new par...
14/05/2026
ESPN has announced plans to transform Santa Monica Beach into a broadcast hub du...
14/05/2026
Amagi has announced a significant update to Amagi CLOUDPORT, its cloud-based broadcast playout platform. The update includes 250-plus features shipped in FY25-2...
14/05/2026
Clear-Com will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005, June 17-19, Las Vegas Convention Center), introducing a new product that builds on Arcadia Central Station...
14/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D3-1, Singapore Expo, May 20-22), introducing two new viewfinders alongside its existing camera, control, and...
14/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside ...
14/05/2026
NAGRAVISION, a Kudelski Group company, has announced a partnership with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to launch Play Snooker,...
14/05/2026
Belden Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire RUCKUS Networks from Vistance Networks for approximately $1.85 billion. The transaction has been app...
14/05/2026
NVIDIA has released the Content Localization Blueprint, a modular reference arch...
14/05/2026
Disney has announced that Disney will be the exclusive U.S. streaming home of the Banana Bowl, the Banana Ball league season championship, streaming live this ...
14/05/2026
Arkona technologies and technology partner manifold will demonstrate their production solutions on the Magna Systems and Engineering stand (Booth 5D1-1) at Broa...
14/05/2026
Haivision will host a webinar on Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET cov...
14/05/2026
The CW Network and ESPN have announced a sublicense broadcast agreement for The CW to televise ACC football and men's and women's college basketball gam...
14/05/2026
The agreement marks Scripps Sports' first NBA local rights deal...
14/05/2026
A new report from education-technology company Wiingy testing post-ChatGPT predictions against three years of real-world data has identified broadcasting as one...
14/05/2026
Global Citizen and FIFA have announced that Madonna, Shakira, and BTS will headl...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...