Je ne sais quoi: F d ration Fran aise de Tennis and HBS bring game, set and match to Roland Garros in first year of partnership By Heather McLean, Editor
Friday, June 11, 2021 - 09:00
Print This Story
Rafael Nadal faces off against Richard Gasquet on the Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros 2021
The French Open is taking place once again at Roland Garros in Paris, yet it is all change for this Grand Slam. 2021 sees the F d ration Fran aise de Tennis (FFT) and its new host broadcaster, HBS, taking the production over from France T l visions for the first time, as well as bringing in a plethora of enhancements for the production and to support rights holding broadcasters.
This year HBS has taken over the host broadcast of Roland Garros, stepping into the shoes of France T l visions, which had covered the event for the last 30 years. France T l visions had most recently been in charge of the production for the seven main courts, while FFT produced the outer courts remotely.
The FFT, with HBS, is producing a phenomenal amount of coverage in this first year of their partnership, despite the pandemic, with coverage of all courts including UHD HDR on the Philippe Chatrier court, with HDR SDR on Suzanne Lenglen, Simonne Mathieu and court 14.
Speaking to SVG Europe, Emilie Montan , director of media and production at the FFT, says: Normally 841 matches are produced. This year because we don't have the Legends [Trophy Tournament] we will only produce 832 matches. But this is like two football seasons in France; it's more than 5,000 hours of programming. It's really huge.
Taking control of the Grand Slam
Montan explains why FFT decided to take the production of this Grand Slam inhouse: Back in 2019 when we launched the domestic tender, we decided that the national broadcaster would not be host; the packages in the tender we [meant] it would be weird to have, let's say, a broadcaster producing matches for another incumbent. So we decided to inhouse it.
We are the first tennis event to have a media server. It's big news for this year. We know there is one for the Olympics and the World Cup, but as far as tennis is concerned I think it is the first time the broadcaster can use a media server
She adds: On top of that we wanted to be more in control of the production and to control the investment we wanted to make, which at some points was very difficult with France T l visions, because they have a different financial agenda. They were more or less [interested in] saving than investing, and asking over time for them to, let's say, put a spider cam in or to put another camera or whatever in, they would say, no, we want to make some cost savings , which was not compatible with the way we wanted to handle the production for a grand slam tournament.
On top of these considerations, France T l visions was also producing a more unilateral feed style, rather than a multilateral feed, which, says Montan , the feed that they were producing was very France T l visions-like, and not too much international, which had led us [also to want to] inhouse the production .
After that the FFT launched a tender and selected HBS as the producer for the tournament on their behalf for the next three years to the 2023 French Open. The FFT has created a steering committee including HBS to focus on the production for the tournament, because we want to be in control of it, notes Montan .
Enhancing coverage for viewers
For all media - broadcasters, HBS staff and others - there are over 2,000 people on site during the tournament. Over 600 of that figure are HBS crew. The reason for the high number of HBS crew is due to an increase in new cameras at this year's French Open. Montan explains: This year we have really enhanced the coverage of Roland Garros. Not only have we added extra cameras on the Philippe Chatrier, Suzanne Lenglen, Simonne Mathieu [courts], cameras like the baseline camera, the tower camera, the tactical camera, but we have also improved and enhanced the service to broadcasters and the access to content [for them].
As of 2021, all the courts at Roland Garros are produced within the new TV compound, with HDR SDR on Suzanne Lenglen, Simonne Mathieu and court 14, and Philippe Chatrier produced in a UHD HDR truck in the same area
There are a number of new enhancements for this year's coverage of Roland Garros, not least of which is the fact that the FFT has beaten the rest of the Grand Slam venues to a media server, a first for 2021. We are the first tennis event to have a media server, says Montan . It's big news for this year.
We know there is one for the Olympics and the World Cup, but as far as tennis is concerned I think it is the first time the broadcaster can use a media server. We have access either onsite or outside and the quality is incredible, they have all live and non-live content on the platform and the level of satisfaction from all the broadcasters is really good; everybody is very happy. So we have lots of people managing and monitoring that, and being available for the broadcasters to make sure they find the right content at the right place, at the right moment.
Adding to that sense of je ne sais quoi is a huge addition for viewers oversees; beauty cameras that show off not only the layout of Roland Garros, but of Paris as well.
Montan explains: We have enhanced the beauty cameras that we have on site. I think when you watch Roland Garros from abroad it's very important you realise what the stadium looks like. It's been very difficult for us to [set up] a cablecam from [the top end of the venue] to the very bottom of the stadium, so [instead] we've covered the whole site with very different types of set ups [to create that type of aerial shot].
We have a cablecam from the Suzanne Lenglen [court] up to afte
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
Je ne sais quoi: F d ration Fran aise de Tennis and HBS bring game, set and match to Roland Garros in first year of partnership By Heather McLean, Editor 
