Viewers of tennis’ first Grand Slam event of the season now have an interesting alternative to watch their favorite players. The Australian Open is broadcasting near-live streams of notable matches on its YouTube channel, but with a twist. The streams are animated simulations of what is actually happening on the court, similar to what sports viewers have seen with broadcasts like the Simpsons-themed altcast ESPN debuted for Monday Night Football this season. [embedded content] According to a report in The Guardian, the animated streams are a workaround for the Australian Open to be able to air matches on its own platforms after having licensed the tournament to various broadcasters across the globe. The streams are delayed by approximately two minutes, which is the amount of time it takes to ingest the live data from a dozen cameras and reproduce that into an animation. Other than the broadcast being animated, it looks and feels the same as if one was watching a traditional telecast. The announcers are the same, the audio is the same, and so is the scorebug. The technology was actually debuted last year, though hasn’t gained widespread attention until this year’s tournament. Last year’s men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, has about 790,000 views on YouTube, though the quality of animation has definitely come a long way in just one year. [embedded content] “We always try and innovate the fan experience, be that on site or at home,” Machar Reid, director of innovation at Tennis Australia told The Guardian. “Here’s a way through the world of broadcast that we can try and personalize the content in different ways, and present a different offering that ultimately we’d love to see the broadcasters pick up in time.” For fans that can’t access the traditional AO broadcast for whatever reason, this is a decent alternative. Though watching animated players play tennis doesn’t really do justice to the real thing.

The Australian Open is streaming live tennis as if it were Wii Sports

[embedded content] “We always try and innovate the fan experience, be that on site or at home,” Machar Reid, director of innovation at Tennis Australia told The Guardian. “Here’s a way through the world of broadcast that we can try and personalize the content in different ways, and present a different offering that ultimately we’d […]

[embedded content]
“We always try and innovate the fan experience, be that on site or at home,” Machar Reid, director of innovation at Tennis Australia told The Guardian. “Here’s a way through the world of broadcast that we can try and personalize the content in different ways, and present a different offering that ultimately we’d love to see the broadcasters pick up in time.”

[embedded content]
The technology was actually debuted last year, though hasn’t gained widespread attention until this year’s tournament. Last year’s men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, has about 790,000 views on YouTube, though the quality of animation has definitely come a long way in just one year.
For fans that can’t access the traditional AO broadcast for whatever reason, this is a decent alternative. Though watching animated players play tennis doesn’t really do justice to the real thing.
According to a report in The Guardian, the animated streams are a workaround for the Australian Open to be able to air matches on its own platforms after having licensed the tournament to various broadcasters across the globe. The streams are delayed by approximately two minutes, which is the amount of time it takes to ingest the live data from a dozen cameras and reproduce that into an animation.

The Australian Open is broadcasting near-live streams of notable matches on its YouTube channel, but with a twist. The streams are animated simulations of what is actually happening on the court, similar to what sports viewers have seen with broadcasts like the Simpsons-themed altcast ESPN debuted for Monday Night Football this season.
Other than the broadcast being animated, it looks and feels the same as if one was watching a traditional telecast. The announcers are the same, the audio is the same, and so is the scorebug.
Viewers of tennis’ first Grand Slam event of the season now have an interesting alternative to watch their favorite players.