As Serena Williams looks to complete her quest for achieve the sport’s first calendar year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988 at the US Open, ESPN today launches its first exclusive telecast of the tournament as part of its new 11-year agreement with the USTA. The action will include over 130 hours of television as well as 1,100 on ESPN3 from up to 11 courts at once. Production goodies include the likes of “freeD,” the Railcam, the SpiderCam and more with the action starting today at 10:45a with first round action that include a primetime doubleheader on ESPN2 at 7p featuring Williams and Rafael Nadal in their contests.
Cynopsis Sports asked ESPN’s Scott Guglielmino, Senior Vice President, Programming & Global X, about the task ahead and how the company will look to showcase the action.
Guglielmino on changing the experience: We are very excited to bring our successful Australian Open and Wimbledon coverage model to the US Open, and we believe fans will enjoy the single narrative, the consistent schedule and all the ways to consume the tournament across all the ESPN platforms, all day, every day, for two weeks. Exclusivity gives our production team – led by Jamie Reynolds (vice president, production) – the time and space they need to document the competition and telling the stories of 256 athletes and personalities. Further, with ESPN3 – whether on your TV, as is increasingly the case – or on the go wherever you are – fans will be able to choose from up to 11 matches at once.
On technology: The “freeD” technology – where the replay freezes, then spins for a different angle to continue – will knock people’s socks off in tennis. It will only accentuate the players’ athleticism and better present the angles and close line calls for the fans. We are constantly looking for ways to bring the viewer closer to the action, as well as ways to better analyze and explain what they’re seeing. “freeD” does both.
On Serena: Be assured Serena has been discussed in every US Open meeting at ESPN – Jamie’s production group, marketing, SportsCenter, ESPN.com, espnW, PR and more. It’s the biggest US Open angle in a generation. And there are so many ways to approach the topic…her game, her career arc, her struggles and controversies, her off-court endeavors and of course her legacy. She’s the defending champion, competing for a natural calendar year Grand Slam, seeking to tie Steffi Graf with 22 Major championships, and to surpass our Chrissie Evert for the most US Open titles in the Open Era. There’s no shortage of material and this is just one storyline.
On growing the sport: We strive for “access and discovery.” We want to take fans where they’ve never been – and where they can’t go – beyond the action on the court and behind the velvet rope, as it were. Just as we want to take fans closer to the action, with features and bumps in out of commercials we seek to get them closer to the athletes. The One on one nature of tennis and at this level provides and intense and sometimes personal dimension to competition.
On talent: Our family has been together for a while now, led by Cliff Drysdale who was on the first ESPN tennis telecast in 1979! What that chemistry and camaraderie creates is cohesive and organic conversations. And from a variety of perspectives – Hall of Famers, other tour veterans and coaches, with different eras represented. But there is one very familiar face who has been learning a new role the last couple years – Tom Rinaldi. Everyone knows him from his Emmy-winning work on features for SportsCenter, Outside the Lines and other shows, plus as a reporter on golf and college football. He still contributes that sort of content to our tennis productions. But lately he’s been stretching his wings and doing play-by-play too. It’s a very different discipline, but it’s no surprise that with dedication and professionalism, Tom has taken to it and done well.
