LiveU brings immersive behind-the-scenes coverage of 2021 Australian Open tennis to fans online

LiveU’s live streaming and remote production solution was selected by Australian production company 5stream at the recent Australian Open to enhance viewer engagement and branding on behalf of the tournament’s official partner Mastercard.

Live production was a key element in the sponsorship activation campaign, managed by local advertising agency McCann Australia, to connect fans with the tennis via an immersive viewing experience. LiveU’s local partner Pacific Live Media provided the equipment and local technical support.

LiveU’s LU800 production-level unit was instrumental in covering the tournament, enabling a cost-effective multi-camera sports production with high-quality video and audio capabilities. Live 360° feeds were streamed in 4K to Mastercard’s YouTube channel providing virtual fan experiences with a behind-the-scenes look at the tennis in real-time. The same unit was also used to cover the tournament from multiple angles with high-res, fully frame-synced feeds, and as a DataBridge with wireless connectivity for direct high-quality data streams on-the-go.

Mitchell Kalika, general manager, 5stream, said: “With the social distancing restrictions and subsequent lockdown, we were determined to reach the fans stuck at home with a premium 4K 360° viewing experience. At the same time, we needed a cost-effective solution that was reliable and could easily be used as part of a remote production. In the end, the flexibility and efficiency of the LiveU LU800 solution exceeded our expectations, we simply adjusted it to meet our production needs as we went along, switching between single and multi-camera feeds. It was almost like a swiss army knife with multi-camera, live streaming and DataBridge all on the same device!”

“As full service live streaming experts, 5Stream are truly creative in their use of LiveU technology. This remote production, over the course of 14 days, took the live coverage to a higher level providing an incredible tennis experience for virtual fans at home,” summarised Yaal Eshel, general manager, LiveU Asia.