Match point: ATP Media’s tennis heritage and its digital evolution
By Peter Watling, Pixitmedia by DataCore EMEA senior sales director.
As the global broadcast production, distribution, and sales arm of the ATP Tour – the governing body of men’s professional tennis – ATP Media provides end-to-end broadcast services and content management for 64 global tennis tournaments. It also operates Tennis TV, a direct-to-consumer over the top (OTT) streaming service providing live and on-demand streaming for ATP matches.
Decades of footage
Initially, Tennis TV provided live and on-demand streaming for ATP matches, giving tennis fans direct access to tournaments outside traditional broadcast networks. ATP Media also had thousands of hours of valuable archive content dating back to 1990, but its outdated asset management infrastructure made it increasingly difficult to manage and access an overwhelming amount of footage, held on a variety of legacy formats. Recognising that the goalposts for public cloud solutions were often shifting, ATP Media sought a partner that could deliver solutions tailored to its current requirements and grow as those evolved.
The needs were ambitious but clear; ATP Media required the digitisation of all its media assets and a secure location to migrate them to, and a replacement for legacy systems with an offsite cloud archive. Along with a solution to eliminate the cumbersome reliance on shipping drives after each tournament. These challenges were addressed through improved connectivity, enabling direct uploads from remote sites into the cloud. This transformation was executed as a managed service, which not only resolved ATP Media’s immediate issues but also allowed for the continuous development of additional functionality to adapt to future needs.
Season-long narrative
Platforms like Tennis TV enable viewers to engage with a season-long narrative rather than just high profile events, building a stronger connection to the ATP Tour as a whole. Fans become more invested in the journey of individual players and the ATP Tour itself, from start to finish, rather than only during Grand Slam tournaments.
By analysing viewing patterns on Tennis TV, ATP Media could identify popular content and build viewer retention metrics. This data would inform future content strategies and tournament schedules to better align with fan interests. However, to truly capitalise on this opportunity, ATP Media needed an active archive to quickly identify and access content, delivering shoulder programming outside of main matches and diversifying the content they served.
Scalability for media assets
To meet these goals, ATP Media deployed a globally accessible, scalable production asset management service. Starting with an initial storage capacity of 500 terabytes, this cloud-based archive quickly evolved to accommodate the growing needs of the organisation, now supporting over two petabytes of storage. The solution incorporates robust storage, compute power, and a new media asset management system, deployed over two geographically redundant sites with high levels of failover protection. These capabilities ensure ATP Media can securely manage and access its expansive archive while scaling operations as needed.
Secure accessible content
Security was, of course, a key consideration, and the ability to share content with conditional access between teams and freelancers ensured that ATP Media remained in control of its assets. With auditing capabilities and granular access permissions, the system provided comprehensive oversight while remaining user friendly. Intuitive interfaces allowed users to quickly locate and share content, reducing the need for extensive training and facilitating seamless collaboration, even for staff working remotely or on the move.
The new production management system allows ATP Media to ingest all court feeds and ISO in near-real time and deliver to multiple partners seamlessly. Tennis TV now has instant access to the entire archive, enabling the preparation of full matches and highlights for VOD delivery. Social media channels have become another vital outlet, leveraging this system to distribute clips, highlights, and insights that enhance fan engagement.
Moving beyond logistics
This transformative approach eliminated the need for physical drives and streamlined the migration of legacy content into the cloud. By implementing improved connectivity to upload assets directly from tournament sites, ATP Media ensured that its workflows became more efficient and less dependent on physical logistics. Furthermore, the ongoing development of this solution continues to future-proof ATP Media’s operations, enabling the organisation to meet the growing demands of its audience.
By making a major strategic change and overhauling its archive management practices, ATP Media has not only preserved its tennis heritage but also positioned itself to adapt to the evolving viewing patterns of a new generation of sports fans.