Taken from the SVG 2009 US Open Sports Technology Blog
September 1, 2009

The arrival of ESPN at the U.S. Open is the big story in these early days of the tournament. The ESPN presence has transformed the broadcast compound (look for another filing later in the day discussing those massive changes) and is also transforming the viewing experience for DirecTV subscribers as ESPN and DirecTV are delivering a six screen mosaic of multiple-court coverage.

Don Colantonio, ESPN Senior Director, Original Entertainment-Media Packaging, is once again leading the Mosaic charge, and this time there is a wrinkle: the Tennis Channel is covering courts 11 and 13, which means that the production incorporates both ESPN and Tennis Channel branding. “We have two producers,” he says. “One is integrating the ESPN channels with ESPN elements, and the other is handling the two Tennis Channel courts. The split arrangement is working so far.”

Bexel Broadcast Services has provided the equipment for ESPN, and ESPN is operating out of the second floor of a new temporary building it shares with CBS (which is located on the first floor). The Mosaic service is put together via five Ross production switchers (one dedicated to each channel), and staffers have access to six channels of EVS servers (three channels in and three channels out) and even Vizrt graphics. A combination of ESPN and world feeds supply the action from the courts, and the team is also tied into the entire EVS infrastructure, so all ESPN and Tennis Channel promos, packages, and graphical elements are available.

“Bexel has done a nice job, and the seating and mounting layout here makes things more efficient,” says Colantonio. “We will make some tweaks as we’re doing this for the first time, but it’s an efficient workflow, and there is enough creative power available.”