Sky Sports Returns to the US Open With RF, High Hopes for Murray
By Karen Hogan, Assistant Editor
The British are back, returning to Flushing Meadows with an expanded and improved on-site presence. For the second consecutive year, Sky Sports will cover the US Open for the British and Irish markets, covering matches from the six television courts but paying particular attention to a home-country favorite, No. 4 seed Andy Murray.
The British sports broadcaster will cover the tournament once again from a studio stage located out on the practice courts, using three cameras and, for the first time, a touchscreen system.
“We get great access there,” says Christopher Sandeman, production manager of Sky Sports. “The players practicing will call up and ask us what the score is for different matches.”
Sky Sports has expanded its coverage this year, adding a second Apple Final Cut Pro edit station and a third Panasonic P2 ENG camera. The three ENG cameras, once reliant on cable, are now wireless, allowing Sky Sports to increase the scope of its broadcast.
“Last year, we used cable drops to go to specific points, which restricts you,” Sandeman explains. “We’re on [RF] camera this year, and we’re very pleased with the results. It even works inside, in the interview position [located in Arthur Ashe Stadium], so we’re really pleased with that.”
Sky Sports not only dispatches its RF crew around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center but also has sent camera operators into New York City for additional color footage.
The footage produced by three roving ENG cameras and three studio cameras supplements the USOptimum world feed, which Sky Sports relies on to broadcast the matches played on the six television courts.
Although the on-site team produces a main program to send back to Sky Sports in London, Sandeman’s crew also sends the individual SD feeds generated from each court for Sky Sports Interactive. (Sky Sports does not yet have the bandwidth to produce six additional HD streams.) Its commentary accompanies whichever court is on the main program; the other feeds feature USOptimum’s commentary.
“With your remote control, you can press the red button and get the individual-court coverage,” says Sandeman. “You can watch the match of your choice and also stats and score information generated back at Sky [in London].”
When rain disrupts play at the Open, Sky Sports mixes studio commentary with matches from this year’s tournament or from a previous tournament, particularly one relevant to an upcoming match.
The production crew, consisting of Sky Sports staff, British and American freelancers, and NEP staff, operate out of NEP’s SS14 and Super B. The latter mobile unit is another addition to Sky Sports’ production.
Sandeman’s crew is accompanied by a reporter from Sky Sports News, the broadcaster’s answer to ESPN’s SportsCenter, who works independently yet alongside the Sky Sports crew in the truck, selecting interviews and doing live crosses back to the Sky Sports studio in London through a dedicated circuit.
Because of the time difference between New York and the UK, the USTA schedules matches featuring European players early in the day whenever possible. Sky Sports’ production ends around 7 p.m. ET, winding down to just the world feed accompanied by commentary for the overnight hours in the UK. As the tournament moves into the final matches, Sky Sports will stay with the action for as long as the matches take.
Of course, with London five hours ahead, “the phone starts ringing at four in the morning,” says Sandeman. “I did 114 hours last week, 97 the week before. I’ll take some holiday when I get home.”
For the Sky Sports team, the long hours are worth it to cover a familiar face from home.
“The whole reason we’re here is to put a British slant on [the US Open],” says Sandeman. “We’re obviously hoping for an Andy Murray win, in which case we’ll throw the kitchen sink at it.”