At a function at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Nine revealed its plans for the 2023 Summer of Tennis.
Following the success of its 2022 tennis coverage, which reached 12.5 million people, Nine shared its plans to increase content across a mega sport ecosystem by introducing two new podcasts, new A.I technology, and more content touchpoints than ever before.
Hosted by Nine’s director of sports, Brent Williams and joined by head of content partnerships, Anne Gruber, the presentation was split into three parts: game, set, and match.
The first segment was an overview of Nine’s tennis content strategy for 2023. Sharing the numbers of its 2022 coverage, which experienced year-on-year growth of 171%, Nine revealed it can offer marketers and brands an integrated solution across television, print, audio and digital.
As podcasts gain traction in the consumer and marketing world, Nine revealed its plans to introduce two new podcasts on Nine’s digital audio arm, 9Podcasts – a six-part documentary series Stories of the AO, and a WWOS AO podcast during the Open for fans to catch up on the latest tennis news.
“The six-part documentary series, Stories of the AO will tell the tales of Australian tennis players who elevated to legend status right here at Melbourne Park at our National Grand Slam.
“And then during the tournament as play is underway across all the screens on Nine, the WWOS AO podcasts will be the best place for fans to catch up on all the latest tennis news during their morning commute,” Gruber said.
A highlight of Nine’s upcoming content strategy is its increased cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, mixed and extended reality, Hawkeye technology to capture every move and every shot, and FlyCam to cinematically capture all the colour and activity of the crowd over the Australian Open site.
“This year will continue to offer tennis fans access to the game in more ways than ever before. We have the most cutting-edge technology employed to advantage your tennis viewing experience.
“Mixed Reality delivers a blend of the physical and digital worlds unlocking natural and intuitive 3D Human Computer and environmental interactions. It takes the existing state on the court with players and with crowds to an enhanced reality where we see both the real and the virtual worlds collide using next-generation sensing and imaging technologies,” Gruber added.
In the second segment, Williams was joined by tennis legends Todd Woodbridge and Samantha Smith to discuss tennis news, what tennis brings to the Australian audience, and the new generation of tennis stars.
Left to right: Todd Woodbridge, James Bracey, Anne Gruber, Brent Williams, Matt Granger
Smith said a big driver for inviting a younger audience as well as more non-tennis fans to tune in to watch is Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios.
“For me, most importantly, I want more young people to be jumping up and down in the stands and demand for that is Nick Kyrgios,” Smith said.
Following the chat with Woodbridge and Smith, Gruber shared Nine’s plans to help brands maximise their investment during the Summer of Tennis.
“Tennis offers an experience like no other when it comes to technology. Nine’s investment to ensure that the at-home viewing experience is as good if not better than the one courtside is second to none.
“We can help with brand or media strategy, we can help with consumer insights or even something as specialist as market mix modelling or econometrics. We have the expertise and all of it in-house.”
See more: Nine unveils investment in tennis content ahead of the 2023 Australian Open
In the final segment of the night, Williams introduced Nine’s director of sales – sport, Matt Granger to round out the night.
“We continue to invest significantly in our total content proposition to bring the best of summer to fans all year round. No matter where or how they want to consume it across an unrivalled system of touch points that no other media company in the world can offer,” he said.
He echoed the shared excitement for the next generation of tennis stars taking the stage early next year.
“It will be their journey, their trials and tribulations and moments of joy that deliver the unscripted moments that will make the summer of tennis the unmissable event for Australian audiences and branches.”
Granger rounded out the night reiterating Nine’s proposition to brands and audiences.
“We talked about the breadth of the Nine offerings across total television, total publishing and total audio and our 20 million signed-in user data proposition. Our commitment to innovation, quality and inspiration that delivers the big ideas to make your brands famous.”