Sports Media Report
Mylan World TeamTennis is teaming up with ESPN to bring another innovation to the sport with the introduction of Quantum5X (Q5X) QT-5100 PlayerMics, on-player wireless microphones that capture on-court action. For the first time in professional tennis competition, players will wear wireless microphone transmitters in Mylan WTT matches this summer, bringing unprecedented audio sounds and effects to the league’s live broadcasts.
“We are constantly looking for ground-breaking ways to help fans get closer to the action and to help them fully appreciate the high level of athleticism and intensity when the best players in the world are on the court,” said Mark Ein, World TeamTennis co-owner. Ein, who also owns the Washington Kastles franchise, added “This new technology will provide an unprecedented level of access and texture to pro tennis broadcasts and follow a long history of industry-leading innovation in World TeamTennis over the last 43 years.”
The PlayerMic, which was tested in video replays on July 16 at the New York Empire’s home match, makes its live pro tennis debut on July 18 when the Washington Kastles host New York at the Smith Center at George Washington University. ESPN3 will air 12 Mylan WTT matches during the three-week season, and the July 18 match will also be broadcast live on Tennis Channel and Comcast SportsNet.
Utilizing the same specialty wireless audio system that Q5X developed in partnership with Bexel, a leading broadcast technology and production services company, Mylan WTT will select players in each broadcast match to showcase “Sounds of the Court”. Bexel is providing the player microphone technology, which includes sourcing the Quantum QT-5100 PlayerMic for integration into the match broadcasts. Players will wear the concealed mic and lightweight wireless transmitter, which weighs less than two ounces and is only 1/3 inch thick. A remote control device will be able to turn the sound relay on or off during play. Two to three players and each coach will be mic’d up nightly throughout the match and on the bench.
Mylan WTT CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss, who has been talking to players during Wimbledon, says the response has been very positive. “Tennis players have seen the impact of this technology in basketball and football in more closely connecting athletes to their fans and are thrilled to try it on the WTT court this season,” said Kloss.
The Kastles lineup for their home opener on Tuesday features two-time league MVP Martina Hingis and rising American star Frances Tiafoe as the team celebrates the start of their 10th anniversary season. In only one decade, Washington has won a record-tying six WTT championships.
Top names scheduled to play in broadcast matches include Nick Kyrgios, Jack Sock, Venus Williams, Eugenie Bouchard, Ryan Harrison, Martina Hingis, Sloane Stephens, Frances Tiafoe, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Bob and Mike Bryan.
As an industry leader and innovator over the past four decades, Mylan WTT has been at the forefront of introducing game-changing advancements to tennis including: a service clock, instant replay, teams featuring men and women in equal roles, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching and timeouts, Extended Play and Supertiebreakers, multi-colored courts and player names on the back of shirts.
The 2017 season of Mylan World TeamTennis presented by GEICO begins July 16 and concludes with the Mylan WTT Finals on August 5 in Carlsbad, Calif. Mylan WTT matches will air throughout July and August on ESPN3, Tennis Channel, and a number of regional sports networks including Comcast SportsNet, Altitude, Mediacom and MSG. ESPN2 will join the coverage of the Mylan WTT Finals on August 5 when the top two teams from the regular season face off for the King Trophy at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The San Diego Aviators are the defending Mylan WTT champions.
