ESPN and the U.S. Tennis Association have resolved a dispute that will allow the organization to stream U.S. Open matches via 5,000 devices to fans on-site at the event starting later this month.
ESPN balked at the idea from FanVision Entertainment and Open sponsor JPMorgan Chase on the belief that the network’s media-rights deal gives it exclusivity to all tournament programming on all platforms. ESPN streams all matches to its WatchESPN app, which fans can view on the grounds.
It’s unclear how ESPN and the USTA resolved the issue. Dave Nagle, an ESPN spokesman, said last week, “It’s just a matter of something being new and different and getting discussed by good partners.”
Frank Nakano, senior vice president of sports and entertainment marketing for JPMorgan Chase, said earlier in the month that he expected 25,000 of the devices would be available. A fact sheet provided last week by the company had one-fifth that number.
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The Chase-branded FanVision devices will show matches from three U.S. Open show courts.
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A USTA spokesman said it had always been the intent to distribute 5,000 devices on a first-come, first-served basis.
ESPN will provide the feed fans watch with the FanVision Bolt devices, the USTA spokesman said. A user slides his or her phone into the Bolt. Fans will be able to view matches from the three main show courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns FanVision.
ESPN in 2015 began an 11-year, $825 million contract to broadcast the U.S. Open from first ball to last.
One of the goals of the FanVision offer for the USTA, besides the obvious fan-enhancement value, is to reduce Wi-Fi load, said Lew Sherr, the group’s chief revenue officer. The Bolt, which FanVision has also been using at NASCAR tracks this year, uses a radio frequency, not a wireless signal.
The Open at its peak can have almost 40,000 fans on the tournament grounds, so the demand for Wi-Fi is high. If 5,000 fans are not on their phones, but instead watching matches via the Bolt, that eases the wireless load.
This is not the first time the Open has made watching matches on-site possible through a sponsored promotion. In 2007, Open sponsor American Express struck a deal with supplier WiseDV to distribute small video screens that allowed fans to watch select matches on other courts. That experiment lasted only the year. Since then, AmEx has become known at the Open for the radio ear pieces it hands out to card members that allow them to hear play-by-play of matches. That giveaway will continue this year.
Before ESPN’s contract kicked in last year, USOpen.org offered open streaming of the tournament. Beginning last year, fans had to authenticate before having access to streaming coverage.
FanVision has long been known for its business of distributing smart video screens at sporting events, especially in auto racing. That business, developed in the pre-smartphone era, is adapting to the mobile reality with the Bolt.
Fans who want a Bolt at the Open are required to sign up for the event’s Open Access program. The program, which requires inputting personal data, allows quick access to various activation areas on the grounds of the National Tennis Center.
The U.S. Open is scheduled for Aug. 29 through Sept. 11.
