Tennis fans worldwide can stream Australian Open matches online, with a catch: The players on screen aren't real human beings, but video game-like avatars on a computer-generated court.
The tournament — which runs through Jan. 26 — sold its broadcast rights to media companies around the world, limiting its live coverage capabilities. Instead, it is using animation to transmit the action live on its YouTube channel. Organizers hope the creative workaround will bring the first Grand Slam of the year even more viewers, and win over new fans.
"By integrating skeletal tracking data with animated characters, this mixed-reality experience is designed to captivate a new generation of tennis fans, making the sport more accessible and engaging, particularly for kids and families," Tennis Australia Chief Content Officer Darren Pearce said in a statement.
Michael McCann, the director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at the University of New Hampshire, told NPR that while animated characters could certainly help bring in younger fans, they are "at least in part a way of providing the coverage of the event in the absence of a broadcasting right."
During live gameplay, however, the players — and the general contours and colors of their outfits — are animated in a Nintendo Wii-esque style, as are the court, racquets, balls, umpires, ball people and spectators. The sounds, commentary and action are real, just on a roughly two-minute delay.
One thing the players don't have? Fingers. Machar Reid, director of innovation at Tennis Australia, told The Guardian that the system — which involves 12 cameras and 29 tracking points in the skeleton — is "not as seamless as it could be … but in time you can begin to imagine a world where that comes."
The "animated feeds" quietly debuted during last year's Australian Open, according to the Associated Press. This year, it expanded to more matches — and seems to have made a much bigger impression.
Tennis Australia says the streams during the first four days of the tournament got 950,000 views, compared to roughly 140,000 in the same window last year, the AP reports. NPR has reached out to Tennis Australia for more information.
On social media, tweets and TikToks of the cartoon-like players and standout moments — including Russia's Daniil Medvedev smashing a net camera with his racquet — have garnered tens of thousands of likes.
The real-life players have also signaled their approval.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam winner, called it "amusing" and "a good option for people who want to watch tennis and can't." Canada's Leylah Fernandez, who said she stumbled upon the animation by accident, called it "hilarious."
McCann, the law professor, says it remains to be seen whether animation will play a bigger role in sports streaming going forward.
The Australian Open isn't the only — or first — sports entity trying to figure that out.
Are animated sports the future?
Animation could become a more regular feature in certain sporting events, depending on audience interest, technological capability and licensing availability.
Lehanski says the NHL has gotten "overwhelmingly positive" audience feedback and is currently in the process of testing in the hopes of offering animated broadcasts on a more regular basis.
