MELBOURNE, Australia—Gravity Media, a global provider of production and content and media services and facilities, delivered the Australian Open 2026 with a bespoke international broadcast centre and large-scale IP production environment. Together, this formed the technical backbone for Tennis Australia’s creative, editorial and operational delivery of the tournament to audiences worldwide.
Across the 15-day tournament, Jan. 23-Feb. 1, Gravity Media delivered more than 200 hours of coverage to international and domestic rights holders, including Nine Network in Australia, ESPN, Eurosport, CCTV, and WOWOW.
The 2026 tournament marked the 12th year of the broadcast and technology partnership between Gravity Media and Tennis Australia, and the 22nd year Gravity Media provided host broadcast technical facilities for the Australian Open.
A dedicated team of 75 specialists from Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany designed, deployed, and operated the Melbourne Park broadcast centre, managing over 100 tonnes of fly-away infrastructure and more than 150 broadcast cameras across the precinct.
Across Melbourne Park, 172 camera sources captured every match and surrounding activity, including:
- Spidercam above centre court
- Sony HDC 3500 / 5500 cameras, with super slow-motion and ultra-motion camera channels
- Robotic camera systems
- 22 roving RF cameras and two remote RF robotic cameras delivering mobile and panoramic views across the venue
An extensive RF and communications network supported seamless operations throughout the site, with 48 Bolero antenna positions enabling 150 belt packs for presenters, production staff, and rightsholders.
The production galleries and audio control rooms were housed at Tennis Australia’s headquarters and was connected via 500 metres of fibre and dual 700-gig data links to the central equipment room at the broadcast compound.
The facilities comprised 10 production galleries, nine audio control rooms, and 11 ViBox systems covering the outside courts. In total, the environment supported over 130 operating positions and more than 150 multiviewers displaying approximately 1,700 picture-in-picture sources.
Signal routing was managed through a large-scale IP and baseband system providing a 4,000 x 4,000 routing environment, while over 2,500 audio signals were handled through a hybrid Audio Live and Calrec solution. This fully IP-based architecture enabled the integration of live match coverage, highlights production, and digital content workflows, according to Gravity.
As part of the 2026 deployment, Gravity Media refreshed the technical furniture across the production facilities, replacing workstations that had been in service for more than a decade while maintaining the established layouts developed with Tennis Australia.
In the lead-up to the Australian Open, Gravity Media delivered broadcast and technical facilities for the United Cup in Perth and Sydney, as well as the Brisbane International and Adelaide International.
For the United Cup, Gravity Media provided outside broadcast production trucks and facilities in each city, accessing 28 cameras, multiple EVS replay and edit suites and Livetools equipment for use by teams and players. Additional bespoke fly-away production systems were implemented in Sydney so that Tennis Australia could integrate coverage from multiple cities into a fully produced “world feed” for delivery across international broadcast and subscription platforms.
The Adelaide International and Brisbane International were supported with state-of-the-art high-definition outside broadcast trucks, using 22 cameras across each site to deliver bespoke coverage for Tennis Australia and its domestic and international broadcast partners.
In addition to its role as host broadcast technical partner, Gravity Media continued to support international broadcast partners, including ESPN and Eurosport, with production and technology services for their Australian Open coverage.
“The Australian Open continues to be one of the most complex and rewarding productions in the world of live sport,” said Eamonn Curtin, Chief Commercial Officer of Gravity Media. “Delivering this coverage is a true demonstration of the collaboration and expertise of our teams across Australia and Europe. 2026 builds on our legacy of collaboration and we’re proud to support Tennis Australia in bringing this iconic tournament to audiences everywhere.”
