As the 2022 Championships at Wimbledon begin this month, it will mark several exciting milestones. It has been 100 years since the AELTC moved the tournament to its current location, and Centre Court was opened for the very first time. 

2022 also marks a century of the BBC, a vital broadcasting partner of the Championships for the past 95 years. While The AELTC will celebrate HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with two bespoke platinum coins to be used for the Finals Weekend coin tosses. 

The Championships is a unique sporting event. It is steeped in tradition – its location and history are iconic. However, the AELTC has its eyes firmly fixed on innovation, content and growth in physical and digital activations.

100 years of history. Ready for new chapters.

The Stage Awaits.#Wimbledon #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/KO4raqm5ab

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 6, 2022

In a recent Grabyo webinar, we spoke to Will Giles, Content Lead at AELTC, about overcoming content and video production challenges posed by the pandemic and what to expect from the 2022 Championships. 

2021 reflections: Going remote

The Championships was open with reduced capacity for the 2021 tournament – both in the audience and behind the scenes. 

The AELTC team was tasked with maintaining their high content and video production standards from a remote and hybrid setup, with around 60-70% of the production team working from home. However, being the early adopter of technology that the AELTC is, the team was able to transition. 

The AELTC focused on re-energizing fans and providing a window into the tournament using videos published on its social channels. This also resulted in more Wimbledon video production aimed at new platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube Kids. They also saw an expansion of its digital-first live show, Coffee Morning. 

Coffee Morning: An interactive live experience

Coffee Morning is broadcast every day throughout the Championships. The show launched in 2019 and achieved over one million views in its first run. 

The show offers fans a unique and communal experience. In 2021, the show was broadcast to the big screen outside Centre Court for the first time. 

Fans were actively encouraged to send comments, pictures and videos via social media, which appear on the broadcast. Fans could actively participate in the live show while dictating what they watch. This level of interactivity drove longer watch times and higher engagement for the Wimbledon social channels. 

The show was produced and delivered in the cloud using Grabyo’s live production platform, Grabyo Producer, with audience engagement tools powered by Dizplai. A skeleton crew was on-site with the on-screen talent with cameras and encoders. 

Preparing for 2022: The Stage Awaits

During the Grabyo webinar, the live audience was polled on how they keep up to date with Wimbledon content. The results echoed the plans of the AELTC to ensure that its content strategy is accessible to each fan individually, across multiple demographics and interests.

Our latest consumer research found that 48% of global consumers want to see more real-time highlights on social media. This aspect underpins the social video strategy of The Championships. The AELTC uses Grabyo’s cloud-based clipping service to clip, edit and publish highlights to all of its social channels in moments. 

The AELTC is also looking to broaden its audience and target other markets worldwide. For finals weekend this year, it will be ‘bringing the hill’ to New York with a unique activation in Brooklyn Bridge Park alongside ESPN.  

Monetization and Sponsorship

Physical sponsor activations in and around the Wimbledon grounds are deliberately subtle to preserve the location and experience of visiting SW19. The AELTC has turned to digital and social channels to provide additional inventory for its brand partners. 

Lavazza became the lead sponsor of its Coffee Morning live show in 2021, while the AELTC works with other brand partners to create engaging and fulfilling content. 

Looking forward to another 100 years

The AELTC team is always ahead of the curve in fan engagement, already discussing how the Web 3.0 features such as NFTs and the metaverse could play a part in future Championships. 

As for here and now, AELTC is leading the way in interactive live video and social media experiences, marrying its digital and physical activations. 

We are proud to support AELTC in delivering real-time and live video to its social channels, website and app. For more information on how we can enhance your video production strategy, get in touch.