LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5, 2024 – In a first for the sport of tennis, Tennis Channel’s viewers in Spain will soon be able to watch live matches with the original English commentary dubbed into Spanish in real time through a new artificial intelligence-driven feature. During the women’s Guadalajara Open Akron presented by Santander event September 9-15, the network will introduce a beta test of the technology for feedback from audiences of its locally programmed Spanish channel, available in that country since August 2023.
Though the matches will be announced and analyzed in English in the United States on Tennis Channel and subscription service Tennis Channel+, the commentary will be translated into Spanish in Spain for the entire tournament. In both countries, Tennis Channel platforms will have live coverage of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) event from the opening round to championship point.
In addition to Spain, since 2020 Tennis Channel has established channels in Austria, Germany, Greece, India, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, programmed in English or German depending on each market. The network has plans to launch more Tennis Channels in additional territories and envisions a near-term future where original content, including commentary by its Hall of Famer roster of announcers, will be shared worldwide and translated into local languages by artificial intelligence.
“It’s incredible to listen to matches announced in one language translated almost instantaneously into another at the same time by AI,” said Andy Reif, senior vice president, Tennis Channel International. “As this technology develops, we’ll be able to create content in our U.S. studios or abroad and quickly tailor it to audiences anywhere in the world. This greatly enhances what we provide on each of our channels globally and allows us to better connect with viewers in the countries we serve.”
Beginning with Spain during the Guadalajara tournament, Tennis Channel will include a series of on-screen alerts whenever it shows content translated from its original language by artificial intelligence. The network plans full transparency when conversation has been dubbed to meet the needs of audiences in other markets. Tennis Channel’s parent company, Sinclair, Inc., is a member of organizations working to protect content provenance and address misinformation including Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), the leader in the global effort to address digital misinformation and content authenticity, focused on promoting and providing an open, cross-industry approach to media transparency; and the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), a formal coalition dedicated exclusively to drafting technical standards and specifications as a foundation for universal content provenance.
In addition, Sinclair has created SAIF – Sinclair AI Forum, an internal, interdepartmental AI workgroup to facilitate knowledge sharing, governance, compliance and strategic guidance across the company.
Tennis Channel is partnering with AI-translation platform LingoPal.Ai and cloud playout service Amagi to deliver the tournament to Orange, Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels in Spain.
An example of a match being dubbed into Spanish from English by AI can be found here: English-to-Spanish match. In this link, viewers can click on “Languages” at the bottom of the video to toggle back and forth between English and Spanish.
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) and its sibling network T2, which are owned by Sinclair, Inc., are the only television-based multiplatform destinations dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. The networks have the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television in one of the world’s most voluminous sports, with multiple men’s and women’s tournaments and singles, doubles and mixed competition throughout the year. Tennis Channel and T2 have rights at the four majors – US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open) and Australian Open – and are the exclusive U.S. homes of all men’s ATP World Tour and women’s WTA Tour competitions, Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, and Laver Cup. Direct-to-consumer streaming service Tennis Channel+ is available to everyone in the United States and allows subscribers to select from another 4,500 live and on-demand matches and award-winning content from short-form to films throughout the tennis season. Tennis Channel International brings live competition and network content to markets in Europe and Asia via digital subscription and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. Additional platform www.tennis.com is the largest digital outlet dedicated to the sport. Tennis Channel also oversees a network of close to 20 podcasts and is a co-owner of Pickleballtv, a joint-venture with the Professional Pickleball Association.
About Sinclair:
Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks; and owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE!, TBD., and The Nest. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and the nation’s largest streaming aggregator of local news content, NewsON. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
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For further information:
Eric Abner, Tennis Channel, 310-314-9445, eabner@tennischannel.com, @TennisChannelPR
Deven Orie, LingoPal.Ai, 347-208-1033, deven@lingopal.ai