France Télévisions Transforms the French Open Tennis Tournament into an Omni-Channel Experience with Wildmoka

Digital Transformation Required

France Télévisions had long held the rights to the French Open competition and traditionally showed matches and highlights on the three linear TV channels. However, the broadcaster recognized that digital-first audiences consume content on multiple platforms, and younger viewers in particular, are less likely to ‘tune in’ to watch live matches on TV. 

France Télévisions also wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to distribute more video in more places. There are 18 tennis courts at Roland Garros, where matches can be played simultaneously. However, the restrictions of linear TV meant that editors could only show a maximum of three matches at a time - even though France Télévisions had paid for rights to all the games. 

Until 2017, France Télévisions followed a traditional broadcast model of linear TV plus an OTT platform that relied on on-premises hardware. They wanted to modernize their approach, delivering a genuinely omni-channel experience that would let them distribute more video on all platforms, reach new audiences, and monetize this content effectively.

Cloud-first Content Distribution

France Télévisions began their digital transformation journey in 2015. At the time, their tennis content was primarily distributed via linear TV and their OTT platform using on-premises hardware. In 2017, the broadcaster engaged Wildmoka to provide a truly cloud-first content distribution system. By the time of the 2019 tournament, the transition to a truly omni-channel model was complete. 

Wildmoka’s cloud-based content distribution platform allowed the broadcaster to radically expand its presence on digital via both its own internal OTT (France.TV Sport) and across multiple social media platforms. The solution allowed up to 19 concurrent streams to be processed and distributed at once.

France Télévisions used Wildmoka to implement a major expansion of their presence on digital platforms and to reach new audiences. During the two weeks of the 2019 French Open, they achieved:

• 25.4M views of live games on their OTT - a 75% increase on 2018
• 27.1M views across social platforms, including 8.9m views on Facebook
• A 1.5% increase in viewers on linear TV 
• 170% of advertising objectives reached

The broadcaster’s strategy allowed them to achieve several key goals. First, it allowed them to engage new audiences on social media. France Télévisions used Wildmoka to tailor different kinds of highlights, clips, and reels to the audiences of different social media platforms. For example, the slightly older Facebook audience was mainly served match summaries, whereas the younger Instagram audience was shown quirky and fun highlights. 

Wildmoka also allowed France Télévisions to maximize their broadcasting rights. Using the OTT, they could show every game, every interview, every press conference. This meant fans of lesser-known players - whose games might not be shown on linear TV - could follow them. It also allowed the most passionate tennis fans to watch more of the tournament than ever before. And the wide variety of clips and highlights introduced new audiences to the competition and got them excited about the sport. 

The ultimate goal of France Télévisions’ presence on social platforms was to draw audiences to the broadcaster’s owned and operated platforms via adverts and links in social videos. This was very successful, with a huge uptick in viewers on the OTT, and a small but significant rise in linear TV viewership, too. 

Last but not least, Wildmoka’s solution allowed France Télévisions to monetize more of their video content. Wildmoka provides a wide range of dynamic ad insertion solutions for pre-rolls and mid-rolls, as well as in-video ads on live streams.