Australian Open Can’t Get Its Own Broadcasting Rights, So It Streams a Wii Tennis Version of the Event Instead

Just another example of how dumb rights management is.

By Braden Bjella

Published 1 month ago in Wow

Just another example of how dumb rights management is.


Have you ever been watching a show on Netflix, traveled to another country, then realized that you can’t watch the show anymore? Even stranger, have you ever been listening to an album on Spotify, then crossed a border and discovered that you can’t listen to that same album in your new land?


Well, that’s all due to rights-management issues, and navigating all of that is a bitch and a half. It’s so hard, in fact, that the Australian Open doesn’t even own all of its own broadcasting rights. So what’s an organization like them to do?


Sync the real-life game with digital, Wii Tennis-like avatars and stream it on YouTube, of course!


Here’s what that looked like: