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More than 150 matches comprising more than 300 hours of live tennis action will be streamed for free throughout the United States on USOpen.org, the official website of the US Open. Titled “US Open Live,” the live streaming will be sponsored by the USTA’s two newest promotional partners, Westin Hotels and Stonyfield Farm.

IBM, the US Open’s technology solutions provider, has designed and developed the interactive media console for “US Open Live.” The media console will include picture-in-picture match viewing, user commenting and live match stats updates integrated with the live video. The USTA world feed, which is fed to international broadcasters in more than 180 countries, will be streamed live during all the live television windows for ESPN2 and Tennis Channel. All five television courts with announcer commentary will be available to users in high definition.

“When we announced our new landmark cable television deal with ESPN and Tennis Channel, we promised to deliver the US Open to more fans in more ways than ever before,” said Pierce O’Neil, USTA Chief Business Officer. “With the support of our two newest sponsors - Westin Hotels and Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt - and IBM, we are making that a reality by making over 300 hours of live match coverage available on USOpen.org on a complimentary basis to fans throughout the country.”

Every year during the US Open, USOpen.org is one of the most heavily trafficked sports websites in the world, attracting a global audience, which in 2008 exceeded 41 million visits from more than 200 countries. After successfully streaming the 2008 Men’s Final to more than 300,000 domestic viewers, live match streaming from the five show courts throughout the majority of this year's tournament represents USOpen.org’s largest new initiative.

“We’re very excited to partner with IBM to take the streaming of live tennis to a new level with ‘US Open Live’,” said Phil Green, Senior Director, Advanced Media for the USTA. “Offering high definition streaming through IBM’s new interactive media console will provide tennis fans with a more dynamic online viewing experience than they’ve ever had before.”

(Source: Sportsbusinessnews.com)