Wii Sports, YouTube and Australian Open

Why is the Australian Open 2025 streamed on YouTube with Nintendo Wii Sports game-styled players on court?
In a unique workaround to address geographical streaming constraints and copyrights issues, the Australian Open 2025 organizers have modified players to animation, enabling viewers to free access to all games albeit at a cost.
Random: No, That's Not Wii Sports, That's Live Tennis On YouTube
Tennis fans hitting YouTube to see live matches from the Australian Open could be forgiven for thinking they've accidentally clicked on a channel recreating the tournament in Wii Sports, but no. It turns out the event's official channel has taken a novel approach to getting around broadcast rights issues.
Wii Sports characters steal the show at the Australian Open (WATCH)
Like many sporting events, the Australian Open doesn't actually have the broadcasting rights to post content during or after matches. It's a weird concept considering they're the ones hosting the event, but in this case it's actually worked out in their favor.
Why the Australian Open is animating matches with Wii-like characters
The year’s first Grand Slam tournament, which runs through Jan. 26, is streaming real-time animated feeds on its YouTube channel that mimic what’s happening in the three main stadiums.
Why the Australian Open’s online tennis coverage looks like a Wii sports game
Australian Open (AO) broadcast may seem similar to previous years if you’re watching on the television. However, if you’re watching online via the official Australian Open TV YouTube channel you’ll encounter a distinctly different kind of coverage.
AI is helping the Australian Open cover tennis in the funniest way possible, by turning it into Nintendo Wii Tennis
The Australian Open now shows an AI-generated version of tennis matches on YouTube and some of the results are hilarious.
Tennis1d
The future of tennis? We watched Tien upset Medvedev on the Australian Open’s AO Animated livestream to find out
Produced in-house by Tennis Australia, video game-like recreations of live matches featuring digital player avatars have been taking over the internet.
Anime News Network1d
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