Fans won’t be using Periscope at Wimbledon this year, but Roger Federer certainly will be.
The world’s second-ranked men’s tennis player will take over Wimbledon’s Periscope account at 7 a.m. PT on Friday for a live “walking tour” of the facility using the live-streaming app owned by Twitter.
Tomorrow I'll be doing a walking tour from the @Wimbledon account on @periscopeco around 2pm GMT ?? Watch along & ask Q's!
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) June 25, 2015
In this particular instance, Periscope offers nice way for fans to get an inside look at Wimbledon from one of the most popular players today. It’s an interesting move from the Wimbledon executives, which worked with IBM to create special mobile apps and an interactive website. On a side note, IBM seems to have carved out a nice niche for itself in the sporting world, having built similar technology at golf’s U.S. Open and Masters tournaments earlier this year.
While Federer will be using Periscope, fans are prohibited from live streaming any action from the stands. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which also banned selfie sticks, has made it pretty clear that live streaming apps like Periscope aren’t allowed at the tournament.
But as we noted with the IBM partnership, that doesn’t mean the club is turning away technology. Along with the apps and website, officials also have plans to create content for Snapchat and are running hashtag promotions on Facebook and Twitter. Even iBeacon technology is being used at this year’s tournament.
Periscope has certainly made a dent in the sports world. We explored how Periscope could impact sports leagues in April and found that most executives are generally against fans and reporters using the app due to the exclusive, lucrative TV broadcast rights already in place with big networks.
That was certainly true with the PGA Tour, which revoked Stephanie Wei’s credentials after the golf blogger used Periscope to live-stream a practice round earlier this year. When we caught up with Wei at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay earlier this month, she noted how technology like Periscope can help generate more attention for golf, particularly during practice rounds that aren’t broadcast on TV.
“I don’t think it hurts the rights holders,” she said. “I think it only helps promote the tournament, especially if it’s just during a practice round leading up to the tournament. It only promotes the Tour and the brand.”
Perhaps the same could be said for what Wimbledon is doing with Federer tomorrow, but remember, in this instance, it’s still the All England Lawn Tennis Club controlling the content versus some reporter or fan.
