Have you ever been sat at home watching a grand slam tennis event and found yourself thinking, “Gee, this needs more McEnroe?” Fear not, because TNT Sports has you covered for this year’s French Open at Roland Garros.
In its second year broadcasting the clay-court tournament, TNT is retooling The Mac Zone, an alternate telecast featuring brothers John and Patrick McEnroe that will air daily throughout the first six days of tournament play, to make it a more fan-first and interactive experience.
New this year, the McEnroe bros will control exactly which matches air during the two-hour morning whip-around program, according to a report by Rob Schaefer in Sports Business Journal. The show, which will be co-hosted by Lucas Brody of The Broadcast Boys, is designed to be conversational, almost as if you were watching the action alongside John and Patrick McEnroe.
For the first time, TNT Sports will utilize its popular Bleacher Report YouTube channel to simulcast live match action via The Mac Zone altcast. Each day, the first hour of The Mac Zone will stream live on YouTube, while both hours will broadcast live on truTV. The McEnroes will interact with the YouTube comment section during the show. “That was a really important part for us,” TNT Sports content head Craig Barry told SBJ. “How can we get more interactive? How can we get more social? How can we get younger?”
The brother duo will post up from a new set under Court Philippe-Chatrier as well, another move to up the ante in Year 2.
TNT Sports’ coverage of the Roland-Garros begins Monday with qualifying matches on HBO Max. The tournament starts in earnest on Sunday, May 24, on TNT.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.