After the announcement, Wednesday evening, of program for this Thursday at Roland-Garros, the offended reactions have multiplied. Especially on social networks. The tournament has decided to position in the night session (from 9 p.m.) the long-awaited face-to-face between Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet.
Nadal celebrates his birthday …
Let us first place ourselves on the side of the players. Critics have pressed that it is outrageous to have a player as huge as Rafael Nadal play behind closed doors. What’s more the day of his 35e anniversary. And that Richard Gasquet could know his last Roland-Garros without an audience to say goodbye to him. Not really delicate it is true… Even awkward. Some would even say disrespectful.
But let’s remember one thing: the camera is the direct consequence of the curfew positioned at 9 p.m.. The tournament would have gone well. The setting up of these “night sessions” date before the health crisis and Roland-Garros had to adapt to an exceptional situation. 2021 is a year of transition that will be quickly forgotten if everything returns to normal next year and these evening matches offer shows with electric atmospheres.
Let us now place ourselves on the side of the viewers. The Nadal-Gasquet match will be absent from the antennas of France Televisions, and broadcast only on Amazon Prime Video, a streaming platform. Enough to anger some enthusiasts with remarks such as: how to ignite the flame in our young people if the best meetings are not offered in the clear?
READ ALSO. Follow the matches live on Thursday, June 3
It is a truth that is impossible to contradict. By choosing to partner with Amazon to broadcast some of its matches, the tournament knew it was going to be open to criticism. They are there. Before the fortnight, Sarah Pitkowski, former player, host on RMC and commentator for Amazon, said: “Obviously, for all sports, audiences are not the same on a free-to-air channel or on a pay channel. But today, we consume screens differently. You have to take the bandwagon. All disciplines seek to monetize their rights, free sport is becoming a rare commodity. Roland-Garros works like any other event and must be profitable to pay for its work. It goes through TV rights ”.
A finding that is hard to hear but true. Yes, Roland-Garros is a business that must be profitable (and these night sessions, when they can accommodate the public, will be an additional financial windfall). The work is expensive. As the “prize money” allocated to the players.
Moreover, if the latter play the game of night sessions without flinching (they just admit diplomatically that they regret to evolve without an audience), it is because they know that their earnings also depend on TV rights and sponsors. However, with the health crisis, Roland-Garros is certainly not unhappy to count on a brand as powerful as Amazon (which has not revealed the amount of paid TV rights, which run until 2023).
READ ALSO. Nadal and Gasquet plunged into darkness …
Jeff Bezos’ firm is one of the most influential in the world. Its power is immense. It has, for example, invested more than a billion dollars in a series devoted to “Lord of the Rings” by JRR Tolkien, and which will make the event when its release in 2022. Prime Video wants to become a real competitor for Netflix and Disney +.
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The Spaniard Rafael Nadal faces Richard Gasquet this Thursday evening at Roland-Garros. © AFP
It is impossible for entertainment-related events (whether cultural or sporting) to ignore this news from streaming platforms. The consumption of television has totally changed in ten years. Whether we consider it a bad thing or a good thing (the only way to act is to refuse to subscribe) does not matter: Roland-Garros is part of this ecosystem and adapts to it.
The world has changed
Should he feed the “beast” or, on the contrary, oppose it? Should it stick to its “traditions” at the risk of mortgaging its future? The future is built by respecting the past but also sometimes by scratching it. Today, everyone remembers with nostalgia the “charm” of the matches which were interrupted at 10 pm. But who would dare say that being able to play now after dark has distorted the spirit of Roland-Garros?
READ ALSO. The forecasts of our special envoys for the day of Thursday, June 3
The pact that the tournament has made with Amazon (with the devil some would be tempted to say) is as follows: one of the best (if not the best) posters of the day reserved for the night session. France Télévisions will therefore be deprived of a major meeting each day until June 9, the date of the last night session.
This is the game. Sad perhaps. As the Elf Galadriel would say in “The Lord of the Rings”: the world has changed. Tennis does the same. It remains to be seen whether he is taking the right road or if he is getting lost in side roads.
One last tip to finish: currently, all Roland-Garros matches are “still” free. Even those broadcast on Prime Video. Because the platform offers to subscribe while having a free month. Nothing prevents you from registering and then canceling your subscription once Roland-Garros has ended. The best solution is still to follow the match live here …
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