Hawk-Eye and AKQA launch spatial audio accessibility feed for Wimbledon

This deployment marks a shift from accessibility as a compliance checkbox to a core technical product within a major sports broadcast stack. By integrating real-time computer vision data into secondary audio and AR layers, rights holders can expand their addressable audience without fragmenting the primary broadcast feed. This multi-sensory approach effectively bridges the gap between traditional radio commentary and highly visual streaming experiences. Expect this to become a standard requirement for major OTT sports contracts as leagues look to maximize value through inclusive feature sets. Watch for similar data-to-spatial-audio integrations at the 2026 FIFA World Cup following recent Hawk-Eye and Sony manufacturing partnerships.

The rollout at Wimbledon follows a multi-year testing phase for these underlying technologies across global tennis events. Action Audio was first piloted at the 2021 Australian Open in collaboration with Tennis Australia and Monash University to make ball tracking audible via Google Assistant and web streams, per WPP and Tennis Australia reporting. By 2022, the system was expanded to cover every match at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, proving the scalability of converting low-latency data into 3D audio for blind audiences. Meanwhile, Hawk-Eye’s related AR visualization tools, marketed as HawkAR, saw similar momentum after a 2025 rollout across ATP Masters 1000 events and the Nitto ATP Finals, according to Hawk-Eye Innovations data.

Beyond tennis, Sony-owned Hawk-Eye is aggressively expanding its tracking-to-broadcast pipeline to other major American and European sports. In January 2025, Sony was named an official technology partner of the NFL, with plans to replace physical chain crews with optical tracking for line-to-gain measurements by the 2025 season, per PR Newswire. This infrastructure provides the precise skeletal and object data necessary to power inclusive feeds like the one debut at Wimbledon. Furthermore, BBC Sport has prioritized streaming innovation as part of its strategy to deliver 1,000 additional hours of live sport annually via iPlayer, specifically targeting accessible coverage for minority sports like wheelchair tennis, per Prolific North. This strategy aligns with the broader industry trend of using alternate game presentations, such as the Disney+ 'Toy Story Funday Football' broadcast, to engage underserved or non-traditional viewer demographics through data-driven visual layers.