French Sports Minister Doesn’t Favor Pay TV, Which Could Hurt Expansion

Written by: Staff on 30th May 2013

French Sports Minister Doesn't Favor Pay TV, Which Could Hurt Expansion

epa02172402 The crowds at Roland Garros stadium during first round action for the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, France, 25 May 2010. EPA/FELIPE TRUEBA |

The cost of the Roland Garros expansion, if approved, is tagged around $437 million, which will be financed by a $30 million contribution from the City of Paris and the rest from the French Tennis Federation.

But there is potential trouble for tournament director Gilbert Ysern and company: Valérie Fourneyron, the country’s minister of sports, told Journal du Dimanche last week that she wants the entire tournament to remain on free TV.

French law only mandates that the men’s and women’s singles final be broadcast on free TV, and in order to pay for the expansion, Ysern wants the option of selling some of the media rights to pay-television networks.

“We are financing this almost entirely on our own,” Ysern told the New York Times. “And then they want to keep us from going out and getting what we need.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: French Tennis Federation, Gilbert Ysern, Journal du Dimanche, Paris tennis news, Roland Garros, Tennis News, Valérie Fourneyron