Spanish TV Has trouble at Roland Garros

Written by: Staff on 2nd June 2013

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

Spanish TV Has trouble at Roland Garros

epa03726764 The shadow of Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during his third round match against Fabio Fognini of Italy at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 01 June 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

The workers at Spanish cable channel Canal Plus, which owns the rights to Roland Garros, are on strike, so the tournament is being shown in Spain without any sound. The Canal Plus commentators are respecting the strike and while they are in Paris, there are not commentating even though the matches are being shown.

The Spanish economy is in a deep recession so the main Spanish terrestrial channel decided not to pay for Roland Garros. They did ask the tournament whether they could pay for just one match a day – essentially so they could show the wildly popular Rafael Nadal – but the French Open turned them down.

Nadal and his camp are said to be negotiating with his sponsors in an attempt to help free Spanish TV to be able to broadcast some matches. Cable and satellite TV do not have the same reach that they do in the United States. Recent estimates put the number of households that have cable or satellite TV in Spain at around 30 %, well below that of the US, which is around 85%.

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Canal Plus, deportes, Roland Garros, Spanish tv, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News