Eurosport And IMG Link Deal With LTA; Indian Wells Re-Signs With Tennis Channel

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 18th December 2013

Eurosport And IMG Link Deal With LTA; Indian Wells Re-Signs With Tennis Channel

epa02549698 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine (R) receives the ball from a ball kid in a game against Andy Murray of Great Britain during their men's singles quarterfinal round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 26 January 2011. Murray won. EPA/DENNIS M. SABANGAN |

Eurosport and IMG Media have agreed to a new joint five-year media rights partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association, while the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden has renewed its TV broadcast agreement with Tennis Channel.

Under Eurosport and IMG’s deal, they will distribute the rights, outside of the UK, across all media platforms for the LTA-run ATP tournaments. These currently include the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club in West London and the Aegon International Championships at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne.

The deal also includes the new WTA international event to be held in Nottingham from 2015, during the new three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“This is very welcome news as it builds on our successful, long-standing partnership with Eurosport and, in collaboration with IMG, offers fans from across the world the opportunity to enjoy coverage of world class grass court tennis in the UK,” said Simon Long, chief commercial officer at the LTA.

Geraldine Filiol, deputy MD, rights acquisitions at Eurosport added: “The tournaments enhance Eurosport’s tennis offer and perform well in our programming calendar at the start of the grass court season.”

Eurosport’s international tennis coverage includes over 1,000 hours of live tennis action in 2014, including extensive multi-court coverage from three Grand Slams, Australian Open, French Open and US Open alongside a selection of ATP and WTA tournaments. Fans can also enjoy in-depth analysis from expert Mats Wilander in magazine shows Game, Set & Mats and Mats Point.

At the BNP Paribas Open, March 3-16, 2014 at Indian Wells, Tennis Channel will feature 97 hours of live coverage and 145 hours of encore coverage. Live coverage on Tennis Channel will begin on Thursday, March 6 and wrap up with the men’s doubles final on Saturday, March 15. In addition, the “Tennis Channel Live Pre-Game Show” will air 30 minutes prior to live tennis coverage from Thursday, March 6 through Thursday, March 13.

“In recent years Tennis Channel has steadily expanded our BNP Paribas Open coverage, both in terms of overall match hours and live conversation from our news desk on the tournament grounds,” said David Egdes, senior vice president, tennis industry relations, Tennis Channel. “Indian Wells is truly one of the jewels of the tennis season and the tournament has taken a leading role in on-site innovation for players, fans and media.”

Steve Simon, Indian Wells tournament director, added: “We are pleased to renew our agreement and excited to bring more than 240 hours of high-quality coverage from the BNP Paribas Open to fans across the country. The Tennis Channel Live Pre-Game Show and set on site were great additions last year, and we look forward to continuing this engaging platform for fans at the tournament and beyond.”

Coverage of the tournament will culminate on ESPN2 on Friday, March 14, ESPNEWS on Saturday March 15, and both singles finals will air live back-to-back on ESPN2 Sunday, March 16.

Topics: 10sballs.com, AEGON Championships, Atp, Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open, Espn, Eurosport, French Open, Grand Slam, IMG, Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Lta, Mats Wilander, Roland Garros, Steve Simon, Tennis, Tennis Channel, Tennis News, US Open, Wimbledon, Wta