French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has acquired rights for ATP World Tour 500 and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 men’s tennis tournaments from now until the end of the 2013 season.
The rights became available after the closure in June of pay-television channel Orange Sport, which had acquired the rights for the 2011 to 2013 period in a deal brokered by the IMG Media agency. Orange Sport was shut down by parent company Orange, the telecommunications company, after failing to add enough subscribers.
Canal Plus will provide live coverage of more than 30 tournaments, including the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris and the Mont-Carlo Rolex Masters, plus other Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome. The ATP World Tour Finals, the season-ending tournament, will also be shown on Canal Plus under the new agreement.
Canal Plus’ first broadcast under the new deal is scheduled for tomorrow, from the German Tennis Championships ATP World Tour 500 event in Hamburg.