W9 serves up ATP rights extension

French digital-terrestrial television broadcaster W9 has agreed a three-year extension to its rights deal for the ATP World Tour Finals and the BNP Paribas Masters men’s tennis tournaments.

The free-to-air channel, a subsidiary of commercial broadcaster M6, will continue to broadcast the events during the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons.

W9 will provide free-to-air coverage of the final of the World Tour Finals, along with one semi-final and the final of the BNP Paribas Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event held in Paris-Bercy.

Earlier this month, pay-television broadcaster beIN Sport acquired exclusive domestic rights for the Wimbledon tennis championships and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and 500 series, plus the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.

The deal will run for five years, from 2014 to 2018, and excludes the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo and Paris-Bercy.