WTA extends and expands Canadian rights deal

French-language Canadian pay-television network TVA Sports has agreed a rights deal covering all WTA women’s tennis tournaments.

Under the deal, TVA Sports has been named the official French-language broadcaster of the WTA for three years, from 2017 until 2019.

TVA Sports, an existing rights-holder of the WTA, will show at least 27 tournaments starting in 2017, including Premier Mandatory, Premier 5 and Premier 12 events, as well as the annual WTA Finals.

Bruno Rocha, executive vice-president of WTA Media, said: “TVA Sports is one of the leading French language sports channel in Canada, with over two million subscribers and with Quebecor Media Group, it reaches 93 per cent of the Quebec population. We are delighted that they have made a strong commitment to increase our live distribution in the country, which will see local fans having access to an unprecedented number of matches.”

The agreement with TVA Sports ties in with the start of the WTA’s new partnership with digital sports media company Perform, which is worth $525m (€484.3m) over 10 years, from 2017 to 2026.