Tennis

The ATP's attempts to tap younger audiences by innovating the broadcast experience could be thwarted by top players, whose opposition has already brought a premature end to the Tour's behind-the-scenes docuseries.

DR secured a three-year deal for its Wimbledon rights following a one-year agreement last year as Denmark continues to provide strong returns for tennis rights-holders. 

A grand slam has been broadcast on Tennis TV for the first time after ATP Media's OTT subscription streaming service stepped in to provide coverage in New Zealand of this year's Wimbledon, which concludes on Sunday.

ATP Media registered revenues of $202.9m in 2023 and a profit of $4m, SportBusiness understands, thanks in part to the aggregation of ATP 250 rights and the return of the Shanghai Masters for the first time since 2019.

Sports broadcaster Eurosport will continue to be the home of all four Grand Slams across much of Europe after media group Warner Bros. Discovery renewed its Wimbledon rights across 11 territories at a slight uplift. 

DAZN will distribute Tennis TV, ATP Media’s direct-to-consumer service, across Latin America, Brazil and the Caribbean in its latest move in the third-party channels business.

Warner Bros. Discovery has reportedly agreed terms on a 10-year contract to broadcast the French Open in the US, thus ending a long-standing run on NBC Sports.

The Lawn Tennis Association, the sport's UK governing body, has signed a comprehensive four-year domestic media rights agreement with the specialist Tennis Channel

Warner Bros. Discovery has retained exclusive rights to Wimbledon in 11 European markets in a play designed to drive consumers to its new Max streaming service being rolled out across the continent

BeIN Sports renewed its exclusive Wimbledon rights in France for a further five years after agreeing to pay a slight uplift.

The future of professional tennis – structurally and commercially – will be decided in the coming weeks. On one side are the ATP and WTA tours; on the other, the four Grand Slams. Investment from Saudi Arabia appears to have tipped the balance in favour of the tours.

Rights sales processes are being issued in Mena for WTA Tour and Fiba basketball, SportBusiness understands, as DAZN’s Broadcast Partnerships arm seeks to maximise the impact of major events in the region and end the Tour blackout.

The ATP and WTA are understood to have reached consensus on key issues that would enable the two entities to combine their commercial interests, paving the way for a historic merger.

ATP Media intends to have put in place full remote production in two years’ time as it joins other sports rights-holders in embracing the technology designed to streamline costs and reduce carbon footprint.

BeIN Sports, the pay-television broadcaster, is to continue as the rights-holder of the Wimbledon Championships in France for five more editions, following a long period of negotiations.

Women's tennis' WTA Tour is back on screens in China for the first time in two years after streaming service Youku acquired the rights in a three-year deal.

DR, the public-service broadcaster in Denmark, has committed to showing the Wimbledon Championships for at least the next three editions, having struck a last-minute single tournament deal last year.

Play Sports, the sports broadcaster operated by Belgian telco Telenet, has retained rights to men's tennis ATP tour and the women's WTA Tour for three more seasons.