Two principle tennis carriers in the U.S. have inked new rights deals with the men's tour.
Tennis
Channel, which will televise some 600 live match hours over 19 events,
and ESPN finalized new rights pacts with the ATP World Tour, including
presentations of the Masters 1000 competitions, the Sony Ericsson Open
from Key Biscayne, Fla. and the BNP Paribas Open from Indian Wells,
Calif.
Deal terms were not disclosed.
Those tournaments --
widely regarded as the most important in the sport, sans the four Grand
Slam events -- had been contracted to Fox Sports Net regional networks
over the past three years. Deal terms were not disclosed.
With its
new deal, Tennis Channel's coverage of the March events -- each has been
dubbed the "Fifth Slam" -- will encompass 56 hours in Miami and 75
hours from Indian Wells. (Tennis actually simulcast the events alongside
FSN in 2010, with 30 Sony Ericsson hours and 90 from the BNP Paribas
event; ESPN2 last televised these hardcourt tourneys in 2007.)
