Eurosport and IMG Media have agreed a new joint five-year media rights partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body of tennis in Great Britain.
Under it, they will distribute the rights, outside of the UK, across all media platforms for the LTA-run ATP tournaments. These currently include the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club in West London and the Aegon International Championships at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne.
The deal also includes the new WTA international event to be held in Nottingham from 2015, during the new three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Commenting on the agreement, Simon Long, chief commercial officer at the LTA, said: “This is very welcome news as it builds on our successful, long-standing partnership with Eurosport and, in collaboration with IMG, offers fans from across the world the opportunity to enjoy coverage of world class grass court tennis in the UK.”
Geraldine Filiol, deputy MD, rights acquisitions at Eurosport said: “We are very pleased to retain the rights to these popular events for the next five years. The tournaments enhance Eurosport’s tennis offer and perform well in our programming calendar at the start of the grass court season.”
Ed Mallaburn, VP, head of tennis at IMG Media added: “We are delighted to be working with the LTA and Eurosport to help establish the global significance of the extended grass court season.”
Eurosport’s international tennis coverage includes over 1,000 hours of live tennis action in 2014, including extensive multi-court coverage from three Grand Slams, Australian Open, French Open and US Open alongside a selection of ATP and WTA tournaments. Fans can also enjoy in-depth analysis from expert Mats Wilander in magazine shows Game, Set & Mats and Mats Point.
