The Seven Network and Tennis Australia today confirmed that Seven will continue to broadcast the Australian Open and AO Series events until 2019 (after their current deal expires at the end of the 2014 Australian Open). By the end of the new deal Seven will have broadcast the Australian Open for 46 years.
The new deal five-year deal is comprehensive – Seven has secured the free-to-air, pay, digital/online, IPTV, HbbTV, mobile and tablet rights for the Australian Open and AO Series (Brisbane International, Apia International Sydney and AAMI Kooyong Classic). Seven has also secured live streaming rights from all broadcast courts at these events for online and mobile platforms (to read more on TV networks securing digital sports rights click here).
Tennis Australia has said the new deal is a perfect fit for its “tennis anywhere and on any device” strategy. In great news for tennis fans (and a sign of the continued growth of Seven’s multichannel sports strategy), Seven will:
- broadcast more than 330 hours of Australian Open and AO Series events; and
- broadcast free-to-air on two channels during the Australian summer of tennis.
Tennis Australia CEO, Steve Wood, said:
“This agreement fits in very well with our overall strategy of ensuring as much high quality tennis coverage for the Australian public as possible, freely available on whatever device the viewer chooses.”
New Seven West Media CEO, Tim Worner, said:
“One of the key aspects of our new broadcast agreement is our ability to deliver this amazing event across multiple platforms in formats that meet the demands of our audiences. One of our key strategies for the development of our business is the delivery of live content across our media platforms…”
It has been a big week in sports broadcast news with Seven also signing a new deal with IMG Australia to broadcast the Perth International and Australian Masters golf (read more here).
Financial details of the new tennis broadcast deal were not disclosed.
Sources