Friday, 24 November 2023

Sky Sports: Sky Sports to launch new channel for show exclusive ATP & WTA tennis from March 2024

Story from Sky Sports:

Sky Sports has agreed new five-year partnerships with the ATP and WTA to show all-year-round tennis involving the best players in the world, including Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and Britain's Emma Raducanu starting next season.

The agreement will see more than 80 tournaments and 4,000 matches - including both season-ending finals and all Masters 1000 events - broadcast live every year on Sky Sports from 2024.

Fans will also be able to watch both Tours on NOW and follow extensive coverage of their favourite players across Sky Sports' digital and social platforms.

The partnership comes after the return of the US Open to Sky Sports this year and will showcase the world's top players such as world No 1s Djokovic and Swiatek, alongside Rafael Nadal, Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner and the returning Naomi Osaka as well as the 'new era' of tennis stars including Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Brits Raducanu and Jack Draper.

Coverage will include the combined Masters 1000 events taking place in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome, and Cincinnati plus both the Nitto ATP Finals and WTA Finals. From 2024, Sky Sports will create a new home for tennis all year round, delivering live action from six continents direct to fans.

Sky Sports' coverage will be led by presenter Gigi Salmon, alongside Tim Henman and Laura Robson who will offer their expert analysis and insights across the two tours, with Jonathan Overend on the match commentary.

Former British No 1 Henman said: “There are so many opportunities of not only growing the game to a younger audience but also showcasing the different technologies and take a deep dive into the analysis of why these top players are so good.

“It’s something Sky Sports has done so well in so many different sports and it’s exciting to bring that expertise back to tennis and make the game accessible and encourage more young people to take up the sport."

The Sky Sports team will also be joined by additional talent and co-commentators at various events across the season.

Both Tours will be available for fans year-round with Sky having secured rights exclusively in the UK and Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as non-exclusive rights in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and South Tyrol.

British No 1 Katie Boulter is excited by the deal: "I think it's awesome," she told Sky Sports. "It's obviously been a while since the tennis has been on Sky Sports and to finally have it back, it's going to be fun to watch next year.

"We're looking forward to watching a lot of tennis and I think it's exciting because everything is going to be in one place with a lot of tournaments to watch. I'll be tuning in for sure!"

Stephen van Rooyen, CEO Sky UK & Ireland and Group CCO, said: "This is a fantastic time to see the ATP and WTA Tours on Sky Sports across our markets, as tennis enters a new era with fresh and exciting talent making their way to the top of the sport. We are committed to bringing the two Tours together to elevate both male and female stars, and deliver world-class coverage of the 80 events across 48 weeks of the year; creating a brand-new home for tennis fans."

Mark Webster, CEO of ATP Media, said: "We are extremely excited by the commitment we are seeing from Sky to both men's and women's tennis. ATP Media prides itself on producing and delivering the huge amount of world-class content generated on the ATP Tour and the three Sky entities have shown themselves to be the perfect partners to provide this content to our many tennis fans. We share many of the same values, striving for innovation and excellence, and we hope this is just the start of an amazing new chapter for tennis in these Sky markets."

Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, said: "This partnership is brilliant news for tennis fans who can look forward to more exciting action from the Hologic WTA Tour in 2024 and beyond with a strengthened calendar which will elevate the sport even further.

"Sky Sports are renowned for championing world-class sport, and we know that they will create a fantastic new platform to showcase our outstanding WTA and ATP athletes in one place. The future is bright for women's sport and there is much more growth to come."

Live tennis will be available from next year on Sky Sports, and non-Sky subscribers can access the Tours via a NOW Sports Monthly membership, with selected highlights available on demand.

Tennis on Telly has confirmed the following to Media Boy UK on X:

"Sky will launch Sky Sports Tennis UK before Mar '24 until then the coverage will be across other Sky Sports channels but I don't know if Sky will launch a new Sky Sports channel or replacement".


Copyright - Tennis on telly 2023.