Tennis Channel, the only
24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to tennis
and the lifestyle that surrounds it, will be available in 50 million
homes during Roland Garros (commonly referred to as the French Open)
May 27-June 10, through a series of special free previews on its
cable and satellite providers. The preview offering will bring the
network’s 100+ hours of live tournament coverage and several hundred
more hours of accompanying programming to five times the network’s
current 10 million-household distribution reach.
Other than DIRECTV, which recently announced that it will launch
Tennis Channel on a full-time basis later this summer, all preview
providers currently carry the network at various levels of service.
During the French Open preview each will offer Tennis Channel to a
wider audience of analog or digital basic subscribers. Additionally,
preview partners include Echostar’s DISH Network nationwide and, on
a market-by-market basis, Comcast, Cox, Charter, Time Warner,
Brighthouse, Mediacom, Insight, Verizon, Armstrong, Bend and GCI
affiliates.
“The French Open is truly one of the most exciting spectacles in all
of sports, and we’re thrilled that 50 million people will have the
chance to see Tennis Channel’s comprehensive breadth of coverage,”
said Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO, Tennis Channel. “The story
heading into this year’s tournament is whether Roger Federer, the
world’s greatest tennis player, – and perhaps the greatest of all
time – can finally capture the French Open championship that’s
eluded him, likely at the expense of rock-star Spaniard Rafael Nadal
and his record clay-court win streak. At the same time, Serena
Williams’ return to dominance is the biggest story in all of women’s
sports this year, let alone tennis, and we’ll be there every step of
the way as she chases another Grand Slam championship at the French
Open.
“But in addition to live match coverage, our viewers are going to
feel the French Open experience in all its pageantry and glory, with
daily features and prime-time telecasts from Paris,” he added.
Tennis Channel will provide live French Open coverage for the first
time this year, with insightful commentary from legendary on-air
analysts John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova. The network’s
approach to its French Open coverage is designed to immerse
television audiences in the tournament and its surrounding
atmosphere. More than just hours of on-court matches, viewers will
feel what it is like to be at this majestic event, and to take in
the experience that encompasses its history and host city. To
accompany the live matches, the network has an extensive programming
schedule devoted to the Grand Slam competition, which includes
French Open Tonight, hosted by a yet-to-be announced, widely known
television sports personality. French Open Tonight is a nightly
prime-time program that will offer the best of the day’s tennis
events, previously unseen matches and original features and coverage
from in and around the streets of Paris.
“We’re excited that so many of our distribution partners are taking
the opportunity to utilize Tennis Channel’s investment in marquee,
Grand Slam rights to drive their customers to upgraded programming
packages,” said Randy Brown, senior vice president, distribution,
Tennis Channel. “The network works closely with our distributors to
build customized solutions that complement their new media
applications, and we’ve dedicated a significant amount of our
promotional activity toward assisting them in that endeavor.”
Participating Tennis Channel French Open preview affiliates
represent significant media markets, including: New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas,
Washington DC and Atlanta, among others. Satellite providers DIRECTV
and DISH Network will make the preview available to subscribers
throughout the United States.
Tennis Channel (www.thetennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour,
television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the
professional sport and passionate lifestyle of tennis. A hybrid of
comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment,
lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every
aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has
the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with
telecast rights to Roland-Garros (the French Open), the Australian
Open, US Open Series, ATP Masters Series, top-tier Sony Ericsson WTA
Tour championship competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP
Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by eight
of the top 10 MSOs and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and
Echostar’s DISH Network.
