Eurosport renews deals for two tennis grand slams

The Eurosport Group has extended its long term partnerships with the French and US Opens following the signing of two new deals. Brokered by MP & Silva, the French Open deal secures coverage on Eurosport for three years, from 2012 through 2014. The US Open agreement, finalized through the agency of IMG Media, sees the US grand slam on Eurosport through to 2017.

The renewed deals for both events cover live pan-European rights, across all platforms. The two events will be covered on TV channels Eurosport and Eurosport 2, also available on PC and on mobile devices via Eurosport Player, the Eurosport Group’s online subscription service. Subscribers to Eurosport Player will also have access to the live multi-court service.

Eurosport Group enjoys trusted and long-standing relationships with the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT) and the United States Tennis Association (USTA), making the pan-European broadcaster the natural choice for these federations. They will benefit from Eurosport’s huge multimedia exposure across Europe, as well as consistent quality coverage for their prestigious events.

Geraldine Filiol, Deputy Managing Director, in charge of acquisitions for the Eurosport Group said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with these two premium tennis properties, with whom we have built strong relationships over the years. These deals ensure that Eurosport remains a major partner of the Tennis world in Europe. Tennis Grand Slams are indeed a perfect fit for our Group’s multi-screen strategy: not only Eurosport delivers these events anywhere and on any device, but we also ensure that all this terrific content is made available to fans via Eurosport Player multi-court service.”

Michel Grach, Director of Media and Sponsorship at the French Tennis Federation confirms: “The FFT has enjoyed a privileged partnership with Eurosport for over twenty years, and we are pleased to renew this healthy collaboration for a further three years. The world’s premier clay event will be available to more fans throughout Europe than ever before, in line with our ambitious distribution strategy to enhance and increase multi-screen and multi-lingual coverage of Roland Garros.”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Eurosport, and as a leader in sports production and sports distribution, they are the right partner for the US Open,” said Gordon Smith, USTA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. “With their market penetration, we will be able to bring the US Open to more fans than ever before.”

With these two new contracts, Eurosport has now secured long term commitment to all its Grand Slam portfolio, after last year’s multi-year contract signed with the Australian Open. Again in 2012, Eurosport will be offering tennis fans over 1,200 hours live – more if there are more finals like yesterday’s –  adding the WTA season and selected ATP events to its three Grand Slams.