Tennis Australia has announced an extension to its partnership with the Japanese broadcaster Wowow. This agreement will see Australian Open strengthen its coverage to more viewers in Japan.
The coverage will commence from next year in January 2022.
Through this deal, the Japanese broadcaster will expand the viewership by more than 14 hours a day for the Australian Open on its linear sports channels, and for the very first time, the company will live stream all the matches from all 16 courts, which includes the AO lead-in events.
Craig Tiley, Australian Open Tournament Director, said: “We are delighted to extend our agreement with Wowow, one of our most long-standing broadcasters, as we celebrate 30 years of partnership. Our fans in Japan treat the Australian Open as their ‘home’ slam, and with Wowow’s innovation and commitment to their most comprehensive coverage ever of the AO, our Japanese fans will be able to follow the action from every court in January.”
Wowow and the Australian Open have a long-running partnership of 30 years and with this extension, the enterprise has launched a new initiative service called Wowow Tennis World from AO in a bid to offer more fun and engagement to the fans.
Akira Tanaka, President and CEO, Wowow Inc, added: “In the past, we have broadcast many historic moments from the AO that brought huge excitement to Japanese Tennis fans. In 1994, Kimiko Date, who is currently working with us as an Ambassador, reached the women’s singles semifinals, and in 2012, Kei Nishikori proceeded to the quarter-finals as the first Japanese men’s singles player in 80 years.”
Furthermore, the Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam that Wowow has broadcast all the matches live via its Wowow On Demand and Wowow Tennis World platforms. Japanese fans will also be rooting for Naomi Osaka, who is seen as the favourite to win the Australian Open in women’s singles.