Tennis events have suffered suspension or postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic. Wimbledon was completely cancelled, while the French Open and US Open were delayed. The Australian Open is set to go ahead next year, but not on its schedule. This delay often leads to renegotiations over the TV deal between the tournament organizer and broadcast company.
Tennis Australia is also likely to take a hit due to delay as Brisbane Times reported on the weekend that terms of the deal with Nine are set to be modified. As per the new terms, the broadcast company is set to get a 10% discount on the total payment that was set to be paid to Tennis Australia. This report also insists that the new terms will be applicable until the start of 2022.
At the end of November, it was reported in Australia that the first grand slam of the year is set to be delayed by two weeks. Tennis Australia has been in talks with the government regarding the health guidelines and feasibility of the tournament in January.
The broadcast deals have come to the rescue of various organisations across sports during the pandemic. Since every event is being played behind the closed door, the importance of TV deals has become even more important.
There have been cases where broadcast companies have renegotiated terms with sporting bodies to compensate for the delay in events. Despite taking losses in newer deals, organisers are happy on most occasions to have a stream of stable income until fans return at full capacity in the stadium.