The Sinclair-owned Tennis Channel has expanded its European portfolio by agreeing to become the Women’s Tennis Association broadcast partner in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
The American sports-oriented television network will be launching its European streaming service in April 2022 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with expanding later to the United Kingdom, Greece, India, and the Netherlands.
According to reports, the two-year contract with the WTA will have all WTA 1,000, WTA 500, and WTA 250 events, as well as the WTA Finals, broadcast on Tennis Channel in the four countries mentioned above. WTA 1,000 events will reportedly be aired live on Ziggo TV in the Netherlands, with Tennis Channel airing them later.
Ken Solomon, Tennis Channel president, said, “Since [Tennis Channel] was founded almost two decades ago, we have always prepared for global expansion.
“We worked with the WTA and tennis decision-makers to test the thesis that the sport competes better when a series of media platforms of the same name allows fans to experience it as it is played around the planet every day of the year will. We have continued to develop tennis in the highly competitive American market and are now looking forward to transferring this model to other countries.”
Tennis Channel will practice a series of digital, ad-free supported streaming TV channels, in accumulation to its streaming product to air the events covered by the contract.
Micky Lawler, WTA President, commented, “I can’t say yet this is the start of a global strategy, but I wouldn’t discount it. We have great belief in what we can do together.”
Tennis Channel will also have access to content that will be developed by Stats Perform, the property’s official data supplier, as part of the new WTA agreement.
The move also extends the channel’s association with the WTA outside of the United States, where the network is the primary broadcast partner for the women’s tennis tour.
In August 2021, Tennis Channel had also announced its expansion in India with the launch of the Tennis Channel International streaming platform on Samsung TV plus.