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SBS nabs US Open finals as Tennis Australia extends Eurosport partnership

The finals of the US Open are available to view live and free-to-air on SBS, with the remaining matches the tournament at Flushing Meadows, beginning this morning.

So far the tournament has only been available behind a paywall on Foxtel and Kayo, but SBS has now begun broadcasting the quarter-finals and will air all final matches.

Novak Djokovic will take on Matteo Berrettini

Big names Novak Djokovic, Elina Svitolina, Matteo Berrettini, Alexander Zverev, Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev made it through to the quarters, while teenagers Carlos Alcara, Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu have also made a splash at this year’s tournament.

The US Open finals will run until Monday, 13 September, with the Women’s Singles Final taking place at 6am on Sunday morning and the men’s at 6am on Monday morning. All matches are available to view live on SBS and SBS On Demand.

The US Open is the only of the four major slams not to be broadcast on Nine or Stan Sport, after Nine signed a three-year deal for Wimbledon and Roland Garros last November.

Nine will also broadcast the Australian Open again in 2022, launching its coverage at a virtual event recently, promising brands ‘huge audiences’ and ‘unrivalled storytelling’ at the forthcoming tournament.

Meanwhile, Tennis Australia has kept up momentum off the back of a series of recent announcements, now revealing an extension to its broadcast partnership with Eurosport for the Australian Open.

Eurosport will broadcast the tournament through to 2031, extending the partnership that has seen the broadcaster hold the rights in Europe since 1995.

The new agreement will begin in 2022 and also includes linear and digital rights to the Australian Open and lead-in tournaments. Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said: “Eurosport has been an outstanding partner for the Australian Open since 1995 and I’m delighted to announce this historic agreement.

“Finding new ways to tell the stories of the Australian Open on and off the court is our aim each year.

“Each year we push the broadcast envelope to find new ways to showcase the on-court drama and tell the off-court stories of the world’s best players. We look forward to bringing this to life in 2022 and beyond, and connecting even more closely with our massive fan base in Europe.”

Eurosport International is owned by Discovery Communications, and the new deal will see Discovery also collaborate with Tennis Australia on of lifestyle and entertainment around the tournament, including food and music.

Discovery president of sports, Andrew Georgiou, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Tennis Australia and deepen our association with them around what is one of the jewels in the crown of the tennis season.

We have an incredible heritage in delivering leading tennis coverage for broad audiences enjoying Grand Slam events on our platforms, covering all the stories that matter on and off the court on whichever platform people choose to follow the tournament.

“Extending our relationship with the Australian Open on a long-term basis means we can take this even further, utilising the full breadth and depth of Discovery’s global channels, platforms and brands – including Eurosport and our streaming service discovery+ – to work with Tennis Australia and reach new audiences, around new and different stories, to play an even bigger part in helping grow the tournament.”

The deal follows Tennis Australia recently appointing OMD’s PHD Australia to its media account, moving across from Zenith after a competitive pitch. There was also a competitive tender for Tennis Australia’s creative account, after which Edge was appointed to that account.

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