Seven signs coverage agreement with Fox Sports
Fox Sports and The Seven Network has signed an agreement over coverage of the Australian Open Tennis Championships.
The announcement:
23 November 2010 –- The Seven Network, Australia’s most-watched network, today announced the signing of an agreement with Fox Sports on subscription television coverage of the forthcoming Australian Open Tennis Championships from 2011 to 2014.
Today’s agreement sees Fox Sports return to the Open, and in partnership with Seven both networks will deliver unparalleled coverage of one of the biggest sports events in Australia.
Under the terms of the agreement, Fox Sports will have live access to matches on courts outside of Rod Laver Arena. These courts include Hisense Arena and Margaret Court Arena. Matches on Centre Court at Rod Laver Arena will be exclusively live on Seven, and Seven will continue to have the rights to broadcast matches on all courts on live or delayed coverage, ensuring the best matches are available on Seven’s free-to-air broadcast television platform.
Seven’s coverage of The Australian Open dominates television across January. The Men’s Final delivered a peak audience of 3.17 million viewers while the Women’s Final delivered a peak audience of 2.43 million. More than 9.2 million Australians across the five major metropolitan markets watched all or part of Seven’s coverage of The Australian Open in 2010.
Announcing the agreement, Seven’s Head of Sport, Saul Shtein said: “We’re pleased to be working once again with Fox Sports on a broad coverage of The Australian Open across broadcast and subscription television.”
Commenting, Tennis Australia CEO, Steve Wood, said: “We are fortunate to be in a position with our free to air and pay television partners that will see Australian Open 2011 broadcast live to more people than ever before. Together with our broadcast partners we will continue to build tennis, both as a spectator and television sport to increase the audience, as well as boost participation and get more people playing more tennis more often.”
Source: Seven Network press release
