Australian Open Press Release, January 25, 2022
Tennis Australia and ESPN International have announced a significant milestone, extending and expanding their broadcast partnership of the Australian Open across Latin America, Brazil and the Caribbean for another 10 years.
The deal will see the partnership, which began back in 1998, extend past the 30 years mark, running until 2031 in 47 territories in three languages.
“ESPN is renowned for its quality tennis coverage on and off court and we’re delighted to announce an extension of our partnership for a further decade,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.
“It was clear from the start of our relationship that ESPN shared our vision around innovation and delivery of highly engaging content for our fans. We look forward to continuing our work together to bring the most comprehensive and compelling AO coverage to fans across the region.”
As part of the new agreement, viewers will be able to follow all AO Events including the AO Qualifying Tournament, AO Junior Championships, AO Wheelchair Championships, AO Legends, AO Australian and Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-offs and the lead in Adelaide International ATP 250 tournament.
The agreement includes linear and digital rights to the AO and lead-in tournaments with more than 200 hours of coverage on its ESPN linear sports channels; live stream and on demand matches from all 16 match courts at Melbourne Park; AO Qualifying, the AO Junior Championships and AO Wheelchair Championships coverage on ESPN’s Star + platform; and extensive additional online reporting across ESPN digital platforms.
In addition, for the first time, ESPN will collaborate with Tennis Australia to showcase the new AO originals programs – exclusive lifestyle and entertainment programming content across their Disney platforms, starting with the show ‘The Perfect Serve’ which will be available exclusively on Star +.
“We are proud to be the home of the Australian Open across Latin America and the Caribbean,” Senior Vice President of production, programming and acquisitions, marketing and advertising sales for ESPN, Tim Bunnell said.
“For over 20 years, ESPN has been committed to showcasing the best of the tournament to fans – providing the most comprehensive live coverage across multiple platforms networks. We are excited and thrilled to extend our agreement with Tennis Australia. The Australian Open will continue to be a vital component of our Grand Slam coverage and other major tennis events scheduled on ESPN’s platforms throughout the year.”
