ESPN Adds US Open, Officially Becomes Grand Slam Tennis Network
Posted by Aaress Lawless on May 13, 2008 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription
Although ESPN has been billing itself as the Grand Slam Network for some time, it was not until Monday that the cable network could officially be called the home of all four majors in tennis.
The United States Tennis Association announced yesterday that the US Open will be added to ESPN’s repertoire in 2009.
This groundbreaking television and multi-platform partnership creates a summer-long “Open Season” for tennis featuring more than 400 national television hours for the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series — an increase of nearly 100 hours.
Commencing in 2009, ESPN and Tennis Channel will join CBS, and become the US Open cable television broadcasters for the first time. Under the new deal, the US Open will receive 200 hours of total coverage, an increase of over 50 hours — the most in US Open history.
“This completes a five-year process of reinventing the television and digital landscape for the sport of tennis in North America,” said Arlen Kantarian, CEO Pro Tennis, USTA. “Tennis will now be prominently featured for eight straight weeks on ESPN — the premiere destination in sports; Tennis Channel — our sport’s namesake network; and CBS — our longtime network partner. This new partnership will provide more tennis, to more people, in more ways than ever before.”
“Tennis has provided many memorable moments in ESPN history, and to finally acquire the excitement and drama of the US Open is a crowning achievement,” said John Skipper, ESPN Executive Vice President, Content. “The sport is a perfect fit for our growing digital businesses, and fans will know to find the best tennis action all year on ESPN2 and on ESPN360.com.”
This marks the first time that the Series and the US Open will be carried by the same cable broadcast partner — creating a more consistent TV package for the sport.
For 2008, USA Network will remain the US Open’s exclusive cable broadcaster.
For 2009 and beyond, ESPN2 will become the lead cable broadcaster for the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series, broadcasting nearly 200 hours of tennis coverage during the eight-week North American summer tennis season.
Tennis Channel, which continues as a Series broadcaster with nearly 150 hours of Series coverage, will now also broadcast more than 60 hours of live US Open coverage. For the first time, Tennis Channel also will broadcast daily US Open preview and highlight shows.
CBS Sports will continue to broadcast nearly 40 hours of live US Open coverage — bringing the overall national coverage of tennis during the summer season to more than 400 hours.
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