Tennis Australia has signed a broadcast rights extension deal with US media giant Discovery until 2031 following which Eurosport will now air the tennis Grand Slam live and exclusively across Europe from 2022.
The contract includes all linear and digital rights, extending Eurosport’s association with the Australian Open to more than 25 years.
Eurosport, which was the first broadcast of the tournament in 1995, now also has the exclusive rights to Australian lead-up events, including the Adelaide International ATP tournament.
With the extension deal, Discovery is aiming to take the Australian Open to a ‘bigger and broader audience’ over the next period of contract.
Meanwhile, other than the live action of the tournament, Discovery is liekly to collaborate with Tennis Australia on various other contents like lifestyle and entertainment to appeal to a wider audience.
Commenting on the development, Andrew Georgiou, President of Sports, Discovery said: “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,” he aded.
On the other hand, Craig Tiley, chief executive of Tennis Australia and Australian Open tournament director, said: “For more than 25 years Eurosport has helped showcase the best of the Australian Open into Europe and we are delighted to extend and expand this historic partnership.”
“We look forward to bringing our innovative coverage to life through Eurosport and Discovery’s free to air, subscription TV and multiple online destinations, and telling the stories of the players both on the court and beyond, both in January and throughout the year,” he added.
Recently, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) had awarded the rights to broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games to Eurosport India, which was held between 24 August and 5 September.
Signifacntly, it was the first time that Eurosport had telecasted a global multi-sport event in India and expanded on a diverse range of sports already available to fans across its platforms.