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Tag: US Open

  • CNN FlashDocs to premiere ‘Serena Williams: On Her Terms’ on 11 September

    CNN FlashDocs to premiere ‘Serena Williams: On Her Terms’ on 11 September

    Mumbai: At the close of the annual US Open Tennis Championships, CNN in the US will celebrate the personal and professional life of multiple tennis Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in “Serena Williams: On Her Terms.” Produced by the CNN FlashDocs unit, the hour-long special will premiere on 11 September.

    Williams, widely regarded as the greatest tennis player of all time, is one of the most decorated women in history, having won 23 singles Grand Slam titles, four Olympic Gold Medals, and nearly $100 million in prize money. Her ascent has spanned three action-packed decades, turning Williams into a global force and a household name. On 9 August, Williams announced her formal “evolution” from the sport, citing her desire to focus on her career as a venture capitalist and expand her family.

    “Serena Williams: On Her Terms” chronicles her early beginnings in Compton, CA to her epic ascent to international prominence, exploring the key moments on and off the court that shaped the athlete, woman, and mother. The documentary boasts an all-female interview roster, featuring conversations with Kerri Walsh Jennings (three-time Olympic gold medalist and beach volleyball player), Jennie Finch (Olympic gold medalist and softball pitcher), Napheesa Collier (Olympic gold medalist and WNBA Minnesota Lynx forward), Lindsay Flach (nine-time Team USA track and field heptathlete) – all who have grappled with motherhood and their sports – in addition to Rennae Stubbs (Williams’ current US Open coach and four-time Olympian), Cari Champion, Zina Garrison and Chandra Rubin, (co-hosts, The GOAT: Serena podcast) and CNN’s Christine Brennan.

  • Sony Pictures Networks India acquires exclusive TV & digital rights for US Open 2022

    Sony Pictures Networks India acquires exclusive TV & digital rights for US Open 2022

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) on Thursday announced that it has acquired the broadcasting rights of the US Open starting August 2022. The broadcaster has signed a three-year deal to get the exclusive media rights (TV and digital) of the global sporting event between 2022-24. The matches will also be available to livestream on SPN’s premium OTT platform, SonyLIV.

    SPN’s sports channels will air US Open 2022 across the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives.

    This year’s final Grand Slam, the US Open 2022, is scheduled to take place between 29 August and 11 September.

    Sony Pictures Networks India hopes to replicate its success for the US Open and offer a seamless viewing experience of the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.

    Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer, distribution and head – sports business Rajesh Kaul said, “We are pleased to acquire the media rights for the US Open, the final stop of the tennis Grand Slam calendar, which makes us the premier destination for tennis fans in India and the subcontinent. For the first time in its history of broadcast in India, the US Open will be broadcast in four languages on our network. As the Home of Tennis, we have been and will continue to serve the growing tennis fanbase in India.”

    Adding to this, USTA chief commercial officer Kirsten Corio commented, “Having a broadcast partner committed to becoming a home for tennis in their region is central to growing fan engagement with the game and is what makes Sony Pictures Networks India a perfect partner for the US Open. We’re excited to work alongside them to deliver the US Open across the Indian subcontinent to our fans there for the next three years.”

    The channel will broadcast live coverage of the 142nd edition of the prestigious tournament starting 29 August at 7:30 p.m.

    For the first time in India, SPN will telecast the marquee tournament in four languages across SONY SIX, SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels, beginning with the single’s quarterfinal matches on 6 September 2022 onwards.

    The Grand Slam will be covered live by Sony Sports’ flagship LIVE studio show for tennis, Extraaa Serve.

    Hosted by Suhail Chandhok, the show will feature Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, former India number one tennis player Somdev Devvarman and India Davis Cupper Purav Raja.

    Former India Davis Cupper & Asian Gold medalist Gaurav Natekar, Manish Batavia, and Atish Thukral will provide Hindi commentary beginning with the quarterfinals. India Davis Cupper Jeevan Neduncheziyan, Srinivasan Sheshadri, and Arun Venugopal will be joining them in the studio for Tamil commentary along with India Davis Cupper Vishnu Vardhan, Sandeep Kumar, and former India number one Rishika Sunkara for Telugu commentary.

    Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said, “I am delighted to be working with Sony Sports channels again after many years for a Grand Slam event in India. I have great memories of the US Open, having played it in the 70s and the 80s and having been in two quarterfinals. My wins over Rod Laver in 1973 and Bjorn Borg in 1974 are still firmly etched in my mind. I am really looking forward to covering the final Grand Slam of the year for tennis fans on Sony Sports channels.”

  • PE firm CVC Capital proposes to buy out ATP, WTA tennis tours

    MUMBAI: Changes may be afoot as far as broadcasting rights of professional male and female tennis calendars are concerned if reports emerging over the past two days are to be believed. Sky News first reported that Luxembourg headquartered private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is in unconfirmed talks with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to buy a 15 per cent stake into a new entity One Tennis which will combine their two itineraries. It is willing to serve a cool $600 million for the privilege of managing the broadcasting rights to the two tours, as well as selling data rights to gambling companies.

    CVC Capital has discussed leaving the running of the two sports to the two associations; all it wants is that the women and men’s tournaments should have a unified calendar (meaning female and male tennis players should play at the same competitions) – just like they do in the Grand Slam championships – Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open, and the French Open. The latter four contests are ruled by a different governing body.

    The private equity firm believes it can extract greater value than both ATP and WTA are doing currently by glamourising the tours, upping prize money, improving broadcast production quality, and setting up a global digital platform for tennis fans.

    Reuters reported on 8 June that the two associations had issued a joint statement which said that they are “continually looking for ways to bring the sport closer together to provide an enhanced experience for fans, players and tournaments.”

    CVC Capital is no stranger to managing sports; it had been the owner of the F1 from 2006 to 2017 when it sold it to John Malone’s Liberty Media. Over that period, it squeezed out billions of dollars in revenue from the racing sport; in the process, it helped turn around its fortunes. CVC Capital has recently invested in the six nations Rugby and the International Volleyball Federation.

    CVC is proposing that ATP Media (ATP’s existing sales and broadcasting arm) will be absorbed into the new entity with the former’s CEO Mark Webster leading One Tennis. Most of the broadcast rights to the ATP Tours for India lie with the ATP’s tennistv.com, with rights to the ATP 250s being shared by it with Discovery. Prior to Discovery, Sony Pictures Sports Network was the rights holder from 2015 to 2020. Hardcore tennis fans can watch matches online at tennistv.com with the annual subscription package running at $119.9.

    But apparently, a lot more could be done to popularise tennis and the tours among younger audiences, commentators and critics have averred. Tennis has alienated young tennis buffs as they have been drawn to other sports that have more excitement and entertainment. Statistics have shown that the tennis fan is beginning to age and to get back in the game, the sports need a rejuvenation.

    The ATP and WTA boards are expected to meet later this month on the proposal. Their decision will make it clear whether they believe that CVC Capital can be that white knight – who will inject some life into the sport.

  • Ten HD available on Tata Sky HD

    Ten HD available on Tata Sky HD

    MUMBAI : Ten HD, 24×7 Sports HD TV channel that showcases exciting sports action in High definition from its stellar line-up of Live Premier international sporting is now available on Tata Sky HD Channel No. 408.

    Mr. Rajesh Sethi, CEO – Sports Business, ZEEL, said “We’re extremely pleased to offer TEN HD to Tata Sky HD subscribers. TEN HD’s availability on Tata Sky will provide compelling sports content covering cricket, football, tennis, athletics, wrestling in High definition to HD subscribers. Tata Sky HD subscribers can look forward to exhilarating upcoming tours of Indian cricket team.”

    TEN HD will broadcast prominent properties like Cricket from South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2014 Asian Game, 2014 Hockey World Cup, US Open, ATP, WTA, UEFA Champions League , UEFA Europa League, French League, Moto GP, Tour de France and WWE.

  • Xerox in 5-year sponsorship deal for US Open

    Xerox in 5-year sponsorship deal for US Open

    MUMBAI: The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and Xerox have announced that Xerox has agreed to a five-year partnership to officially sponsor the US Open and Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Hess, starting next year.

    Xerox will serve as the exclusive office equipment and document technology and services provider for both the US Open and Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day. The partnership includes on-site presence, media support of tournament television broadcasts and a robust relationship with USOpen.org, the official website of the US Open.

    On-site at the US Open, Xerox will be provided with both courtside and ring signage in Arthur Ashe Stadium and the Louis Armstrong Stadium as well as other tournament courts.

    As a partner with the US Open, Xerox document technology will be integrated in all key areas of the US Open, including tournament operations, business operations and the US Open Media Center. Xerox will work with the USTA to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of communication to key constituencies through the use of Xerox’s document technology and services.

    As an official partner of Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, Xerox will be the title sponsor of the Performance Challenge, which is a featured component of the stadium show where top players attempt to hit targets in order to raise money for their designated charity.

    Xerox CMO Christa Carone said, “The USTA does a masterful job of creating on-court excitement for tennis fans around the world. Off the courts is a hub of activity to serve up fast and accurate communication with officials, administrators, press, players and guests. That’s where Xerox comes in. Through our document technology and services, we’ll give the USTA more freedom to focus on their real business – on the court and off.”

    USTA chief business and marketing officer Harlan Stone said, “Once again the US Open has attracted a leader in its respective business category. Xerox’s expertise will allow the USTA to simplify the flow of information at the US Open as we bring Xerox’s world-class document technology and support to this global event.”

    Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Hess will kick off the 2011 US Open on 27 August. The 2011 US Open will run 29 August – 11 September.