Eurosport Gets Australian Open Rights
Eurosport in the UK will be screening the Australian Open live in 2016, following the BBC’s decision to cut coverage of the tennis tournament.
The upcoming Open, which starts on 18th January, is the first tennis grand slam of the year and will be shown by Eurosport, who have exclusive TV rights. However, the BBC are still set to show highlights from next year’s event.
In addition to live coverage a nightly highlights package will be aired, while Australian Open champion Mats Wilander and former player Barbara Schett will host ‘Game Set and Mats’ a show featuring interviews from players.
The tournament will also be available via the Eurosport Player, which will provide coverage of the Australian Open with live feeds from all 16 match courts, allowing viewers to select their own matches.
Susanna Dinnage, managing director, Discovery Networks UK & Ireland said, “Eurosport offers more grand slam tennis coverage than any other broadcaster in the UK and we are proud to be adding this tournament exclusively live to our strong line-up, which already includes full coverage of the French Open, the LTA grass court season and the Davis Cup. We look forward to what promises to be a very exciting event for British tennis fans next month.”
Eurosport UK managing director David Kerr said: “Securing the entire Australian Open exclusively live on Eurosport is a fantastic way to start 2016. Our enhanced production around the grand slams and an unparalleled team of analysts including Annabel Croft and Greg Rusedski and joining us this year for the first time at The French Open, John McEnroe and Chris Evert, shows the breadth of our ambition.
“The icing on the cake has been Great Britain’s first Davis Cup victory for 79 years and we have been privileged to have shown every rubber live since that first tie against the USA in Glasgow back in March.”
Eurosport’s coverage of the Australian Open will start at midnight on Sunday 17th January and feature live coverage across Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, with Eurosport 1 dedicated solely to the Australian Open for the duration of the tournament.
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