Australian Open kicks off biggest "tennis on TV" year in U.S.
Remember the days when tennis was listed as an "other sport" on ESPN.com, and when a gripping five-set tiebreak during a Grand Slam final was dropped cold to cut to football? Remember hollering at your TV?
Good News: Those days are history!*
The Australian Open kicks off what promises to be the biggest year for tennis on TV. Both ESPN and Tennis Channel will be showing action from all four majors for the first time, and HBO Sports is broadcasting live the BNP Paribas Showdown for The Billie Jean King Cup as part of the USTA's "Tennis Night in America" on March 2 at Madison Square Garden.
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VIEWERS' GUIDE Click each name for schedule/broadcast ESPN2 Tennis Channel ESPN360.com ESPN Deportes Australian Open (official site) |
This is a significant sign of growth for tennis.
"This is something we've hoped would happen," commentator Patrick McEnroe said in a conference call last week to discuss ESPN's 25th year of Australian Open coverage. "The ratings for tennis haven't always been there, but we have. It's a credit to tennis."
Commentator Mary Carillo said she's thrilled, and admitted that her own lobbying at the network to increase tennis coverage over the years could be described as both "impassioned" and "annoying."
"This is a natural evolution of a grander strategy," said Senior V.P. of Programming Len Deluca, adding that major world-class events (like Grand Slam tournaments) are the priority for ESPN. "We should be getting events that matter most to our audience."
It took ESPN 30 years to secure the rights to broadcast all four Grand Slam events in the same year, but it's not that the network doesn't like tennis. In fact, when ESPN launched in 1979, the first week's coverage included a broadcast of the U.S.-Argentina Davis Cup match. The announcer for the match was Cliff Drysdale, who will be working the 2009 Australian Open.
*At least they seem to be over.
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