Tennis Australia has agreed to a bumper five-year extension of its broadcast partnership that makes the Nine Network the game’s house till a minimum of 2029.
The current deal wasn’t resulting from expire till the tip of the 2024 Australian Open however the extension features a $425 million money injection – value $85 million per yr – that’s TA’s greatest ever.
It is a major bounce on the present association, which coated the 2018-2024 interval and price Nine Entertainment $300 million.
Nine and TA had been locked in unique negotiations in current weeks below the broadcaster’s ‘first and last rights’ clause as a part of the deal signed in 2018.
TA chief government Craig Tiley mentioned Nine had demonstrated a “serious year-round commitment to continue to grow tennis”.
“Together we have regularly set and exceeded targets for ourselves in what has been a highly productive partnership thus far,” Tiley mentioned.
“This new deal further strengthens that relationship, in which our organisations work as a true co-operative on the broadcast, production, innovation and promotion of our events and sport.
“It will ensure we are reaching audiences of all ages and backgrounds across multiple platforms with high-quality product.
“We want to show our sport at its best to continually excite tennis fans, while also appealing to a new generation of fans and players across Australia. This new deal will certainly help us do that.”
The five-year contract awards Nine the home broadcast rights for the Australian Open and summer season of tennis lead-in tournaments, together with new country-based crew competitors the United Cup and different particular occasions.
The deal follows a record-breaking Australian Open initially of 2022, helped by Ash Barty’s drought-breaking girls’s singles title run and an all-local doubles last gained by Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The girls’s last attracted the very best score of all time, with an Australian tv viewers of three.835 million, in accordance with OzTAM.
The males’s singles last got here in at 2.333 million viewers, making it the very best score in 4 years.
A file nearly 2.5 million viewers tuned into Kyrgios and Kokkinakis’ doubles triumph, whereas 9Now elevated its Australian Open streaming protection by 171 per cent on final yr.
Nine CEO Mike Sneesby mentioned tennis’ “broad and very passionate following” match completely with Nine’s schedule, audiences and advertisers.
“The Australian Open has delivered some of Australia’s most iconic sporting moments and largest television audiences,” Sneesby mentioned.
“Together, we are committed to bringing these great moments to all Australians live and free.”
