ITV wins rights to Roland Garros French Open tennis Grand Slam
28 October 2011
ITV has secured a major new television sports contract with the acquisition of the live broadcast rights to the Roland Garros tennis Grand Slam.
As part of a new landmark three-year deal with the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), brokered by MP & Silva, ITV will broadcast extensive live coverage from the Roland Garros tennis Grand Slam throughout the 15-day tournament. ITV4 and ITV.com will broadcast around six hours of live coverage from each day’s play as well as highlights, with four matches, including both the men’s and ladies’ singles finals, also shown live on ITV1.
Niall Sloane, ITV Controller of Sport said: “I’m hugely excited that we have agreed a major new deal to bring the Roland Garros French Open to ITV. It’s the first time that a grand slam has been shown live on ITV and with around six hours of coverage over each day of the tournament we’ll be offering viewers more free-to-air coverage of the tournament than ever before.”
Michel Grach, FFT Media & Sponsorship Director, added: “We are delighted that ITV will bring the clay of Roland Garros to British tennis fans. This new partnership will not only enhance the exposure and appeal of the tournament in the United Kingdom but is also an important first step in our new distribution strategy throughout Europe, working alongside MP & Silva to increase the free-to-air coverage of Roland Garros.”
Angela Jain, ITV Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions said: “ITV4 now holds a terrific portfolio of sports rights and, alongside our new agreement for Europa League football, this major new deal to bring the Roland Garros tournament to the channel is great news for our viewers and advertisers. Live sports coverage now sits at the heart of ITV4’s schedules alongside a range of other entertainment content.”
The Roland Garros French Open 2012 takes place at Stade Roland Garros in Paris from May 27th to June 10th. Rafael Nadal and Li Na are the current men’s and ladies’ champions.
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