Sports marketing heavyweight agency IMG has extended and expanded its media rights tie-up with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in a multi-year deal.
Under the deal, IMG will represent and advise the USTA on domestic and international media rights covering the annual US Open hard-court grand slam tournament in New York.
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Overall, the US tennis body has been working with IMG since 2011 on increasing its international rights revenues and fan growth. The last deal between the two parties began in 2017 and runs through to the end of this year's US Open in September (that tie-up specifically excludes the Americas).
In terms of current media rights agreements covering the New York event, sports broadcasting heavyweight ESPN covers the tournament across the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean, via a long-term contract running through the 2037 edition starting next year (this domestic element represents the expansion part of this latest deal).
Other notable broadcasters set to cover this year's championships include heavyweight Sky (UK, Italy, Germany), Warner Bros. Discovery across Europe as a whole, BeIN Sports across the Middle East and North Africa, and Eclat in 15 Asian territories.
In terms of its tennis rights stable, IMG also has media rights deals in place with top-tier properties such as the men's ATP and women's WTA global tours, as well as other grand slam tournaments at Wimbledon (UK) and Roland-Garros (France).
Overall, tennis is one of the sports the agency is most established. It also owns two top-tier events on both the ATP and WTA, in Madrid and Miami, although it was reported last week that the agency is close to selling the rights to those two tournaments to a group led by Endeavor chief executive and co-founder Ari Emanuel.
Ed Mallaburn, senior vice president of sports management at IMG, has said: "The US Open has grown into one of the world’s most engaging and exciting sporting events, capturing the attention of audiences of all ages, spanning far beyond tennis and sports fans. The USTA continues to push the boundaries of what is possible onsite and onscreen, and we couldn’t be prouder to continue to support such a bold and innovative rightsholder."
Kirsten Corio, the USTA's chief commercial officer, added: "IMG has been an integral part of the US Open’s growth, ensuring that it reaches core fans and new audiences across the world through innovative local and regional media distribution partnerships. We are thrilled to extend the relationship with IMG."
This year's US Open – including the week of qualifying before the main tournament – will run between August 18 and September 7.
