BeIN Sport, the international pay-TV broadcaster, will continue its live coverage of the French Open in 24 territories across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for another four years after striking a new agreement with tournament organizers the French Tennis Federation (FFT).
The deal will see BeIN continue to show the grand slam tournament on its linear television channels across the region until 2026, with rights in Saudi Arabia added to the new agreement.
The broadcaster has held rights to show the Roland Garros in the region since 2007.
Mohammad Al-Subaie, BeIN MENA chief executive, said: “As we prepare for the biggest year in BeIN’s history, with the broadcast of the 2022 FIFA World Cup from the MENA region, it is partnerships with bodies such as the FFT that allow us to bring a wide variety of global sports to our millions of subscribers and viewers.
“We look forward to broadcasting Roland Garros in the years to come.”
FFT president Gilles Moretton said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with BeIN Sport, the main platform broadcasting live sports in the MENA until 2026.
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By GlobalData“Many tennis fans in these territories await Roland Garros every year and we are happy that they can continue to enjoy the tournament.”
Media giant Warner Bros. Discover, formerly Discovery, holds the rights to the tournament in 50 territories across Europe, except France, in a deal renewed last year until 2026.
BeIN’s renewal comes after it secured exclusive rights to show the French Open in 10 territories in Southeast Asia earlier this year as part of a five-year deal ending in 2026. That deal covers Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, East Timor, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore.
BeIN took over the rights from the now-defunct Fox Sports Asia operation, which previously held the rights in the region.
Streaming giant Amazon Prime shares domestic rights to the tournament with France Télévisions for the 2021-23 cycle in a deal struck in 2019. Under that deal, France Télévisions holds rights to all tournament matches excluding those played on the Court Simonne-Mathieu, Roland Garros’ third-largest court, and night sessions on the Philippe-Chatrier main court.
The men’s final of this year’s championship between Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud on Sunday (June 5) attracted an average audience of 4.6 million viewers for France Télévisions, while Warner Bros. Discovery-owned free-to-air channel DMAX netted an average audience of 1.6 million in Spain.