Eurosport today confirmed its status as the tennis channel as it announced it has secured LIVE and EXCLUSIVE rights to the ATP Tennis Masters Cup until 2004.
Eurosport will be a key partner in expanding international coverage of men’s tennis, showcasing exclusive action in 54 countries and 18 languages.
Mark Miles, CEO of the ATP, said; ‘For such important events, better viewing access is essential. So we’re very pleased to see such dramatic improvements’.
The agreement, which includes rights to an additional 8 ATP tournaments*, will see the channel’s ATP tennis coverage nearly double from 12 tournaments to 21.
Laurent-Eric Le Lay, Eurosport Deputy Managing Director said; ‘We are proud to be part of giving a new dimension to the Masters Cup. This new offer will be of great value to our viewers.’
Eurosport will showcase the World Championships of the men’s tour LIVE in Shanghai, China from November 11 – 17.
The climax of the 2002 Masters Series, the Masters Cup sees the year’s most successful eight players battle it out round-robin style for the World Champion’s crown.
The Master’s Cup draw is guaranteed 100% pure quality. Qualification for the tournament is based on the Champions Race (the rankings list compiled from players’ results at the Grand Slams, nine Masters tournaments and five other best performances) so runners-up need not apply.
The ATP World Championship’s 11-year history has been dominated by five-time winner Pete Sampras, two-time winner Boris Becker and three-time finalist (and 1990 Champion) Andre Agassi. And there will be a queue of players keen to add their name to this list of legends including Brits Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski whose campaigns have both received early boosts with title wins in January.
Today, Eurosport is the largest tennis channel in Europe. In 2002, 293 million homes will have access to live coverage of three Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open and US homes), over 25 WTA events and 21 ATP tournaments.
With the addition of the Masters Cup Eurosport will provide viewers with over 900 hours of tennis coverage in 2002.
*ATP Tournaments confirmed for 2002 include:
Sydney (7 Jan), Milan (28 Jan), Scottsdale (4 March), Los Angeles (22 July), Indianapolis (12 August), Long Island (19 August)
For further information please contact:
Isabelle Nguyen
Eurosport Corporate Press Office
T: 00 331 4093 8142
E: inguyen@eurosport.co.uk
Michelle Guy
British Eurosport Press Office
T: 0207 468 7777
M: 07799 434 036