Singapore May 19, 2016 – FOX Sports announced today the acquisition of the broadcast rights to the US Open Tennis Championships, which adds to the other three tennis grand slam tournaments – Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon – already exclusively broadcast across Asia on FOX Sports. With this latest acquisition, FOX Sports’ extensive portfolio of key international, regional and local rights has been further strengthened, to consolidate its position as Asia’s Number 1 regional sports broadcaster.
“This is a great win for FOX Sports and we are pleased that our Affiliate and broadcast partners, and tennis fans will be able to experience comprehensive coverage of the US Open, with FOX Sports’ complete suite of linear and digital/OTT platforms, said Rohit D’Silva, Executive Vice-President, Commercial & Sports, FOX Networks Group (Asia Pacific & Middle East)
“The USTA is thrilled to partner with FOX Sports in Asia and looks forward to bringing premier coverage that will showcase the US Open — the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world — to fans throughout the region beginning next year”, said Lew Sherr, USTA Chief Revenue Officer.
The 5-year deal, which commences in 2017, covers linear (Pay and Terrestrial), OTT and digital platforms in Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
In addition to the LIVE broadcast on linear channels, tennis fans will also be able to watch free short-form clips, news updates and highlights on the FOX Sports Play app and foxsportsasia.com which will enable them to enjoy the coverage of the US Open like never before.
FOX Sports will look towards increasing the number of fans enjoying the US Open, as they have done with the year-on-year viewership increases for Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with a 29% and 14% increase respectively for the most recent editions of both tournaments. Tennis fans can expect complete coverage of the US Open, in multiple languages, along with reports, updates, behind-the-scenes, highlights from the US Open’s Arthur Ashe stadium, and analysis by tennis pundits in the FOX Sports studio.
FOX Sports. The Home of Grand Slam Tennis in Asia.
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About FOX Networks Group
FOX Networks Group (FNG) is 21st Century FOX’s international multi-media business. FNG develops, produces and distributes 300+ wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, sports, factual and movie channels in 45 languages across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions reach over 1.725 billion cumulative households worldwide. In addition, FNG acquires, develops, produces and co-produces scripted and non-scripted programming for its linear and digital platforms including the Golden Globes nominated hit series The Walking Dead, The Bridge and Da Vinci’s Demons.
In Asia Pacific and the Middle East, FNG’s portfolio includes 30+ channel brands across all genres on both linear and non-linear platforms, including FOX Sports, FOX, National Geographic Channel, and SCM (formerly STAR Chinese Movies). As the region’s leading broadcaster, FNG reaches more than 580 million cumulative homes with offices in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Australia and the UAE.
About FOX Sports
FNG Sports network includes FOX Sports and FOX Sports 2, the channels which deliver some of the most compelling LIVE sport events from around the world, including the flagship sports news show FOX Sports Central; FOX Sports 3, for fans of adrenaline-pumping sports action; FOX Sports News the first 24/7 sports news channel dedicated to Asian sports fans; FOX Sports Play, the broadband network providing LIVE and on-demand sports properties and additional exclusive content; and www.foxsportsasia.com, the online destination for comprehensive sports content.
About United States Tennis Association (USTA)
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking seven summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.
For further information, please contact:
Paul Tan
Director, Marketing (Sports)
FOX Networks Group
DID: +65 6809 3364
Email: paul.tan@fox.com