TENNIS CHANNEL AND USTA FORM THREE-YEAR RIGHTS AGREEMENT FOR NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Network to Cover Team and Individual Championships
from the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
More than 50 Hours of Live Tennis Planned from May 16-25 in 2019
LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2019 – Tennis Channel and the USTA, in conjunction with the NCAA, have entered a three-year partnership that makes the network the exclusive television home of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis National Championships. The agreement begins with this year’s events, to be held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., May 16-25.
During the championships, Tennis Channel will show more than 50 hours of live matches, with live coverage every day of the 10-day competition. In all, the network will provide the most hours of NCAA DI Men’s and Women’s Tennis National Championships coverage in television history. Held simultaneously, both the men’s and women’s events feature team and individual tournaments.
“Tennis Channel is the perfect home for the best players and teams in college tennis,” said John MacDonald, Tennis Channel’s senior vice president, content programming. “We’re excited to bring these young stars to fans around the country.”
The agreement expands the network’s coverage of college tennis at the USTA National Campus. Since 2018, Tennis Channel has televised the USTA’s College MatchDay series of head-to-head competitions, featuring some of the country’s top schools. The weekly battles marked the network’s first live coverage of college tennis.
“We are incredibly excited that the Tennis Channel is committing to this level of coverage of the NCAA Tennis Championships, showcasing college tennis at its highest level and elevating the sport like never before,” said Lew Sherr, chief revenue officer, USTA. “College tennis is an important part of the development of the next generation of tennis players and the exposure generated by this partnership will only further our mission of growing the game of tennis across the country.”
“We are grateful to the Tennis Channel for providing this unprecedented level of exposure to the NCAA Division I student-athletes competing in the national championship,” added Elizabeth Schmidt, NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee chair and head women’s tennis coach at Rice University.
Emerging from respective fields of 64 schools, eight men’s and eight women’s teams will compete in the NCAA DI Men’s and Women’s Tennis National Championships at the USTA National Campus. The men’s and women’s individual singles tournaments in Orlando will each feature 64 players, with 32 doubles pairs comprising both the men’s and women’s doubles tournaments.
