TENNIS CHANNEL, TENNIS CHANNEL PLUS TO SHOW UP TO 12 COURTS PER DAY AT 2019 FRENCH OPEN
Close to 350 Hours of Televised Coverage and 700 Hours
of Streamed Matches Planned for Sport’s Clay-Court Jewel
LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2019 – In its 13th year at the French Open, Tennis Channel will offer live coverage every afternoon of the 15-day event, televising and digitally streaming up to 12 courts per day. With the main draw underway May 26-June 9, the network will feature a new set based at the top of the tournament’s main court, Philippe-Chatrier, becoming the first American channel with a studio stage in the world’s most hallowed clay-court arena. It will also be one of two networks worldwide with a booth in the new Court No. 3, Simonne-Mathieu, as a multiyear renovation campaign continues to expand the tradition-rich grounds of Roland Garros (commonly called the French Open).
With close to 80 percent of all live French Open on U.S. television, Tennis Channel’s main-draw coverage begins with the first matches of the tournament Sunday, May 26, at 5 a.m. ET (complete schedule below). The network’s typical day of French Open television will see live matches run from 5 a.m. ET to approximately 3 p.m. ET when play concludes in Paris. Following 10 hours of live matches, the channel will immediately begin encore coverage of the day’s competition, which will run through the night up to the start of the next day’s live telecast.
In all, Tennis Channel plans more than 120 hours of live matches during the French Open, from the first day of play through the men’s and women’s singles semifinals to the women’s doubles final on the tournament’s last Sunday. The channel will offer same-day encores of the men’s and women’s singles and doubles finals as well, part of close to 350 hours of live and encore coverage overall during the two-week main draw.
Network streaming-service Tennis Channel Plus will again provide multiple court feeds for subscribers to select the matches they want to enjoy or bounce from court to court at their discretion. Viewers will have a choice of 12 different feeds (up from 10 in 2018) for more than half of the 15-day event, and more than 450 matches – an estimated 700 hours of tennis. All French Open matches will also be available on-demand throughout the event, regardless of whether they were carried live on Tennis Channel.
From May 20-24, Tennis Channel Plus will also offer every French Open qualifier again for the second year. All 196 men’s and women’s matches will be live and on-demand on the service – 392 hours total – with additional encore coverage on the television network. Including qualifiers, Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus will showcase almost 1,500 hours of major tennis competition.
On-Air Talent
Combined, members of Tennis Channel’s on-air team have won 15 singles, doubles and mixed-doubles championships at the French Open. Martina Navratilova (@Martina), who has been a part of every major covered by Tennis Channel, won 11 championships at the event: two singles (1982, 1984), seven doubles (1975, 1982, 1984-1988) and two mixed-doubles (1991-1992). This is Navratilova’s 13th French Open as a Tennis Channel analyst, and she returns with fellow Hall of Famers and network commentators Jim Courier, Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin) and Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76). This year marks Courier’s sixth with Tennis Channel at Roland Garros, where he claimed two consecutive singles crowns in 1991-1992. Davenport is in her 10th year in Paris for the network and took the mixed-doubles championship in 1996. This is Tennis Channel French Open number four for Austin, who advanced to the quarterfinals in 1982-1983.
James Blake (@JRBlake), who was a World No. 4 singles player and 2007 Davis Cup champion, is back in Tennis Channel’s French Open booth for the third time. He is joined by fellow analysts and former players Chanda Rubin and Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone). Rubin is also a major champion, having won the Australian Open doubles title in 1996, and reached World No. 6 in singles and World No. 9 in doubles in her career. This is her second year in Paris for Tennis Channel. Annacone has a coaching resume to be envied: he has guided all-time greats Roger Federer and Pete Sampras to major titles, and has counseled other stars on the men’s and women’s tours. He reached the French Open doubles quarterfinals in 1985 and will make his sixth Roland Garros appearance with Tennis Channel.
Mary Carillo will be a Tennis Channel announcer and special-features producer in Paris for the ninth time this year. Prior to four decades of television achievement as an award-winning reporter, interviewer and anchor, she won the French Open mixed-doubles championship in 1977. Joining the network for the 2007 French Open, announcer Bill Macatee (@Bmacatee) has been with Tennis Channel every time it has covered the historic event. In addition to tennis, Macatee has won numerous awards for his play-by-play work at the foremost events in sports – as have announcers Ted Robinson (@tedjrobinson) and Ian Eagle, also on board for their 13th Tennis Channel French Open.
Former players Leif Shiras (@leifshiras) and Jimmy Arias (@ariastennis) will also announce French Open matches for Tennis Channel this year. Both competed at Roland Garros, with Arias winning the 1981 mixed-doubles championship. This is Shiras’ 11th French Open with Tennis Channel, and Arias’ first.
This is the eighth time Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) will call French Open matches for Tennis Channel. A host of the network’s studio and on-site tournament coverage throughout the year, his accomplished sportscasting career also includes time with ESPN and as a sports director at major-market news stations. Steve Weissman (@Steve_Weissman) is back in Paris with the network for the third time and is another year-round face of the network. Weissman also has ESPN and local-news experience, as well as time with the NFL Network. Both announcers have been awarded for their sportscasting work.
This will be the eighth spring that Jon Wertheim provides French Open reports, analysis and essays for the network. Sports Illustrated‘s executive editor and senior writer is also an author of several sports-related books and a correspondent for CBS’ 60 Minutes. His “Tennis Mailbag” column and “Beyond the Baseline” podcast tackle the sport’s wide range of issues and outcomes.
Digital Coverage
In addition to hundreds of hours of live and on-demand matches on Tennis Channel Plus (www.tennischanneleverywhere.com/subscribe), the network’s digital coverage includes a steady stream of French Open content online, within its app and on social media platforms. New for 2019 are the digital specials “#ICYMI,” with daily recaps of the day’s activity; “Day Off Diary, which follows on-air talent and the stars of Roland Garros during their time off; and “Practice Pass,” an up-close look at fans’ favorite players as they prepare for matches. Members of the on-air team will provide “Tennis Channel Quick Takes” during the French Open as well, brief video thoughts about the French Open storylines that most interest them. This year My Tennis Life, the network’s first multiplatform series, is following CoCo Vandeweghe and Mackenzie McDonald during its third season, both of whom will share stories during Roland Garros.
Tennis Channel’s free app is available to all, regardless of whether they subscribe to the television network.
Online reporters at Roland Garros for Tennis Channel this year include Steve Flink (@sflinko), Richard Evans (@Ringham7) and John Berkok. At the same time, social media channels will offer a glimpse away from the television camera, both on the studio set and around the tournament. The network’s on-air team is also active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tennis Channel’s Live 2019 French Open Coverage
Date Time (ET) Event
Sunday, May 26 5 a.m.-3 p.m. First Round
Monday, May 27 5 a.m.-3 p.m. First Round
Tuesday, May 28 5 a.m.-3 p.m. First Round
Wednesday, May 29 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Second Round
Thursday, May 30 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Second Round
Friday, May 31 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Third Round
Saturday, June 1 5 a.m.-Noon Third Round
Sunday, June 2 5 a.m.-Noon Round of 16
Monday, June 3 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Round of 16
Tuesday, June 4 5 a.m.-1 p.m. Quarterfinals, Juniors
Wednesday, June 5 5 a.m.-1 p.m. Quarterfinals, Juniors
Thursday, June 6 5 a.m.-1 p.m. Women’s Singles Semifinals
Mixed-Doubles
Junior Quarterfinals
Friday, June 7 5 a.m.-2 p.m. Juniors Semifinals, Men’s Semifinal
Saturday, June 8 5 a.m.-8 a.m. Juniors Finals
Sunday, June 9 5:30 a.m.-8 a.m. Women’s Doubles Final
Tennis Channel will show same-day encores of the men’s and women’s singles and doubles finals during the French Open’s championship weekend (all times ET):
Saturday, June 8 – 1 p.m.: women’s singles final, men’s doubles final (and again at 6 p.m.)
Sunday, June 9 – 2 p.m.: men’s singles final; 6 p.m.: men’s singles final, women’s doubles final
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com), which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights at the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, ATP World Tour events, WTA competitions, Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by all of the top 10 video providers.
