London, United Kingdom) – The sports arm of Sky Group, a satellite television company, on February 11 Sky Sports will launch the first channel entirely dedicated to tennis in the UK and Ireland. This initiative comes just over a month after the company regained broadcast rights to the ATP and WTA tournaments, in addition to a separate agreement for the US Open.
The pay channel, called Sky Sports Tennis, promises to present more than 4,000 matches from 80 tournaments throughout the year on its TV and live streaming platforms. The debut will be broadcast with the ATP 500 from Rotterdam and the WTA 1000 from Doha. The following week, the Qatari capital will also host the ATP 250 tournament with the participation of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev.
“It's an exciting time for Sky Sports as we launch a new home for tennis fans. Sky Sports Tennis will provide millions of homes with easy access to watching the world's best players all year round. We're proud to be the undisputed home of live sport for fans in the UK and Ireland, and this new channel will add Value to our customers, allowing them to enjoy the sport they love even more.
Although unprecedented in the UK and Ireland, the creation of an exclusive tennis channel is nothing new in Europe. In Italy, for example, the local federation has been running the SuperTennis tournament since 2008, which offers a full schedule 24 hours a day, with programmes, live matches and replays. Unlike the Sky Sports tennis channel, the Italian initiative is available on a network open to all residents, in addition to free access via live broadcast on its official website.
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