Tennis in the United States is at an inflection point at the moment. It was expected that it would take a lot of time and effort for anyone to match Serena Williams’ superstardom after she retired from the sport in 2022. But superstars are made by fans, and especially when they get to and can afford to watch them on their electronic devices. The broadcaster of most tennis events in the United States, Tennis Channel, seems to have realized this.
It has made a decision to launch its own D2C (direct-to-consumer) streaming service from November 11, 2024. It would not only make them compete with the likes of ESPN but also capture the imagination and eyeballs of younger audiences across different regions of the country apart from traditional powerhouses like New York, California, and Florida, among others.
The news comes two months after ESPN signed a 12-year deal with the US Open for exclusive USA rights for TV and digital from 2026 to 2037.
Tennis Channel has now offered fans to take either monthly or yearly subscription packages. Subscribers now just need to pay $9.99 per month or $109.99 per year for 24/7 programming and access available to not only LIVE action but also match highlights, interviews, podcasts, and other original content.
Prior to this, Tennis Channel’s T2 was where fans could watch matches and pre and post-match shows on cable. However, they could not get the chance to watch big players or other important matches on the main network because of the pay-per-view model on TV. To top it all, pay-per-view in tennis is expensive in the United States.
In a press release, senior VP of the new D2C service, Matt Graham was quoted as saying,
“Tennis Channel is transforming the way fans connect with the sport.
“By merging our flagship network with extensive live and on-demand offerings, we’re making it easier for fans to enjoy the game they love.
“Subscribers have total control of their viewing experience, with the ability to follow their favorite players in real-time, switch between multiple live matches, or sit back and enjoy our 24/7 network.”
Tennis Channel has had an impressive line-up of pundits and commentators throughout the years, such as Andy Roddick, Paul Annacone, Tracy Austin, Prakash Amritraj, Jim Courier and Martina Navratilova, among others. Even after that, fans have largely remained unimpressed with the quality of tennis broadcasting in the United States.
So the news is a welcome one, almost eight months after American tennis writer Ben Rothenberg publicly slammed the broadcaster for having a harrowing experience while trying to watch his favorite player, Naomi Osaka, take on Elina Svitolina at the Miami Open 2024.
Tennis Channel accused of “monopolizing” the sport
The match Rothenberg was referring to was won by Osaka, 6-2, 7-5. However, he faced major issues while trying to catch the start of the second set.
Tennis Channel streaming is a disaster.
The Osaka-Svitolina stream is a full changeover + game behind. How does this happen?
Never encountered another streaming service that offers lag quite so glacial.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) March 23, 2024
Fans joined in the discussion back then and also threatened to cancel their subscriptions as Tennis Channel was blamed for being complacent in their services. It was astonishing that the broadcaster charged $109.99 per month for their subscriptions.
Currently 5 games behind… Paul vs. Cerundolo is at 3-2 and it’s still 0-0 on the stream. ♂️
I just canceled my upcoming renewal @TennisChannel https://t.co/ctEpGO2g9a
— Jeremy Parrish (@jeremyparrish) April 28, 2024
Maria Sharapova and Tommy Paul, last year, lamented how tennis has fallen off the radar in the country. There is tremendous competition now from other popular sports and sporting leagues because of being able to innovate in fan engagement.
Once tennis is marketed to the masses via broadcasting, only then will more and more aspiring players believe that they can idolize the likes of Serena and Venus Williams.
