Tennis fans all around the world have a new reason to cheer up! As per the latest news, Channel Nine, Tennis Australia, and the Seven Network have entered into an agreement to broadcast the Australian Open on Channel Nine. The tennis grand slam would be broadcasted for the first time on Channel Nine starting from the year 2019.
This news would comfort many fans and punters who keenly follow the game, as tennis is one of the few sports that is not just keenly watched by fans all over the world, but is also heavily betted upon. Some of the very reputed online bookmakers even provide free bets and excellent gambling opportunities to starting out punters these days. With Channel Nine taking over the operations, fans can be assured of receiving uninterrupted tennis action with highest timing accuracy possible.
The Deal
The latest contract between the three parties is over and above the previous contract which allowed Nine to secure some broadcasting rights from Seven Network for a consideration of USD 300 million. In addition to this amount, Channel Nine would have to pay USD 48.5 million of extra bucks for getting complete broadcasting rights of the tournament.
In addition to the Australian Open, Nine can also broadcast other major tournaments that would be organized in Australia. Some of these would include the Hopman Cup which is organized in Perth and other WTA series like the Hobart, Brisbane and Sydney Internationals.
Why this Deal?
It is being speculated that though Seven has granted the rights to Channel Nine, they would still be profited by the deal. The reason behind this being that Seven already possesses the rights for broadcasting Australian cricket matches which are scheduled to start in summer this year. In light of the domestic matches, it would have been very problematic for Seven to relay both the grand slam and cricket matches at the same time.
Thus, the latest contract has created a win-win scenario for all the three parties involved. Graig Tiley, who heads the Tennis Australia, was thankful to Seven Network for their long association. With the 40-year plus association terminating, he expressed his excitement of embarking on a new journey with Nine and hopes it would bring new opportunities for Tennis Australia.
The new tri-partite contract provides Nine all kinds of broadcasting rights including those of social platforms, mobile, streaming, etc.
Domain-Cricket Australia
The pathway for Domain, a real estate classifieds and services company, and Cricket Australia had also been cleared and the two have entered into a four-year-long contract. Domain’s Melina Cruickshank expressed optimism that two organizations can use each other’s platforms for promotion of their concerns.
Interestingly, Alinta Energy and Woolworths have risen up as the local partners of Domain for the sport, which would further add to their outreach. According to the contract the Men’s division Test Cricket shall be presented in partnership with Domain. This comes after the ball-tampering mishap which led to Cricket Australia taking the toll.
Magellan, one of their important partners, had entered into a three-year deal with Cricket Australia starting in 2017 but had called it off early because of the controversy.