Asia – FOX International Channels (FIC) Asia, 21st Century FOX’s international multi-media business and Asia’s leading pay-TV network, announced that they have successfully renewed the multi-year contract for the exclusive rights to broadcast the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific, the Australian Open, across 20 territories in Asia.
The tournament, the first of the annual Grand Slam events, has been a part of FOX Sports’ line-up for over 16 years and will continue to be showcased on FOX Sports’ network of channels across multiple platforms including television, broadband, mobile and IPTV. With this multi-year renewal of the Australian Open, FOX Sports will now showcase 3 out of 4 tennis Grand Slams including The Championship, Wimbledon and the French Open, rights of which it acquired earlier this year.
Under this new renewal agreement with Tennis Australia, fans will get to see more than 100 hours of LIVE tennis action from the Rod Laver Arena along with special programming, which includes enhanced coverage across multiple platforms and devices. To help fans enjoy the Australian Open broadcast even more, FOX Sports will continue to showcase the tournament in Mandarin and Cantonese, in addition to English. From 2015 onwards, this multi-language coverage across territories will be expanded to include Thai, Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.
Rohit D’Silva, Senior Vice President, Content & Communications for Sports at FOX International Channels Asia says, “The Australian Open is one of the most celebrated events in the annual sports calendar and we are very pleased to further strengthen our relationship with Tennis Australia with this renewal. We are committed to further expand the audience base for the property by making it more locally relevant, engaging and entertaining for fans across Asia.”
Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley says, “I’m delighted to be continuing our strong partnership with FOX International Channels in Asia for the Australian Open. FOX International Channels have demonstrated a commitment to promoting the event and the sport of tennis across the region, and through their enhanced coverage will continue to cement our position as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific.”
