Two years after ending NBC’s 43-year relationship with Wimbledon, ESPN has put an end to CBS’ long run televising the U.S. Open.
ESPN has reached an 11-year deal to televise tennis’ U.S. Open beginning in 2015, the network announced Thursday. According to Sports Business Daily, which first reported on a potential deal, the agreement will be worth $70M per year.
Under the new deal, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3.com will combine to televise all U.S. Open matches. The semifinals and finals will air on ESPN.
The ESPN family of networks will carry “day-long” coverage on Labor Day weekend, which is usually the first weekend of the college football season. Under the current U.S. Open deal, ESPN does not air any coverage on Labor Day weekend, with CBS and The Tennis Channel picking up the slack.
According to Sports Business Daily, CBS “passed on the opportunity” to hold onto U.S. Open rights for $30 million per year — a 50% increase over the network’s current $20 million/year deal. Losing the U.S. Open will allow CBS the opportunity to air a Week 1 NFL doubleheader and move up the start of its college football coverage.
With the addition of the U.S. Open, ESPN now has full television rights to three of the four major tennis tournaments — the Australian Open (through 2021), Wimbledon (through 2023) and the U.S. Open (through 2025). The French Open, portions of which air on ESPN through a sub-license agreement with The Tennis Channel, will continue to air on broadcast network NBC through 2024.
Beyond the tournament itself, the new deal also includes full rights to the U.S. Open Series and coverage of the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day.
(Thursday’s news from ESPN Media Zone, Sports Business Daily)
