TNT Sports officially announces 10-year deal for the French Open. Plus: Shannon Sharpe extends his relationship with ESPN; the PGA Tour and PIF have reportedly reached a “draft agreement” in a rare sign of progress between the sides.
French Open officially headed to TNT
Warner Bros Discovery officially announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with the French Tennis Federation to acquire the French Open tennis tournament in a deal that begins next year and runs through 2034. As previously reported by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic last week, the deal is worth $65 million/year, about five-times more than the $12m per year that NBC paid for the rights. The 2025 tournament will mark the first time NBC has not broadcast the French Open final since 1983. The new deal also spells the end for the French Open on Tennis Channel, who has aired portions of the tournament not carved out for NBC since 2016.
Under the deal, TNT will serve as the primary broadcaster, with additional coverage airing on TBS and truTV. All matches will be streamed on the Max streaming service. While the French Open is new to TNT Sports — which last aired Grand Slam tennis in the early 2000s when it carried Wimbledon — it is not new to Warner Bros. Discovery. Eurosport, which Discovery acquired full control of in 2015, has aired the French Open since 1989. (TNT Sports, 6.11) (The Athletic, 6.7)
Shannon Sharpe, ESPN announce extension
ESPN First Take contributor Shannon Sharpe said on-air Tuesday that he has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with ESPN. The extension was first reported in The Athletic last month, and is said to be a four-year agreement.
In a press release, ESPN detailed that Sharpe’s new contract will include an expanded role on First Take, along with appearances across other ESPN programming. Sharpe began appearing on the network’s signature morning show in a limited capacity last year after ending a seven year run at FS1’s Undisputed. During his on-air announcement, Sharpe thanked numerous ESPN/Disney executives including Jimmy Pitaro, Burke Magnus, and Bob Iger. (ESPN, 6.11) (The Athletic, 5.9)
PGA, PIF agree upon a “draft agreement”
PGA Tour Enterprises and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) reportedly agreed upon a “draft agreement” on Tuesday, according to golf reporter Alan Shipnuck. Details about the agreement have not been made public, though Shipnuck says the deal marks “definite progress” for the two sides which have been at loggerheads since last summer’s announcement of a “framework agreement.” LIV Golf has yet to make much of a splash among linear television viewers, attracting an audience of only 148,000 for its Houston event on The CW last Sunday compared to 2.86M for the PGA Tour event on CBS in the same window. The reported agreement is the first sign in some time that the sides are moving closer to a deal that would reunify men’s professional golf. (Shipnuck, 6.11)
Plus: George, Euros, Paramount
— Los Angeles Clippers G Paul George will join ESPN’s NBA Countdown for games three and four of the NBA Finals, the network announced Tuesday. George will presumably fill the seat that Josh Hart has taken for games one and two, alongside the rest of the usual Countdown crew. (ESPN, 6.11)
— Two retired international soccer superstars are set to make their U.S. television debut during Fox’s coverage of the UEFA European Championships, the network announced Monday. Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini and England’s Daniel Sturridge will serve as studio analysts alongside storied Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who has previously worked stateside for CBS. (Fox, 6.10)
— National Amusements, the holding company of Paramount Global, has abandoned a merger deal with Skydance, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Tuesday. It was reported last week that the two sides had come to an agreement. A spokesperson for National Amusements told CNBC that the company “had agreed to the economic terms that Skydance offered, [but] there were other outstanding terms on which they could not come to agreement.” (WSJ, 6.11) (CNBC, 6.11)
