Advantage BT! Live women’s tennis deal signed by BT Sport

BT signs a deal with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to show as much as 800 hours per year of live tennis featuring the best women players in the world.

BT Sport will show live matches from 21 WTA tournaments across the globe, as World No.1 Victoria Azarenka battles with challengers, including Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters, to retain her top WTA ranking.

BT has chosen to invest in women’s tennis as it seeks to widen the appeal of its new sports channels, which will launch this summer.

The announcement coincides with an upturn in fortunes for British women’s tennis, with two British players, Laura Robson and Heather Watson, both ranked in the WTA Top-50 for the first time since July 1987.

The BT Sport deal is for four years and includes the five elite WTA tournaments – Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and Istanbul. During the 2013 season, the rights will be held jointly with previous holder Eurosport, but from 2014 will be exclusively owned by BT Sport.

“This is our first women’s sport for the channels and we see a genuine opportunity to really develop the exposure for women’s sport with our new channels. We are focusing on several more women’s sports and we hope to be able to announce more rights soon,” said Simon Green, head of BT Sport.

“Women’s tennis is the highest profile women’s sport, attracting a global audience of 185 million viewers. It’s a good moment for the British women, with Laura and Heather starting to challenge for honours. We want to follow their story over the next few years, as well as showcasing the world’s best players in the tournaments that help determine their world rankings.”

The BT Sport portfolio continues to grow. BT Sport will show 38 live football games a season from the Barclays Premier League, including 18 of the top clashes, for three years from August 2013. The channels will also show 69 live rugby union games a season from the Aviva Premiership.

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