SKY SPORTS AWARDED RIGHTS TO US OPEN

SKY SPORTS have been awarded live rights to the US Open, one of the world’s richest grand slam tennis events, for the next four years.
Sky Sports and the US Tennis Association also confirmed that interactive coverage of the tournament, available only on Sky digital, will be extended to offer of up to five different matches at the same time live on UK prime-time.
The new deal starts with the 2001 US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York from August 27 to September 9, and includes the 2002, ‘03 and ‘04 championships.
Announcing the deal, Vic Wakeling, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: "The US Open is a marvellous tournament with a unique atmosphere, and perfect for Sky Sports because we can show so many of the top matches in prime time. We broke new ground last year, for television and for tennis, when we used our interactive application on Sky digital to offer a choice of three live matches at the same time over the first ten days. Our subscribers loved the choice and audiences were up 25 per cent on the previous year. We shall do the same, and more, this year. With live coverage available from five different courts every evening, during the early stages, Sky digital viewers will have a choice of all five matches.”
The tournament has been broadcast live on Sky Sports every year since the channel’s launch in 1991. The 2000 coverage saw a pioneering step in tennis broadcasting with viewers given a choice of live matches through the interactive service available on Sky digital.
For each of the first ten days, viewers were able to choose from a menu of up to three live matches, broadcast simultaneously within one TV channel, by launching the Sky Sports Active service. (CD)