LOS ANGELES, May 26, 2021 – Tennis Channel today will unveil an updated website and new app that offer more tennis-based stats and information in one place than ever before. With links to live matches embedded in scoreboards, a comprehensive tennis calendar that covers multiple tours, rankings, personalization features, gaming and a first-of-its-kind estimated-match-start-times function, the site ensures tennis fans will never need to look elsewhere to stay on top of the game they love. Anyone in the world can access the site, Tennis.com, or download the new Tennis.com app on iOS or Android platforms.
Given Tennis Channel’s extensive linear and digital rights to the entire men’s and women’s professional tours and the sport’s four majors, the new site’s live-scores page will give users the opportunity to directly link to live match coverage on the network or its Tennis Channel Plus streaming service. A link to on-demand replays or highlights will exist next to completed-match scores.
A first for any tennis platform, the site will also provide estimated start times for matches as well. Tennis, with no clock, typically sees the first match of the day scheduled for 11 a.m. local time, with subsequent start times based on whenever previous matches conclude. Tennis Channel’s new site takes the guess work out of the equation with an algorithm that estimates start times based on previous performances, letting viewers know when to tune in to their preferred matches.
Visitors will have access to the most robust tennis calendar in the industry, sortable by weeks or months and color coded to tennis’s unique surface seasons throughout the year. The calendar combines all ATP men’s, WTA women’s, ITF international and challenger events, which users can view separately or simultaneously. The calendar is also downloadable to Outlook and iCal platforms.
Other features include a win-probability gauge, head-to-head player stats, tournament orders of play, player rankings, visual stories that showcase individual players through video and still images, and a daily blog that offers a cheat sheet on the latest tennis news.
“Tennis Channel spent several years reflecting on what the go-to website or app for tennis fans would look like, and we’re excited to reveal our answer in the new Tennis.com and supporting app today,” said Andi Chu, vice president, editor-in-chief, Tennis Channel. “Whether or not they subscribe to Tennis Channel or Tennis Channel Plus, everyone who likes or works in tennis is going to want to use this platform. There’s no more comprehensive source of all the tennis information you’d want to know, whether you’re a die-hard or casual tennis fan, sports fan, reporter, gamer, tennis player or someone who just wants to know when a match is going to start. Everything is in one place on Tennis.com.”
The new Tennis.com and app offer personalized options as well, including the designation of favorite players in order to receive push notifications for breaking news and player alerts. Users will also see content about these stars whenever they visit the site. Commonly viewed material – tips on tennis fitness or nutrition, for example – will also automatically populate based on a visitor’s preference history.
Gaming is another significant component of the new platform. Tennis Channel will introduce a fantasy tennis game during its coverage of the French Open May 30-June 13, which will also be available at other times of the year. The site will include editorial features, breakdowns of the top matches to see alongside betting information and stats.
In early 2017, Tennis Channel purchased Tennis Media, which includes website Tennis.com, print magazine Tennis Magazine and the youth-oriented electronic newsletter Baseline. At the time, the network outlined its intention to make the three outlets reflective of Tennis Channel’s on-air and digital brand. In 2019 it unveiled a redesigned Tennis Magazine, with an editorial approach aligned to the channel’s, and an expanded use of on-air and news talent. Today’s introduction of the reset Tennis.com includes a redesigned Baselineelectronic newsletter, now housed on the website and app in addition to living in subscribers’ e-mailboxes.
The revamped site will also be home to three new digital series: You Should Know, hosted by Sports Illustrated’s, CBS 60 Minutes’ and Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim; Prakash Worldwide, with network analyst and international travel reporter Prakash Amritraj; and Credentialed, featuring different player and former player hosts throughout the year, beginning with retired player Daniela Hantuchova and active player Mischa Zverev at the French Open next week. At the same time, the Tennis.com Podcast will showcase a new host, Kamau Murray, who coached Sloane Stephens to the US Open singles championship in 2017.
The new Tennis.com app does not replace the existing Tennis Channel app, which will continue to provide live and on-demand video content. Users around the world will need to download the Tennis.com app for free in order to access all but subscription-based video features.
Global sports and entertainment technology firm Deltatre created and maintains the new Tennis.com site and partner app.
Tennis Channel(www.tennischannel.com), which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights at the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, ATP World Tour events, WTA competitions, Laver Cup and Fed Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by all of the top 10 video providers.
About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
Sinclair is a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. The Company owns and/or operates 21 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 186 television stations in 87 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
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For further information:
Eric Abner, Tennis Channel, 310-314-9445, eabner@tennischannel.com, @TennisChannelPR