BT Strengthens Sports Profile, Signs Four-Year Deal With WTA

BT revealed "the latest part of its plan to become a major British sports broadcaster by signing a deal" with the WTA to show as much as 800 hours per year of live tennis, according to the London INDEPENDENT. The telecom company "will hope to cash in on the upturn in British women’s tennis by showing live matches from 21 WTA tournaments across the globe." The BT Sport deal is for four years and includes the five elite WTA tournaments -- Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and Istanbul. During the '13 season, the rights "will be held jointly with previous holder Eurosport," but from '14 "will be exclusively owned by BT Sport." BT "will launch two channels in July and is building its sports profile." BT Sports Head Simon Green said: "We are focusing on several more women’s sports, and we hope to be able to announce more rights soon" (INDEPENDENT, 1/11).