The French tennis federation (FFT) "has expressed disappointment after failing to secure what it said were acceptable offers" for broadcast rights to the French Open for the '14-18 period, according to DIGITAL TV. FFS Dir General Gilbert Ysern, cited by financial daily Les Echos, said that the organization "had only received two offers" by its deadline. Eurosport placed a bid for packages A and C that the FFS said was "far short of the reserve price, while public broadcaster France Télévisions placed a bid for all three packages on offer, which the FFS said was against its rules and could not be considered" (DIGITAL TV, 10/11). The AP reported FFT said "only Eurosport and France Television made offers for any of the three proposed lots." The FFT said Eurosport's offer was "way below" the asking price, which reports estimated at €15M ($20.3M) for '14-18. Ysern said, "We also need to understand why the majority of candidates pulled out," adding that "we remain confident, convinced of Roland Garros' (television) rights" (AP, 10/10).
