Tennis Australia held talks with commercial networks over a new A$200M ($160M)-plus TV rights deal "in an attempt to start negotiations early," according to Darren Davidson of THE AUSTRALIAN. The sport’s governing body has been "testing the market in an attempt to steal a march on Cricket Australia," whose "coveted" Big Bash League T20 cricket competition "threatens to suck money away from the Australian Open." Tennis Australia Head of Media Rights Alfonso Medina visited networks for informal talks in recent weeks to give execs time to "work on bids in what is expected to be an open bidding process." Currently, Seven West Media is paying Tennis Australia A$200M for free-to-air, pay-TV and digital rights as part of a five-year deal. The contract expires after the Australian Open in Jan. '19, a year before the current Cricket Australia deal. There is a "fear at Tennis Australia that a quick deal with Cricket Australia could impact revenue potential." The BBL, whose fixtures overlap with Australian Open matches during January, has "found favour with advertisers after it was repositioned by broadcaster Ten Network to appeal to a younger demographic, as well as families." Meanwhile, "speculation is rife that the likes of Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix want to muscle in on top-tier sports in Australia" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/4).
