Changes to the WTA's media rights have made it "difficult or impossible" for many fans to find the "star-studded opening days of the season,” according to Ben Rothenberg of the N.Y. TIMES. The gaps in coverage were “created when the WTA took its overseas tournaments from Tennis Channel to the less visible beIN Sports and left the ATP-owned digital streaming platform TennisTV.” As a result, Serena Williams' match at the ASB Classic in New Zealand last week -- her first match in four months -- “was not available to watch in the United States unless you were resourceful enough to find a pirated stream.” The WTA “intends to start its own subscription streaming service, but that is not expected to be ready until April, at the earliest.” WTA CEO Steve Simon said that “consolidating the organization’s rights was a priority, a departure from its previous arrangement, which at times amounted to subletting from the men’s tour.” He said, “We’re taking care of our broadcast ... in a manner where we now have more control over it, rather than tagging along.” Rothenberg notes the WTA has "limited distribution at the moment, and the explanation for the new broadcast landscape has been piecemeal.” Simon: “I would rather have a little bit of a dark period and do it right than not have the ability to do what we need to do long term.” But tennis player Barbora Strycova said, “For women’s tennis, it’s really bad.” She added, “They need to have TV, they need to broadcast us, they need to promote us more if they want to have more sponsors.” Rothenberg notes Tennis Channel “retained its rights to domestic events on both tours,” but the WTA's move leaves the net "short of content” (N.Y. TIMES, 1/12).
