ESPN acquires CBS’s US Open broadcasting rights

ESPN has attained the broadcasting rights for US Open from 2015 which will end CBS’s 46-year-old contract.

ESPN has entered into a 11-year deal. Some reports in the US reveal that the annual value of the contract would be $70 million.

Watch ESPN will broadcast over 130 hours of television coverage whereas ESPN3 will be broadcasting matches from all the 17 courts which is more than 6 courts, which is a clause in the current agreement.

CBS’s contract had started in 1968 but now they broadcast only finals and matches played on weekends while ESPN had started only in 2009 where it showed 100 hours of coverage including early round and some second-week matches. Their new agreement includes all the important matches- mid-weekend matches and the men’s and women’s semi-finals and finals.

From 2015, women’s semi-final matches will be played on Thursdays and men’s semi-final matches on Fridays, both during the important and main hours of the day when they can capture maximum viewership.

ESPN president, John Skipper, said: “Certain sporting events become synonymous with when they are held, and there is no better – or bigger – way to celebrate the end of summer than at the US Open in New York. We look forward to capturing every match, every star, every championship and all the drama on this grand stage.”

Their contract includes the following: Emirates Airlines US Open, the series of the North-American summer hard court tournaments leading to the Open, and the Arthur Ashe’s kid’s day (this is held on the Sunday before the tournament begins).

Two years ago ESPN had also acquired the US broadcasting rights to Wimbledon, which ended the 43-year-old contract of NBC.

Now, ESPN has the rights to 3 of the 4 Grand Slams, the other being the Australian Open and also a certain set of rights to the French Open. From 2015 French Open will be the only Grand Slam broadcasted by NBC till 2024.