ESPN, Tennis Channel Down Under For Aussie Open, First Grand Slam Of ’24
Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 06:10PM By Barry Janoff
Janaury 11, 2024: ESPN is in the land down under for its 40th annual presentation of the Australian Open, representing what it called its “longest uninterrupted professional sports programming relationship.”
ESPN has held the rights to the event since 1984.
In all, ESPN will air more than 240 hours of live coverage on its linear networks, an increase of 35% over 2023.
Exclusive coverage begins with a first-time Saturday (Sunday in Australia) start in the U.S., Jan. 13 (7 PM ET ESPN+, Midnight ET ESPN2).
According to Tennis Australia, “With data showing matches are now longer, the move to a Sunday start is designed to help alleviate the pressure on late night finishes for both the players and the fans.”
Live coverage across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ will include all matches from all 15 courts, with every match streaming live on ESPN+.
ABC will air two one-hour highlight shows during the middle and final weekend.
With Melbourne 16 hours ahead of the U.S., day session matches will air on ESPN linear networks in prime time ET and night session matches at 3 AM ET.
Coverage will culminate with the Women’s and Men’s Championships Jan. 27-28, respectively, on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ (3:30 AM ET).
Tennis Channel’s 17th year of Australian Open coverage also begins Jan. 13, with the nightly show Tennis Channel Live at the Australian Open.
The news, analysis, highlight and interview program will air each afternoon for two weeks during the sport’s first major of the year.
The network will support the show with daily encore replays from the first round through the men’s singles finals.
Tennis Channel has covered the Australian Open since 2008.
Aryna Sabalenka is the defending women’s champ, claiming her first career major title at the 2023 Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka, four-time major champion (2019 and 2021 Australian Open, 2018 and 2021 U.S. Open), has returned to the tour for first time since September 2022 and after the birth of first child.
Defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic is seeking his 25th major singles title, which would break a tie with Margaret Court for the most all-time by any player.
Among the players missing due to injury are Rafael Nadal and Madison Keys.
Partners include Anz, Emirates, Infosys, Kia, Marriott Bonvoy, MasterCard, Polo Ralph Lauren and Rolex.
Australian Open organizers unveiled a $10 million increase in prize money for the 2024 tournament, raising the prize pool for the event to $57,824,772.
The singles champions in the men's and women's singles draws will each earn $2,105,464 and every round has seen an increase in prize money.
Craig Tiley, Australian Open director said via the tournament, “We’ve upped prize money for every round at the Australian Open with the major increases in qualifying and the early rounds of singles and doubles.
“It is critical to the continued success of the Australian Open that we ensure that the best players in the world are compensated appropriately as we know this allows players to invest in their own careers and in many cases, helps set them up for success throughout the year."
Australian Open Men’s Draw
Australian Open Women’s Draw
Losing Late Nite: Aussie Open Goes To 15 Days
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