Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Tennis Channel has signed a multi-year agreement with Tennis Australia for full broadcasts of five lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open, including the ATP and WTA events at Brisbane and Sydney as well as the Australian Open qualifying, playoffs, and exhibition events like the World Tennis Challenge.

“We are delighted to establish a long-term, multi-platform relationship with Tennis Channel in the USA,” said the commercial director of Tennis Australia, Richard Heaselgrave, in a statement. “We will now be able to provide fans in America with more than 200 hours of live tennis from Australia’s ‘Summer of Tennis,’ as well as a variety of high quality, original programming year-round.”

In addition to the tournaments, Tennis Channel will also have access to Australian Open video archives, with the two planning to produce original content featuring Australian players.

The network also broadcasts select timeslots from the Australian Open. It is looking to the new and expanded programming to highlight its online offerings as well.

“Our fans look forward to the Australian Open on Tennis Channel,” said VP of programming, Jeremy Langer. “[And] now this partnership will ensure a robust offering of content, including preview shows, documentaries and shorts, strategically distributed on all of our platforms to benefit fans, sponsors and our partners.”

Tennis Channel has extensive sponsorship tie-ins with the Australian Open, but few specific deals around any lead-up tournaments.

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.