USA Network Has Open Agreement

The U.S. Tennis Assn. and USA network today will announce a six-year extension of the cable programmer’s domestic rights for the U.S. Open. The deal will start in 2003 and is believed to be worth slightly more than $125 million, according to industry sources.

The money represents about a 40% increase over the previous deal. It also is expected that, as part of the new contract, USA will air a handful of North American hard-court events leading up to the Open. A commitment is in place for at least three tournaments, possibly more, sources said, though specific events have not been selected.

The deal is in line with the USTA’s effort to streamline television coverage and build a marketing campaign around the lead-up to the Open.

The patchwork nature of the sport’s broadcast schedule--it is televised by numerous outlets, cable, network and local, during the course of the year--can be confusing for even avid fans.

“The real goal is to create something that is comprehensible to more fans in a sense that you have a series of events building up to the U.S. Open,” said Gordon Beck, senior vice president of sports and production at USA.

USTA officials view this as another piece in a larger puzzle--to elevate the sport, using the Open as a centerpiece.

“Pro tennis has always been accused of having a fractured TV schedule throughout the summer and through the year,” said Arlen Kantarian, the USTA’s chief executive of professional tennis. “Hopefully, this will set the stage for a more cohesive summer package. What we’ve got is a firm commitment from USA to televise x-number of summer tennis events that lead into the U.S. Open.

“Ratings last year were up 35-36% versus the prior year on USA. The [Andre] Agassi-[Pete] Sampras match was the highest-rated cable television match ever. There’s tremendous momentum for the Open. They’ve seen the gain. They’ve added a lot. They’ve been in a position to telecast tennis in a more entertaining way.

“In a difficult television market, the top three, four, five major sporting events of the year do tend to have more resiliency than others.”

As in previous years at the Open, USA will have live weekday and weeknight coverage and weekend night coverage on Labor Day weekend. CBS provides the coverage on weekends.

In all, USA will offer about 92 hours of live coverage at the Open each year of the new deal.