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This makes so much sense I never thought it could happen. And it's hard to imagine the independent slams yielding any autonomy to the ATP (not mentioned is the WTA). But they're talking.
Tennis' has fallen far behind the larger sports in media revenue. This has the potential to address that.
Not mentioned here is sports betting, which the entire global sports industry is focused on as its future, growth market.
Creation of an uber-tour could both generate far more revenue AND give top 100 players a bigger share of the piece.
On the other hand, it will cement the divide between the top 100 players without, as far as I can see, addressing the significant financial problems of the smaller events.
And cement the players below 100 in the world as not particularly relevant to driving the industry's revenues.
NYT:'s The Athletic "Tennis’ Grand Slams are attempting to partner with a collection of the sport’s other best-known tournaments in what could become the most revolutionary transformation of the game since the 1990s.
Their goal, according to five people who have been both involved with and briefed on those discussions, is to form a partnership with at least the 10 largest tournaments and their own events — Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open — to create a premium tour that resembles a tennis version of Formula 1.
Excerpt:
Sports executives say revenues would likely rise if the slams and the top tournaments could sell their television and sponsorship rights more collectively, rather than driving down the market by competing against one another, though the structure of the partnership has not been finalized. It may not include all of the commercial rights for all the tournaments, the officials said.
The changes would likely take at least a year or two to begin and longer than that to go into full effect as executives work to unwind or renegotiate long-term media and sponsorship deals and to figure out how to divide revenues between the top-level tours and the other tournaments.
Paywall:
Tennis' has fallen far behind the larger sports in media revenue. This has the potential to address that.
Not mentioned here is sports betting, which the entire global sports industry is focused on as its future, growth market.
Creation of an uber-tour could both generate far more revenue AND give top 100 players a bigger share of the piece.
On the other hand, it will cement the divide between the top 100 players without, as far as I can see, addressing the significant financial problems of the smaller events.
And cement the players below 100 in the world as not particularly relevant to driving the industry's revenues.
NYT:'s The Athletic "Tennis’ Grand Slams are attempting to partner with a collection of the sport’s other best-known tournaments in what could become the most revolutionary transformation of the game since the 1990s.
Their goal, according to five people who have been both involved with and briefed on those discussions, is to form a partnership with at least the 10 largest tournaments and their own events — Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open — to create a premium tour that resembles a tennis version of Formula 1.
Excerpt:
Sports executives say revenues would likely rise if the slams and the top tournaments could sell their television and sponsorship rights more collectively, rather than driving down the market by competing against one another, though the structure of the partnership has not been finalized. It may not include all of the commercial rights for all the tournaments, the officials said.
The changes would likely take at least a year or two to begin and longer than that to go into full effect as executives work to unwind or renegotiate long-term media and sponsorship deals and to figure out how to divide revenues between the top-level tours and the other tournaments.
Paywall:
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