UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
Have you seen the latest news about the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights in the United Kingdom? If not, I have exciting news to share!
As you may already know, Amazon Prime has enjoyed exclusive broadcasting rights for the ATP/WTA Tours for many years now. However, the final match of the 2023 ATP Finals marked the end of Prime’s contract with the ATP/WTA Tours. Of course, this opened up the doors for other broadcasters to move in and bid for the contract.
On that note, news has finally been released about who has won the contract and landed rights to broadcast both ATP and WTA Tour events until 2029. I’m sure you can guess who has landed the contract based on the introduction!
Yet just to clarify – the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights have just been announced. And moving forward, this means that Sky will be the provider who broadcasts most of the main tournaments held for both tours from around the world. This is exciting news for the many tennis fans who have Sky Sports packages already.
However, for those who don’t, I will be revealing full details of the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights right here. Additionally, I will be sharing what we can all expect from this deal over the coming years.
All of this is discussed in the following sections, so please read on for a full overview.
Breaking news – Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights in the UK
Contents
At the time of writing, news broke just days ago that confirms it will be Sky Sports who broadcasts ATP/WTA tennis from 2024 onwards. Following the decision from Amazon Prime not to continue their contract to broadcast professional tennis events, this contract was obviously up for grabs. And according to reports, many high-profile TV providers swept in to make a bid for the contract.
Ultimately, it’s Sky Sports who have won the rights, and this means that viewers will need a Sky Sports package to watch professional tennis in the UK from 2024 onwards. This news of the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights is a blessing for those who don’t have Amazon Prime, of course.
But it’s a bit of a blow for those who enjoyed the cost-effective services of using Prime to access top-level tennis events. At the same time, I should stress that viewing these tournaments will be available via Sky, Now, as well as Sky Digital options too.
So while it’s a blow for those who don’t currently have a Sky Sports package, there will clearly be solid coverage combined with great accessibility for those who do. As for those who don’t have a Sky Sports package/subscription, one can easily be secured, and the following sections contain details of this.
Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights – contract information
At this point, I hope it’s clear that the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights have been secured. This means that Sky Sports will be the only legal streaming service from 2024 onwards for those who wish to watch professional tennis. As for the contract itself, Sky has initially secured broadcasting rights that will run from 2024 through 2029.
Specifically, this means that from January 2024, professional tennis tournaments will not be streamed through anyone but Sky in the United Kingdom. Therefore, given that January 2024 isn’t all that far away, it would be wise to secure a Sky Sports subscription prior to January 2024 if you don’t want to miss any action.
As for other interesting details of this five-year partnership, the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights ensure that Sky will broadcast 80+ professional tennis tournaments worldwide. In turn, this means that more than 4,000 professional tennis matches will be streamed via Sky for each of the next five seasons.
Run the math, and we know that a grand total of 400+ tournaments and 20,000+ tennis matches will be available from 2024-2029. Personally, I believe this shows that there’s a ton of top-level tennis that I wouldn’t want to miss out on!
What to expect – Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights
Now that the contract details have been highlighted, as have the streaming options, it’s time to get a little more specific. As mentioned in the section above, Sky Sports will broadcast 80+ tournaments and 4000+ tennis matches each season from 2024-2029. However, I want to let you know exactly what tournaments the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights allow them to cover.
By sharing these details, you will be armed with the exact knowledge of what to expect if you decide to grab a Sky Sports deal for the tennis going forward. All of this is shared below:
Regular season tournaments
If you are a bit of a tennis junkie, much like myself, this part of the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights will excite you the most. Basically, from 2024 onwards, Sky will broadcast every single ATP/WTA 1000, 500, and 250 events. This means that all of the most important tournaments in our sport will be covered.
ATP/WTA Finals
In addition to the regular season tournaments, Sky will also be streaming both the WTA and ATP Finals from 2024 to 2029. Previously, this was included in the broadcasting package through Amazon Prime, but this is changing in 2024. I should also stress that this includes the ‘Next Gen Finals’ too!
Grand Slam specifics
Here’s the disappointing part. The Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights might look awesome up to this point, but Sky will only cover one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. This is the US Open, which Sky covered for the first time in a while in 2023.
As for the others, Eurosport has the rights to both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, while the BBC will continue covering Wimbledon.
FAQs – Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights
Will I be able to stream tennis events from my mobile with these new rights?
Yes. The action will be available directly through the Sky Sports app, which is available for Android and iOS devices.
How much does a Sky package to watch the tennis cost?
A typical Sky Sports package that will give you access to all of the main channels costs £34.99 per month.
What is the cheapest way I can watch the tournaments included in the Sky ATP/WTA Tour rights?
If you are able to purchase a Sky TV, you can get Sky Sports as an add-on for £20 per month.
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
