The US Open will remain on ESPN for the foreseeable future, at no small expense.
ESPN announced Wednesday it has extended its relationship with the New York City-based tournament on a 12-year deal, pushing its ownership of the rights through 2037. The Athletic reports the price tag to be $2.04 billion.
That comes out to roughly $170 million per year.
ESPN’s deal was previously set to expire after 2025, and this new one gives the network exclusive rights in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. There will also be expanded streaming rights and coverage of the tournament’s Middle Sunday and Final Sunday on ESPN’s broadcast partner at ABC.
From ESPN:
“We take tremendous pride in our 15-year relationship with the USTA,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “This agreement reinforces our long-term dedication to tennis, our capacity to showcase one of the premier events on the annual sports calendar and, as the world’s first sporting event to offer equal purses for its female and male competitors, The Walt Disney Company’s industry-leading commitment to women’s sports.”
ESPN currently holds the rights to all four Grand Slam tournaments, but is set to lose the French Open in 2025, due to TNT’s 10-year, $650 million deal.
The US Open’s larger price tag is due to several factors, but the obvious one is the time zone advantage of the only U.S.-based Grand Slam. The tournament holds a larger domestic appeal than the rest of the Slams and frequently provides value beyond broadcasts thanks to the celebrity factor of both the players and attendees.
With Roger Federer and Serena Williams retired, Rafael Nadal about to join them and Novak Djokovic at 37 years old, the deal is also a bet that the tennis world will be supplying new superstars over the next decade.
