New Tennis Partnership for PERFORM

A new deal has been closed by sports media group PERFORM – this time with IEC in Sports, thanks to which Woman's Tennis Association (WTA) Premier events will be broadcast across MCS TV Group channels. The deal has been signed for four years, and it will encompass all platforms. It will come into effect at the Brisbane International on the 2nd January 2013, and will cover 22 WTA Premier tournaments every year throughout its duration, concluding with the season finale TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul. It has been specified that the two partnering company plan to double the number of current live matches produced, with PERFORM also providing extensive coverage of the WTA on all its digital platforms. Regarding the partnership, Stacey Allaster, Chairman and chief executive officer of the WTA said: "This is a very significant deal and marks an exciting evolution in the distribution and exposure of women's tennis. Our ambition alongside that of PERFORM and IEC in Sports is to ensure we reach as many fans of women's tennis around the world, and this deal is the first of many that will see us fulfill this goal." On the other side, Simon Denyer, PERFORM's joint-chief executive officer added: "The WTA is a fantastic sports right property which recognises that fans are now consuming sport differently. Our expertise in digital rights combined with IEC in Sports expertise in broadcast distribution is really starting to pay off, as you will see with a number of additional announcements over the coming months."