By Stuart Thomson
Discovery Sports has strengthened its rights portfolio by securing a 10-year agreement to show the tennis Laver Cup exclusively for viewers across Europe from 2021 to 2030.
Coverage of the Laver Cup will be delivered via Discovery’s portfolio of channels and digital platforms including Eurosport and discovery+.
The agreement excludes France in 2021 and 2022, and is on a non-exclusive basis in Turkey in 2021 and 2022.
discovery+ is currently available in Denmark, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain and the UK.
The Laver Cup, first launched in 2017 by TEAM8 – the Sports and Entertainment company co-founded by Roger Federer, and named after 11-time Grand Slam champion Rod Laver, pits six of the top men’s tennis players from Europe against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world.
The news follows Discovery’s 10-year deal with Tennis Australia to show the Australian Open exclusively in Europe until at least 2031, extending Eurosport’s association with the Grand Slam event.
President of Sports, Discovery, Andrew Georgiou said: “We are pleased to build on our recent agreement to show the Australian Open for a further 10 years by securing this decade-long deal to bring the Laver Cup to viewers across Europe. Discovery has a proven track record of unlocking the power of tennis through the best storytelling, deep sports expertise and world-class technology to produce and distribute coverage and content around the biggest tournaments to large and unmatched audiences. We look forward to working as a trusted partner to the Laver Cup to continue growing the reach of the tournament for all to enjoy.”
CEO of TEAM8 and chairman of the Laver Cup Tony Godsick, said: “We are excited to partner with Discovery Sports and Eurosport on this landmark 10-year agreement that will bring the Laver Cup to tennis and sports fans across Europe. Europe is a force in men’s tennis, with Team Europe winning all three editions of the Laver Cup so far, and it is also a critical audience for us to reach. With Eurosport, we look forward to engaging Laver Cup fans on all platforms later this month from Laver Cup 2021 in Boston, and from London in 2022, and beyond.”https://www.digitaltveurope.com
