INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 8, 2016 – The BNP Paribas Open, the largest ATP World Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world to be held March 7-20 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, will feature expansive television coverage on Tennis Channel and the ESPN networks, it was announced today by CEO Raymond Moore.
Tennis Channel will begin its coverage of live action on Wednesday, March 9 and continue through Saturday, March 19, with live men’s and women’s quarterfinal and doubles final action. The network’s eight consecutive days of 12-hour telecasts contribute to more than 100 hours of live coverage and 145 hours of encore coverage of the 2016 tournament. In addition, the popular “Tennis Channel Live” pre-game show will expand from 30 minutes to one hour leading up to live tennis coverage from Wednesday, March 9 through Sunday, March 20, and be broadcast from a new set in the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Village. Tennis Channel broadcast talent will include James Blake, Brett Haber, Jim Courier, Lindsay Davenport, Tracy Austin, Justin Gimelstob, Paul Annacone, Mary Carillo and Jon Wertheim.
ESPN will expand its coverage of the tournament, and beginning on Thursday, March 17, eight hours of quarterfinal action will be shown on ESPN2. ESPN’s 23 hours of television coverage will include matches Friday and the final weekend of the tournament, including the finals beginning on Sunday, March 20, at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. local time). In addition to ESPN’s television schedule, the tournament will continue to be available on ESPN3, ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, starting on Wednesday, March 9. ESPN3 is a 24/7 destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually via WatchESPN and the ESPN app. In addition, Spanish-language coverage of ATP matches will be streamed on WatchESPN.
In total, more than 400 hours of action from the BNP Paribas Open will be broadcast across ESPN platforms. ESPN’s commentator team will include Chris Fowler, Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert, Chris Evert and Pam Shriver.
As in previous years, TennisTV will stream BNP Paribas Open matches live on its website, www.tennistv.com, and this year coverage will include four additional match courts – for a total of eight – and more than 50 additional matches will be produced. Fans can buy a monthly pass to watch over 180 BNP Paribas Open matches live or on demand, or buy an annual pass to watch the BNP Paribas Open plus up to 2,000 more tennis matches over the next 12 months.
“Television coverage for the BNP Paribas Open continues to grow every year, and Tennis Channel and ESPN have been instrumental in delivering the
around-the-clock coverage that our fans desire,” said Moore. “We strive to deliver all match action throughout the entire tournament, and TennisTV and ESPN3 allows us to have expansive coverage through desktop and mobile devices for our fans around the globe.”
About the BNP Paribas Open
The BNP Paribas Open is the largest ATP World Tour and WTA combined two-week event in the world, and is held annually at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The site underwent a significant expansion in 2014 that included a new permanent Stadium 2 with 8,000 seats and three restaurants, including world-renowned Nobu; four more practice courts, an additional 19,000 square foot shade structure, and more. The tournament offers more than $10 million in prize money, and is the only event to provide the Hawkeye line challenge system on all match courts, including qualifying rounds. In 2015, more than 456,000 people attended the event. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.bnpparibasopen.com, call 800-999-1585 or visit the Indian Wells Tennis Garden box office at 78-200 Miles Avenue, Indian Wells, CA, 92210.
