WTA Joins Forces with IMG to Upgrade Tennis Broadcast Production

The WTA is making a major investment in how women’s professional tennis is produced and presented to fans around the world. 

WTA Ventures recently announced a multi-year agreement appointing IMG as its managed production services partner beginning with the 2027 season. IMG will help deliver coverage from more than 50 WTA Tour events each year, including the WTA Finals and WTA 1000, 500 and 250 tournaments.

The agreement is designed to create more consistent, innovative and scalable coverage across the Tour as viewing habits continue to shift across television, streaming and digital platforms.

Photo credit: Mauricio Paiz.

Depending on the tournament, IMG’s responsibilities will include host broadcast and world-feed production, venue connectivity, global distribution, technical operations and short-form content production.

IMG will work alongside the WTA and, in some cases, tournament-appointed host broadcasters while also overseeing specialist production partners such as outside broadcast and graphics providers.

“We are delighted to be partnering with IMG on the next stage of our journey to bring the drama and entertainment of the WTA Tour to fans around the world through high quality and innovative coverage,” said Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures.

Photo credit: Mauricio Paiz.

Storti said the goal is to continue raising the standard of tennis coverage for fans while also improving the product delivered to broadcasters, commercial partners, players and tournaments.

The production agreement expands an already significant relationship between IMG and the WTA. IMG serves as a strategic commercial partner to the Tour and represents WTA Ventures’ broadcast rights across the Americas and Asia Pacific.

The agency has recently helped secure media agreements including Tennis Channel in the United States and CazéTV in Brazil, while also helping broker the WTA’s sponsorship agreement with Mercedes-Benz.

Photo credit: Mauricio Paiz.

“As media and consumption habits continue to evolve, it’s more important than ever to deliver an innovative, consistently premium product across every platform,” said Barney Francis, Chief Business Officer at IMG.

IMG already produces coverage and content for a wide range of major sports properties, including Major League Soccer, UFC, the DP World Tour, Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, along with UEFA Champions League and Europa League programming for CBS.

For the WTA, the move is another step in a broader effort to grow the reach and commercial value of women’s professional tennis by improving not only where fans can watch the Tour, but how the sport is presented when they tune in.

Source: WTA Ventures

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