Discovery Inc.

09/16/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/16/2021 03:33

DISCOVERY SPORTS SECURES DECADE-LONG DEAL TO SHOW THE LAVER CUP EXCLUSIVELY ACROSS EUROPE

  • Discovery Sports has secured the exclusive Laver Cup rights from 2021 to 2030
  • Partnership with Laver Cup includes all free-to-air, pay-TV and digital rights
  • New agreement follows Discovery Sports' recent landmark deal to show the Australian Open until at least 2031

Discovery Sports has secured a ten-year agreement to show the Laver Cup exclusively for viewers across Europe* from 2021 to 2030, further expanding its comprehensive world-class tennis offering.

Coverage of the Laver Cup will be scaled to the widest audience across Europe via Discovery's portfolio of channels and digital platforms including via Eurosport and discovery+** - the definitive streaming service for the best real-life entertainment.

The tournament, 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 unique three-day tournament has captured the imagination of tennis fans around the world and became a highly anticipated event on the major sports calendar since it was introduced in 2017.

The Laver Cup becomes part of Discovery Sports' extensive tennis rights portfolio which also includes pan-European coverage of every Grand Slam***, numerous ATP Tour tournaments in multiple markets and every unmissable tennis moment from the Olympic Games****.

The news follows Discovery Sports' landmark ten-year deal with Tennis Australia to show the Australian Open exclusively in Europe until at least 2031, extending Eurosport's association with the year's first Grand Slam since 1995 while further strengthening its reputation as the home of tennis.

Andrew Georgiou, President of Sports, Discovery, said:

'We are pleased to build on our recent agreement to show the Australian Open for a further ten 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.'

Tony Godsick, CEO of TEAM8 and Chairman of the Laver Cup 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.'

Discovery Sports has been awarded the exclusive Laver Cup rights in recognition of its proven track record of bringing new audiences to the world's biggest tennis competitions including at the 2021 Australian Open where it secured a record-breaking number of viewers via the Eurosport App and a 61% increase in visitors to its digital platforms during the tournament.

The 2021 Laver Cup will be held from Friday 24 - Sunday 26 September in Boston, USA with Team Europe set to defend the title it won in Geneva in 2019. Some of the biggest names in tennis are set to compete including Daniil Medvedev (world no.2), Stefanos Tsitsipas (world no.3), Alexander Zverev (world no.4), Andrey Rublev (world no.5), Matteo Berrettini (world no.7) and Casper Ruud (world no.10) for Team Europe, captained by Björn Borg and vice-captain Thomas Enqvist.

Team World features Felix Auger-Aliassime (world no.11), Denis Shapovalov (world no.12), Diego Schwartzman (world no.15), Reilly Opelka (world no.19), John Isner (world no.22) and Nick Kyrgios (world no.95), captained by John McEnroe and vice-captain Patrick McEnroe.

*Discovery's exclusive ten-year agreement to show the Laver Cup across Europe 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 United Kingdom.

***Pan-European coverage of the Australian Open, Roland-Garros (excluding France), Wimbledon in 12 markets and the US Open (excluding the UK and Ireland)

****Includes coverage of every tennis match from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024