WTA, PERFORM Agree To Ten-Year Media Partnership

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Board of Directors approved a ground-breaking 10 year media agreement of more than $525 million with incumbent partner, PERFORM. This extended partnership is the largest live media rights and production venture in the history of the WTA and in women’s sports.

For the first time as part of a major strategic move for the WTA, the aggregation and centralization of all WTA tournament media rights will deliver every WTA event across linear, digital and over-the-top (OTT) offerings. Ultimately, this will improve the fan experience by making it easier to consistently follow favorite WTA players throughout the year.

“This is a game-changing and historic moment for our fans and for women’s sport,” says Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman & CEO. “Our new broadcast strategy to produce all 2000 main draw singles matches in partnership with PERFORM will deliver exponential global exposure for our players, tournaments and partners.”

The agreement introduces WTA Media, a joint endeavor between both organizations which will deliver unprecedented premium content to tennis fans worldwide. WTA Media, together with tournaments, will produce all main draw singles matches and the semifinals and finals of all doubles matches from 2017. Furthermore, WTA Media will increase its production of news content by 40 percent. It will also deliver additional magazine shows and significant off-court content to support the WTA’s mobile, digital and social media strategy. WTA Media will provide unprecedented access to fans with more content on and off the court.

“We are thrilled to expand on our highly successful partnership with the WTA. We are strong believers in the exceptional sport entertainment value of the WTA and are committed to driving the value for all WTA members and partners. This deal also delivers maximum exposure to the WTA’s global fans on multiple platforms. This is a groundbreaking and innovative partnership with the WTA and is also a major first step in a significant 10 year growth plan for PERFORM,” said PERFORM’s Joint-CEO, Simon Denyer.

“The remarkable growth by PERFORM in less than ten years as well as the company’s ambitious direction provides a perfect framework for our invaluable partnership. We are extremely excited by a shared vision of delivering the quality and quantity content our fans deserve. PERFORM’s unprecedented investment in the WTA signals a new era – not only for women’s tennis but also for women’s professional sports the world around,” concluded Allaster.