CANAL+ ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO THE WTA TOUR IN CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA

CANAL+ Group and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) are delighted to announce the exclusive broadcast of the Hologic WTA Tour on CANAL+ channels in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

From January 2024, and for 5 seasons through 2028, CANAL+ will offer WTA tournaments in each season from January to November, including the WTA 1000s, the WTA 500s, various WTA 250s and the WTA Finals to its CANAL+ subscribers via satellite or OTT offers, including the group's streaming offer launched at the end of April 2023.

The attractiveness for Czech and Slovak viewers is increased by the high representation of domestic players and their successes. The matches of Grand Slam winners Markéta Vondroušová, Petra Kvitová and Barbora Krejčíková, former world number one Karolína Plíšková, 2023 Roland Garros finalist Karolína Muchová or the doubles players Kateřina Siniaková and Barbora Krejčíková, will be on display.

"We were very interested in the rights to the WTA, for several reasons. One is the popularity of tennis in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in general, another is the incredible success of Czech players in recent years. In addition, tournaments are played practically all year round and are watched by a high percentage of viewers, among whom there is much higher proportion of women compared to most other sports. We believe that with this step we will further increase the attractiveness of sports offered by CANAL+ and significantly expand its scope beyond the circle of football enthusiasts that we already target with the Premier League," says Ladislav Řeháček, VP of CANAL+ Luxembourg for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 

“With outstanding players competing at the top of our sport year after year, including so many from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we have no doubt CANAL+ viewers are in for exhilarating seasons of action from the Hologic WTA Tour,” stated WTA Ventures CEO Marina Storti. “We’re excited to have this new agreement with CANAL+ for the next five seasons as they expand their footprint in tennis and commitment to the visibility of women’s sports.”

Throughout the past 15 months, CANAL+ demonstrated its editorial know-how through unprecedented coverage of the Premier League: all matches commented in Czech or Slovak, production of magazines dedicated to the Premier League, highlights on social media platforms, and the involvement of expert teams including renowned consultants such as Karel Poborský and Vladimír Šmicer.

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