IMG Media in Distribution Deal for Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

LONDON, October 31: In a
four-year deal, IMG Media has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent to
represent the television rights to women’s tennis matches from the Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour throughout the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East
(excluding countries in the EBU zone) and Latin America.

The four-year deal,
beginning in 2008, covers all television media rights (including satellite,
cable and terrestrial), closed circuit, in-flight and ship-at-sea. Under the
terms of the agreement, IMG Media will distribute all Tier I and Tier II
tournaments along with the season ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2008,
and the Tour’s 20 premier events. The company also has the rights to the Sony
Ericsson Championships in 2009 and 2010. The premier events will be anchored by
four mandatory, combined men/women equal prize money tournaments—the
Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, the China
Open in Beijing and a major event in Madrid, Spain.

Last month, Tennis
Australia tapped IMG Media to sell its Australian Open broadcast rights across
Asia, adding to a lineup that already includes Wimbledon, the French Open and
the ATP’s Tennis Masters Series and Final.

Michael Mellor, the head
of IMG Media for the Asia Pacific, said: “We are extremely excited about
working with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Their plans for the future of the game
will make this a compelling property for broadcasters for years to come. IMG
Media’s impressive portfolio of tennis events in this region of the world means
we are ideally placed to unlock the considerable potential the Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour has to offer. We are already delighted with the response we have had
with broadcasters with regard to the Tour, and expect to announce a number of
key agreements very shortly.”

—By Irene Lew