36 CHAPTER 04
COMMERCIAL Tennis Australia continues to grow business revenues to reinvest in the sport
170 m 411
703,899 minutes of watch time
Australian Open 2015 main draw matches filmed live Media Rights
Marketing Partnerships
This was the first year of numerous long-term broadcast
Partnerships
agreements worldwide, including Channel Seven (Australia), NHK (Japan), CCTV, SMG and iQiyi (China), Fox Sports (South East Asia), Sony Six (India and the sub-continent) and beIN Sports (Middle East and Northern Africa). A record 369 million television viewers globally watched Australian Open 2015 in more than 200 countries, reaching more than 900 million households daily. Japan alone represented nearly a third of the total audience, while Channel Seven won the ratings every night in Australia. The men’s singles final was the second most watched sporting event in the United Kingdom in the week of its broadcast, with 3.3 million viewers on the BBC. The men’s final was the most watched event in Serbia, with 1.2 million viewers tuning in on RTS. For the first time in tennis history, all 411 main draw matches of a Grand Slam® were filmed live at Australian Open 2015.
Fans attended Australian Open 2015
Seven new partners joined the Australian Open family in 2015; Emirates, Woolworths, TAC, Canadian Club, Disney, McDonald’s and Lindt. Innovation from both new and existing partners was first class, ranging from the TAC People’s Court by TAC to the Woolworths Fresh Food Fair, Wolverineinspired Kia and a Keith Urban hologram rocking out at the ANZ Jam Slam, all of which was captured by the Emirates A380 camera that traversed Grand Slam® Oval taking unique aerial footage. Over the final days of Australian Open 2015 Disney transformed Hisense Arena into Melbourne’s own Disney World, enhancing the experience for families and bringing a little magic to the event. Compelling content was developed in association with McDonald’s to bring the Australian Open Big Mac Legends to life.
In another first, Channel Seven (Australia), ESPN (all of the
Along with new partners joining the family for 2015 the team
Americas) and ausopen.com (in 135 countries) streamed all
extended existing partnerships with Medibank, Optus, CPA
matches live, generating more than 170 million minutes of
Australia, Maxxis and K&L Gates.
watch time or the equivalent of 323 years’ worth of Australian Open 2015 coverage viewed in just 14 days. The global launch of FAST4 Tennis, featuring matches with Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal was broadcast live by premium sports broadcasters to more than 180 countries, reaching more than 650 million homes. These included Channel Nine (Australia), Sky (New Zealand), iQiyi (China), Fox Sports (Asia and the Middle East), Sony Six (India and the sub-continent), Eurosport (Europe and Asia-Pacific),
Merchandise Australian Open 2015 marked the first year of a five-year agreement with VBM as exclusive licensing agent. A new flagship store opened at Margaret Court Arena and merchandise sales for the event were strong, achieving 7 percent growth. The official Australian Open towel was once again the most sought-after item, with sales close to 25,000 units across the event.
Sky Sports (UK and Ireland), SuperSport (Africa), ESPN (all of the Americas), The Tennis Channel (USA) and Televisa Deportes (Central America and the Caribbean).
Tennis Australia Annual Report 2014–2015
A record 369 million television viewers globally watched Australian Open 2015 in more than 200 countries, reaching more than 900 million households daily