ACQUISITION OF WTA RIGHTS IN THE 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 Australian Open 2023 doubles champions 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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ABOUT CANAL+ GROUP

CANAL+ Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi, is a major player in the creation and distribution of content worldwide, with 25,5 million subscribers, a presence in more than 50 countries and 7 600 employees on every continent. CANAL+ Group has 9,5 million subscribers in France and 7,6 million in Africa. It is the leading television operator in French-speaking Africa and the largest shareholder in MultiChoice, the leader in pay-TV in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa. CANAL+ Group is a major player in the production and marketing of television channels, with 130 linear and non-linear channels produced in-house. It aggregates major thematic channels and global content platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Apple TV+ and DAZN. With 3.5 billion euros invested in content each year, it is a key player in sport (main funder in France of football and rugby), films (leading funder in France and Poland), and series (including more than 50 original series per year in more than 15 languages). With the support of its subsidiary STUDIOCANAL, which owns 14 production companies, including 13 in Europe and one in the United States, CANAL+ Group is the leading producer and distributor of feature films and TV series in Europe. It holds a catalogue of more than 8 000 titles from more than 60 countries. Finally, it is also a key player in digital with its CANAL+/myCANAL app, whose international deployment is accelerating, with a presence in some thirty countries to date.

ABOUT THE WTA

Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sports. The WTA is one of the world’s most recognizable and high-profile sports organizations, consisting of more than 1600 players representing over 80 nations, all competing to earn WTA rankings points and prestigious tournament titles. The Hologic WTA Tour is comprised of over 70 events and four Grand Slams, spanning 30 countries and regions across six continents with a global audience of nearly 900 million. Further information on the WTA can be found at wtatennis.com.

ABOUT WTA VENTURES

Created in March 2023 as part of WTA’s strategic partnership with CVC Capital Partners, WTA Ventures is the commercial entity of the WTA. It aims to build upon the strong legacy the WTA has established over the past 50 years by further elevating the profile of women’s tennis and accelerating commercial growth for the benefit of fans, players, tournaments and all stakeholders in the sport.

CONTACTS

CANAL+ International: Hala Saab, hala.saab@canal-plus.com

CANAL+ Group: Elvire Charbonnel, elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com

WTA: Amy Binder, abinder@wtatennis.com

Photo : Karolína Muchovà