Tennis Australia and Japanese broadcaster WOWOW have announced a significant extension and expansion to their long-term broadcast relationship, and in January 2022 will bring all the fun and excitement of the Australian Open to more viewers in Japan than ever before.
As Australian Open 2022 marks 30 years of broadcasting the tournament, WOWOW is expanding their AO coverage to more than 14 hours a day on its linear sports channels, and for the first time, will live stream matches from all 16 broadcast courts. AO lead-in events will also be included.
“We are delighted to extend our agreement with WOWOW, one of our most long-standing broadcasters, as we celebrate 30 years of partnership,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.
“Our fans in Japan treat the Australian Open as their ‘home’ slam, and with WOWOW’s innovation and commitment to their most comprehensive coverage ever of the AO, our Japanese fans will be able to follow the action from every court in January.”
Added WOWOW Inc President and CEO Akira Tanaka: “It is my great pleasure to celebrate the 30th anniversary of partnership with Tennis Australia and our broadcast of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament, one of the four Grand Slams, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Tennis Australia for this long-term, wonderful relationship.
“In the past, we have broadcast many historic moments from the AO that brought huge excitement to Japanese tennis fans.
"In 1994, Kimiko Date, who is currently working with us as a WOWOW Tennis Ambassador, reached the women’s singles semifinals, and in 2012, Kei Nishikori proceeded to the quarterfinals as the first Japanese men’s singles player in 80 years. The amazing result of Naomi Osaka is still a fresh memory, becoming the AO Grand Slam champion in 2019 and 2021.
“This year, we launched a new service called WOWOW Tennis World from AO 2021 to offer more fun to the fans, and we are pleased the content and services were well received, including the live streaming of practice courts and press conferences.
“In 2022, the Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam we have broadcast all matches live via WOWOW On Demand and WOWOW Tennis World. We will continue to provide services to convey the fascination, excitement and emotion the players create, through our new initiatives, and with the support of Tennis Australia, that should help raise the level of tennis culture in Japan.”