Live Tennis Streaming on the Web
It’s not free (yet)… but for a fee, the ATP and WTA are streaming live matches on the Web this year for tennis fans around the world although not in every country (The WTA is excluding users in all European countries and some others, while the ATP is not offering the live service in Brazil and the men's and women's finals of this year's Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., will also be blacked out in the United States). The Tours will
offer streaming video from 41 tournaments, including the ATP Masters series and the season-ending championships. Tennis fans will have access to about 700 live streaming matches, interviews and matches on demand. It’s great for tennis fans to have easy online access to even more tennis, especially events which aren’t televised as widely. Tennis fans will pay $129.95 for a full access pass for the entire season, but can also purchase day or tournament-specific passes for less. For only ATP action, a men's pass costs $84.95, and for coverage of only the WTA tournaments, a women's pass costs $69.95. There are also highlights available for free. In addition, the Grand Slams including the recent Australian Open are providing similar streaming of matches and video clips to visitors from selected countries (it’s dependent TV contracts) through their own services and have varied pricing schemes. At the same time, major TV broadcasters such as ESPN through ESPN360.com are offering live streaming of matches from several courts at the Grand Slams and other tournaments.
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