Tennis Channel’s 2014 US Open Coverage Begins Aug. 25

Starting with Event’s First Match, More than 260 Hours Planned

 for Round-the-Clock Tournament Telecast

 

Hall of Famers Navratilova, Courier, Austin and Davenport are Back in New York for Tennis Channel, as Network Brings Eight-Hour Weekday Match Blocks, Prime-Time Labor Day Weekend Windows

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18, 2014 – Tennis Channel will show close to 75 hours of live matches from the first day of play through the second Thursday at this year’s two-week US Open, set to begin Monday, August 25, in New York City. The network will again become the comprehensive television home of the world’s largest tennis tournament, with daylong programming blocks, prime-time weekend windows, all-night wrap-ups, half-hour morning shows live from Arthur Ashe Stadium, a Hall of Fame-laden on-air talent roster that represents 22 US Open championships and encore match coverage.

 

In its sixth year of televising one of the most electric, boisterous championship events in sports, Tennis Channel will devote more than 260 hours to the 15-day US Open. Beyond live coverage, this includes almost 60 hours of encore matches, four hours of daily lead-in show Tennis Channel Live at the US Open, and 130 hours of nightly US Open Tonight and daily Breakfast at the Open.

 

Monday, August, 25, is a typical day of Tennis Channel US Open coverage. The network is on the air at 10:30 a.m. ETwith the half-hour Tennis Channel Live at the US Open from its set on the second level of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Live match coverage begins with the first ball of play at 11 a.m. ET, and runs to 7 p.m. ET. News and highlight showUS Open Tonight runs from 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. ET, followed by an immediate encore from 2:30 a.m.-6 a.m. ET. From6 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ET Breakfast at the Open br ings morning viewers up to speed on everything up to the start of that day’s live coverage.

 

Since first carrying the US Open in 2009, Tennis Channel has been the prime-time home of the tournament on the scorching late-summer nights of Labor Day weekend. This year the network’s coverage will again run from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. ET that middle Saturday and Sunday, followed by the usual late-night and early morning schedule of US Open Tonight and Breakfast at the Open (with the exception of Breakfast at the Open running a half hour longer, to 11 a.m.). Eight-hour blocks of live daytime telecasts resume Tuesday, Sept. 2, and run through ThursdaySept. 3, with the same on-air schedule arrangement as the network’s first week of coverage (complete match schedule follows).

 

On Thursday, Sept. 4, Tennis Channel will provide live coverage of the special exhibition doubles match that will feature retired fan favorites John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, James Blake and Tennis Channel analyst Jim Courier. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

 

On-Air Talent

While a team of familiar faces returns to Tennis Channel’s US Open booth in 2014, one of them has a new title next to her name. This summer longtime network analyst Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport) was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, making her the fifth Hall of Famer on the network’s on-air talent roster in New York. Fellow analysts Courier, Martina Navratilova (@Martina) and Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin) are also members of the sport’s exclusive club of honor, in addition to the channel’s Bud Collins (@budcollins), de facto encyclopedia and storyteller of the game.

 

Austin will again pair with announcer Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) and former player Mark Knowles (@knowlzee10s) for each morning’s Tennis Channel Live at the US Open intro show, with both handling in-match duties at different points later each day. Multi-decade US Open presence Bill Macatee (@Bmacatee) also returns to the channel’s play-by-play lineup this year, as do Ted Robinson (@tedjrobinson) and Ian Eagle. Macatee has paired with Hall of Famer Navratilova at every one of Tennis Channel’s major tournament telecasts, going back to its first French Open in 2007.

 

Mary Carillo, who grew up in the same Queens borough that the tournament calls home, has been a part of Tennis Channel’s US Open team since 2011. This summer she returns to her annual role as host, interviewer, analyst and reporter as one of the most respected sports journalists in the business. Also returning are former players Justin Gimelstob (@justingimelstob) and Rennae Stubbs (@rennaestubbs), who will pass along analysis and insight gained from years of Grand Slam-championship experience during their careers.

 

Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone), renowned for his coaching successes with the likes of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer – both in “greatest of all time” conversations – is new to Tennis Channel’s US Open coverage in 2014, after having joined the network earlier this year. His on-air analysis is shared from the same tactical viewpoint that contributed to the career tallies of the two men who have won more major singles titles than anyone in history.

 

Sports Illustrated executive editor and senior writer Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) rounds out Tennis Channel’s team, his third year in New York for the network. The author of numerous tennis and sports books will handle special reports, opinion and analysis again.

 

Digital Coverage

Most Tennis Channel subscribers have the ability to watch live on their mobile devices or computers with the network’s free Tennis Channel Everywhere app. The app has an authentication function that allows users to verify their pay-TV provider details and, at no extra charge, take Tennis Channel’s round-the-clock US Open coverage with them wherever they go. With updates, highlights, video clips and other features, the app is also a valuable tennis resource for fans who do not subscribe to Tennis Channel but still want to stay on top of the sport they love when on the move. All Apple and Android users can download Tennis Channel Everywhere for free, and users who would like even more like archived matches – among them the men’s and women’s singles finals and other competition from this year’s Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon – and other on-demand content can purchase the app’s annual Tennis Channel Plus subscription.

 

During the US Open visitors to the network’s www.tennischannel.com Web site will have access to a variety of online tournament materials. Among them are Court Report news updates, video highlights, scores, interviews, features and an interactive tournament draw. Fans can also enter Tennis Channel’s US Open Sweepstakes and the network’s “Racquet Bracket” tournament prediction game. Steve Flink and Joel Drucker (@joeldrucker) will post columns throughout the event as they have done in previous years, reflective of their decades of experience reporting the sport. Also returning are www.KentuckySportsRadio.com‘s Matt Jones (@kysportsradio) and Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR), who will offer blog and video posts from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the second consecutive summer.

 

The network’s social media activity includes Facebook (www.facebook.com/tennischannel), Twitter (www.twitter.com/tennischannel), YouTube (www.youtube.com/tennischannel), Instagram (http://instagram.com/tennischannel) and Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/tennischannel), and will remain heavily focused on the US Open during the next few weeks.

 

Tennis Channel’s Live 2014 US Open Coverage Schedule

 

Date                                        Time (ET)                  Event                                     

Monday, Aug. 25                    10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        First Round

Tuesday, Aug. 26                    10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        First Round

Wednesday, Aug. 27              10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        First Round, Second Round

Thursday, Aug. 28                  10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Second Round

Friday, Aug. 29                       10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Second Round, Third Round

Saturday, Aug. 30                   7 p.m.-11 p.m.             Third Round

Sunday, Aug. 31                     7 p.m.-11 p.m.            Third Round, Round of 16

Tuesday, Sept. 2                     10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Round of 16, Doubles

Wednesday, Sept. 3                10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Doubles, Juniors

Thursday, Sept. 4                    10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.        Doubles, Juniors, Legends Exhibition

 

Tennis Channel’s US Open TonightBreakfast at the Open Schedule

US Open Tonight airs for 11 consecutive nights, from Monday, Aug. 25 to Thursday, Sept. 4. Its premiere will usually run from 11 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ET, followed immediately by an encore from 2:30 a.m.-6 a.m. ET. The exception will be Sunday, Aug. 31, when the show does not air until after midnight, from 12:30 a.m.-4 a.m. ET (early Monday, Sept. 1), followed by an encore edition from 4 a.m.-6 a.m. ET.

 

Breakfast at the Open also runs for 11 straight nights, from Tuesday, Aug. 26 to Friday, Sept. 5. The show airs from6 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ET every morning except for August 30-31, September 1 and September 5, when it ends at 11 a.m. ET.

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