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Indian Wells Coverage Begins This Weekend

LOS ANGELES — This month Tennis Channel will carry more live television coverage from the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open than any other network, with nearly 130 hours combined. Including encore replays the network will feature more than 300 hours from Indian Wells, Calif., and Miami, respectively, home of the most renowned professional tennis events outside of the sport’s four majors. Coverage begins Saturday, March 12, with second-round play from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, continuing through to men’s and women’s doubles finals and on to the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami beginning Saturday, March 26, through to the men’s and women’s quarterfinals (see complete schedules below).

Coverage of the BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open is a significant component of the telecast rights extension from last November. Each of the March competitions has been called “The Fifth Slam” within the industry, and both feature tournament fields surpassed in size only by Wimbledon, the US Open, French Open and Australian Open. Tennis Channel will offer the most live television coverage of each, with 73 hours in Indian Wells and 52 hours in Miami. The channel will also present encore coverage of these matches and later-round semifinal and championship play.

On-Air Talent The network’s comprehensive coverage of both events is complemented by the expertise of the sport’s most iconic athletes. Hall-of-Famer Tracy Austin will lend her talents to the network’s BNP Paribas Open on-air team with play-by-play work and analysis. She will be joined by multi-Slam champion and Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Davenport, who will act as anchor and analyst alongside Austin in Indian Wells, Calif., in addition to Miami. Rounding out the team in California will be Brett Haber, returning to Indian Wells for play by play.

Broadcasting legend Ted Robinson will voice play by play in Miami along with former player and analyst, Justin Gimelstob. Tennis Channel’s coverage will also feature up-to-the-minute tennis news provided by Court Report roving reporter Cari Champion, who will be on site during both competitions.

Online In addition to live scores, daily highlights, tournament photos, news and blogs the network provides for the Slams, www.tennischannel.com will bring back the popular Bryan Brothers video blog - where viewers can get the most exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the BNP Paribas Open from the eyes of the game’s most celebrated doubles team. Tennis Channel’s “Racquet Bracket” tournament prediction game will also be available for the BNP Paribas Open draw.

All ATP World Tour Masters 1000 coverage on Tennis Channel, including BNP Paribas Open and the Sony Ericsson Open, is in high definition.

Tennis Channel’s Live 2011 BNP Paribas Open Schedule (Men’s/Women’s Singles Unless Otherwise Specified)

Date Time (ET) Event Saturday, March 12 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Second-Round Sunday, March 13 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Second-Round, Third-Round Monday, March 14 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Third-Round Tuesday, March 15 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Third-Round, Round of 16 Wednesday, March 16 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Round of 16, Women’s Quarterfinals Thursday, March 17 2 p.m.-8 p.m.; 10 p.m.-midnight Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals Friday, March 18 2 p.m.-4 p.m.; 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Men’s Quarterfinals Saturday, March 19 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Men’s Doubles Finals

Tennis Channel will also offer encore replays of the men’s and women’s singles semifinals and finals: Saturday, March 19 - 2 a.m.-4 a.m.; 8 a.m.-10 a.m. (ET): women’s singles semifinals Sunday, March 20 - 12 a.m.-4 a.m. (ET): men’s singles semifinals Monday, March 21 - 12 a.m.-4 a.m. (ET): men’s and women’s singles finals

Tennis Channel’s Live 2011 Sony Ericsson Open Schedule (Men’s/Women’s Singles Unless Otherwise Specified)

Date Time (ET) Event Saturday, March 26 11 a.m.-midnight Second-Round, Third-Round Sunday, March 27 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Third Round Monday, March 28 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Third-Round, Round of 16 Tuesday, March 29 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Round of 16, Women’s Quarterfinals Thursday, March 31 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Men’s Quarterfinals

Tennis Channel will also offer encore replays of the men’s and women’s singles semifinals: Friday, April 1 - 1 a.m.-3 a.m.; 9 a.m.-11 a.m. (ET): women’s singles semifinals Friday, April 1 - 11 p.m.-1 a.m.; Saturday, April 2 - 6:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. (ET): men’s singles semifinals

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, top-tier WTA competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 MSOs, Verizon FiOS TV, AT&T U-verse, DIRECTV and DISH Network.

Posted on March 9, 2011
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