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Serena's major wins to be aired back-to-back

LOS ANGELES — Just ahead of the French Open, Tennis Channel will air each one of Serena Williams’ 21 Grand Slam singles titles back-to-back during a marathon that begins on May 15, at 1 p.m. ET. With Roland Garros (commonly referred to as the French Open) approaching, Williams will have the opportunity to win her 22nd Grand Slam title, which would tie her with Steffi Graf for the most major singles titles in the Open Era. This marks the first time the network has aired this many Grand Slam singles title victories back-to-back for a single player.

On the eve of its extensive Roland Garros coverage, Tennis Channel will showcase Serena’s dominance across three days, wrapping up on Tuesday, May 17 (full lineup below). Tennis Channel will take viewers from her very first singles title at age 17 to her most recent major championship at Wimbledon last year at the age of 33.

All 21 finals matches will also be available on Tennis Channel’s digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus. Williams’ US Open championships will be available for free on the network’s app, Tennis Channel Everywhere.

“Serena is one of the most popular athletes in sports, and we wanted to offer our viewers a reminder of how she got here as she closes in on history,” said Jeremy Langer, vice president, programming, Tennis Channel.

Over the course of the marathon viewers will see many classic matches from Williams’ decorated career. These include:

• Williams’ first Grand Slam victory over Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open
• Her five-straight finals wins over older sister Venus Williams
• Her most recent stretch of dominance, winning a second “Serena Slam” starting with the 2014 US Open and culminating with her win at Wimbledon in 2015

During Williams’ historic career she has accumulated numerous accomplishments and records:

• She is the only player to win three Grand Slam titles after saving match point during the tournament (2003 Australian Open, 2005 + Australian Open and 2009 Wimbledon)
• She has won 14 of her 21 Grand Slams in straight sets
• She defeated her sister Venus five-straight times in finals and six overall in the majors
• She has defeated her opponents in Grand Slam finals by a combined margin of 292-189 games
• During her most recent “Serena Slam” she became the oldest player, at age 33, to hold all four titles concurrently

Tennis Channel’s Serena Williams Grand Slam Championship Marathon Lineup.

Matches begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 15. Full schedule: tennischannel.com/tv-schedule/daily-view/

Tennis Channel’s two week Roland Garros telecast will begin Sunday, May 22, and will be the most comprehensive in television history. With close to 80 percent of all French Open coverage on television, the network’s on-air talent will include Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova (@Martina), Jim Courier and Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76), among others. Tennis Channel will announce its complete schedule and on-air talent roster closer to the tournament.

Tennis Channel (tennischannel.com), which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, 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 at the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, top-tier WTA competitions, Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 video providers.

About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI)

Sinclair is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 173 television stations in 81 markets, broadcasting 480 channels and has affiliations with all the major networks. Sinclair is the leading local news provider in the country, as well as a producer of live sports content. Sinclair’s content is delivered over multiple-platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at sbgi.net.

Posted on May 12, 2016
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