Tennis Channel's March coverage of two of the biggest events in tennis and sports gets underway with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., from March 11-22 and the Miami Open in Miami from March 24-April 5. The network's three-and-a-half-week "Match Madness" will feature 15 days with 10 or more hours of live matches, round-the-clock encore replays at night, live lead-in shows and almost 570 hours of televised tennis. The channel will dedicate more than 230 televised hours to live coverage at both events combined - often referred to as the sport's "Fifth Slams," with status behind only its four majors - with another 340 hours of encore matches. Its annual "Swing into Spring" schedule also features more than 375 hours of live coverage on subscription-service Tennis Channel Plus, with all women's matches at both events.
The action begins Wednesday, March 11, the first day of main-draw play at Southern California's BNP Paribas Open. Tennis Channel Live at the BNP Paribas Open will begin the day at 1 p.m. ET, for an hour intro to the prestigious desert tournament. Matches will begin at 2 p.m. ET, and continue uninterrupted on Tennis Channel until midnight ET (complete schedule for both events below). This is standard for much of the tournament, with lead-in show conversation and highlights followed by daylong match blocks and encore replays throughout the night and following morning, right up to the next day's lead-in show. Tennis Channel's live BNP Paribas Open coverage will run from the first day of play through the women's singles semifinals and men's doubles final during championship weekend, with encore replays of the men's and women's singles semifinals and finals. In all, the network will devote more than 275 television hours to the 2020 BNP Paribas Open from March 11-23, with close to 120 hours of live coverage and more than 155 hours of encore replays. Digital subscribers have live and on-demand access to every women's match at the event - more than 190 hours - via Tennis Channel Plus.
Tennis Channel's round-the-clock approach will continue during South Florida's Miami Open March 24-April 5. A typical day's on-air lineup will feature 11-to-12 hours of live matches followed by half-hour wrap-up show Tennis Channel Live at the Miami Open, before all-night encores up to the start of the next day's play. Live coverage runs from Opening Day through the women's singles semifinals and men's and women's doubles championships, with encore replays of the men's and women's singles finals. Tennis Channel plans close to 110 live hours from Miami, and another 180 hours of replays, almost 300 hours overall. Tennis Channel Plus will offer every women's match live or on demand, more than 185 total hours.
On-Air Talent
Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova (@Martina), Jim Courier, Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin) and Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76) will return to Indian Wells as Tennis Channel analysts in 2020. Navratilova won singles championships in the desert in 1991 and 1993. Courier won both singles and doubles at the event in 1991 (and also became the first to win the "Sunshine Double" with back-to-back singles titles in Indian Wells and Miami) and another singles championship in 1993. Davenport won two singles titles - in 1997 and 2000 - and six doubles championships: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.
Former player and renowned sportscaster Mary Carillo will also return to the Southern California event for Tennis Channel, as a host, reporter and announcer. She will be joined by fellow former players and analysts Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone) and Chanda Rubin (@Chanda_Rubin). Rubin won the Indian Wells doubles crown in 1996.
Award-winning announcers Ted Robinson (@tedjrobinson), Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) and Steve Weissman (@steve_weissman) are also Tennis Channel BNP Paribas Open returnees, as is network reporter Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) of Sports Illustrated.
New to the network's BNP Paribas Open team is Dani Klupenger (@daniklup), who will provide special reports from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Haber will host Tennis Channel Live at the BNP Paribas Open, which will include Rubin, Annacone and Wertheim.
Of Tennis Channel's Southern California team, Austin, Davenport, Annacone, Rubin, Robinson, Haber, and Weissman will also be on air during the Miami Open. Former players Mark Knowles (@knowlzee10s) and Nicolas Pereira (@nicolaspereira) will join as analysts during the South Florida event, with former player and Tennis Channel mainstay Leif Shiras (@leifshiras) onboard to handle play by play. Announcer Russ Thaler (@RussThaler) is also returning to the network's Miami coverage.
Haber and Rubin will anchor Tennis Channel Live at the Miami Open again in 2020.
Digital
Everyone in the United States has access to Tennis Channel Plus' live and on-demand coverage of all women's matches at the 2020 BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, without the need for a Tennis Channel television subscription.
Hall of Fame reporter Steve Flink (@sflinko) is among the veteran trio of journalists on the ground in Indian Wells and Miami this year for Tennis Channel, Tennis Magazine and Tennis.com. He'll be joined by historian Joel Drucker and longtime writer Steve Tignor (@SteveTignor). Tennis Channel's on-site digital team will also provide live streaming and off-air interactions with members of the network's on-air talent.
Puerto Rican Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) and British doubles champion Jamie Murray (@jamie_murray) will share their experiences at the BNP Paribas Open with viewers this year as well. The stars of the third season of Tennis Channel's multiplatform series My Tennis Life will post updates on their social media channels and through the network's on-air and online outlets.
Viewers will also be able to follow the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open via Tennis Channel's YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/tennischannel), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tennischannel), Twitter (www.twitter.com/tennischannel) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/tennischannel) pages, as well as Tennis.com's Facebook (www.facebook.com/TennisMedia) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/Tennis).
Tennis Channel's Live BNP Paribas Open Coverage Schedule
(Men's/Women's Singles Unless Otherwise Specified)
Date Time (ET) Event
Wednesday, March 11 1 p.m.-midnight First Round
Thursday, March 12 1 p.m.-2 a.m. First Round
Friday, March 13 1 p.m.-2 a.m. First Round, Second Round
Saturday, March 14 1 p.m.-2 a.m. Second Round
Sunday, March 15 1 p.m.-2 a.m. Second Round, Third Round
Monday, March 16 1 p.m.-2 a.m. Third Round
Tuesday, March 17 1 p.m.-2 a.m. Third Round, Round of 16
Wednesday, March 18 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Women's Quarterfinal
6 p.m.-2 a.m. Round of 16, Singles/Doubles Qtrs
Thursday, March 19 2 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Doubles Quarterfinals and Semifinals
9 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Men's Doubles Semifinal
Friday, March 20 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Men's Doubles Semifinal
9 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Women's Semifinals
Saturday, March 21 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Men's and Women's Doubles Finals
Tennis Channel will show same-day encores of the men's and women's singles finals beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 22.
Tennis Channel (www.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, ATP World Tour events, WTA competitions, Fed Cup, Laver Cup and the ATP Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by all of the top 10 video providers.
About Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. - Sinclair is a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. The Company owns and/or operates 23 regional sports network brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 191 television stations in 89 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks. Sinclair's content is delivered via 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 www.sbgi.net
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