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Channeling
Tennis to the Masses
By Ramona Prioleau
Empirical
evidence suggests that watching Tiger Woods dismantle opponents on the
greens of some of the world's most exclusive golf courses has piqued
multicultural interest in the country club sport. Whether Woods'
influence is reflected in Cedric the Entertainer's jokes, EPMD's rap
lyrics or the introduction of Phat Farm's
golf-inspired gear, the sport's popularity has grown, aided in no
small part by the widespread coverage of golf on television.
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If it holds true that exposure begets
interest, then things are looking up for the game of tennis. On May
15th, The Tennis Channel (TTC) launches, promising to deliver a
24-hour slate of original programming, live match action and tennis
instruction. For fans, the channel is long overdue. Except for the
grand slam tournaments in England, France, Australia and the US,
tennis coverage has been a stepchild of television sports. Tournaments
outside of the slams, if they are shown at all, tend to be scheduled
at odd hours and spotlight the later rounds of play.
TTC aims to set a new standard. For its tournament
coverage, TTC will also include early round broadcasts, giving
audiences a chance to follow a wider selection of professional
players. To date, the network has secured more than 1000 hours of
exclusive tournament action, featuring the European Tennis Masters
Series, the Fed Cup, non-US matches of the Davis Cup and World Team
Tennis competitions; plus scores of events from the top international,
junior and intercollegiate circuits.
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In addition to rebroadcasts of legendary
classic matches and instruction from noted professionals, TTC has
announced an original programming slate that includes "No
Strings," a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest players on the
tour and "Center Court with Chris Myers." "Center
Court" will be a half-hour program showcasing Myers in exclusive,
one-on-one interviews with the tennis world's leading personalities.
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Although most of TTC's programming plans
are impressive, the selection of Chris Myers as on-air talent is
questionable. Myers does have a noteworthy sports résumé having
worked with ESPN and Fox Sports Net. He's even covered tennis for USA
Network. And there's the rub. Myers' US Open one-on-one interviews
have been less than inspiring and at times irritating. Hopefully,
he'll ramp up his tennis knowledge and tone down his hormonal
gushiness while in the presence of WTA players with an abundance of
sex appeal.
What's the long-term impact of
showcasing tennis on its own channel? Ideally, an ever-growing and
diverse audience will embrace the sport. Without a doubt, Venus and
Serena Williams are pop culture icons that have expanded the reach of
the game, but showcasing a wider array of players will only accelerate
tennis' appeal. With the advent of TTC, more people will come to know
Chanda Rubin, Alexandra Stevenson, James Blake, Michael Chang,
Paradorn Srichaphan, Mahesh Bhupathi, Younes El Aynaoui, Marcelo Rios
and so on and so on…
But if you want your TTC, it will take some effort.
Although the channel begins airing on May 15th, only Time Warner
Cable, Cox Communications and National Cable Television Cooperative
have signed agreements with the network. On the initial launch date,
Cox Cable of San Diego will air TTC on Channel 367.
According to Time Warner Cable spokesperson Mark
Harrad, Time Warner will launch TTC as part of its digital sports
tier. "Particular channel numbers will vary from division to
division and not all of our divisions will launch The Tennis Channel
at the same time," said Harrad. Cable customers can
influence whether TTC will be available on their system by calling
their local cable operator and requesting the channel.
M
May 2003
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