CLIJSTERS JOINS AS EUROSPORT UNVEILS ALL-SCREENS APPROACH TO ROLAND GARROS

It was also announced Kim Clijsters, former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion, will join Eurosport’s esteemed team of experts for Roland Garros that already boasts Mats Wilander, Barbara Schett, Chris Evert, John McEnroe and Patrick Mouratoglou – coach of Serena Williams.

Across the 52 markets – 14 exclusively – that will broadcast the second Grand Slam of the year – no fewer than 14 former top 10-ranked players will provide analysis on Eurosport’s channels including Boris Becker (Germany), Henri Leconte (France), Marion Bartoli (France), Anna Chakvetadze (Russia), Alex Corretja (Spain), Conchita Martinez (Spain), Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) and Greg Rusedski (UK).

Kim Clijsters said: “I’m thrilled to be working with Eurosport at this year’s Roland Garros. Having reached two finals at the French Open myself, I am looking forward to offering my own insights on what it takes to be successful on the clay courts of Paris.

“While nothing will replace the thrill of competing on court, analysing the tournament for a broadcaster such as Eurosport is definitely the next best thing. I’m particularly looking forward to working alongside some of the greatest minds in the game such as Mats, John, Chrissie Evert and Boris Becker. It should be a fantastic tournament from one of the best locations in world tennis.”

Eurosport, which has delivered every Roland Garros tournament since 1989, will once again show every point from every match on 16 courts on linear, the Eurosport Player and Eurosport app – equating to 250 hours of live action over the fortnight of action from the French capital. Eurosport’s updated app will also allow fans to access all matches on all courts anywhere they want, giving them the chance to watch the action live (up to 16 courts), study the profiles of the players and look at player head-to-head data.

In addition to the main draw, Eurosport will also deliver the qualifying tournament on its various platforms from Sunday 20 May. Two matches a day* will be available on its linear channels with the remaining qualifying action exclusive to its digital platforms (Eurosport.com, Eurosport Player and Eurosport app) – strengthening Eurosport’s digital-first approach to screening premium sporting content.

Ensuring that EVERY possible angle is covered for tennis fans, Eurosport will offer more digital and social content at Roland Garros in 2018. Eurosport in France, Spain, Germany and the UK will produce bi-weekly, 30-minute vodcasts during tournament-time with expert comments from Arnaud di Pasquale, Alex Corretja, Boris Becker and Greg Rusedski. Nicolas Escude in France, Becker in Germany and Manuel Poyan in Spain will leave no stone unturned in daily video interviews for Eurosport’s social media platforms that will keep fans right up-to-date on the goings on from Paris.

Also off the court:

  •  Mats Wilander and Barbara Schett will once again host Eurosport’s daily flagship show Game Schett and Mats where the duo will review and preview the best matches

  •  John McEnroe will take an offbeat look at the sport as he assumes his role as the self-appointed Commissioner of Tennis in an eight-episode series

  •  Patrick Mouratoglou will analyse the games of the top players in the world in The Coach

Emir Osmanbegovic, SVP Sports Content and Production at Eurosport, said: “I firmly believe Eurosport gives viewers across the continent something different, something that little bit extra when it comes to our coverage of the Grand Slams. It doesn’t matter who your favourite player is, you can see them play on Eurosport - whether it be on TV, online or on your mobile device. 

“We will have every angle covered, the highlights and previews from Mats [Wilander] and Barbara [Schett], the humour of John McEnroe taking an alternative look at tennis, and the incredible analysis from one of the top tennis brains in the game – Patrick Mouratoglou.

“This year should be extra special with Rafa Nadal looking to win an astonishing 11th Roland Garros title while there is the huge question on whether another icon of the game – Serena Williams – can claim another Grand Slam title after an extended period of absence.”

Yesterday, Eurosport announced it will launch a new channel – Eurosport 4K - exclusively for Roland Garros with every match from the prestigious Philippe Chatrier centre court available in Ultra High Definition, for the very first time.

Eurosport has released its promo that will be broadcast on-air in the lead-up to, and during Roland Garros. The 30-second spot reflects Parisian life – using and abusing French and Parisian clichés – good and bad – with irony in plenty supply. Click here to see the on-air promo.

Last year’s Roland Garros resulted in a 18% year-on-year audience increase on Eurosport with triple and double-digit growth recorded in multiple markets versus 2016 (+123% in Denmark, +60% in Spain, +47% in Romania, +20% in Germany, +20% in Sweden, +18% in Norway, +15% in Italy).

Eurosport 1 in Spain recorded its best-ever Roland Garros with a 60% year-on-year increase and an average audience of 62,000 throughout the tournament, beating the previous best of 41,000 in 2012. Eurosport 1 in Romania also reported its second-best programme in the history of the channel with over 780,000 viewers tuning in to the classic semi-final encounter between Simona Halep and Czech Karolina Pliskova, a figure that contributed to the same match being the most watched in the entire tournament (2,942,000 viewers on average).

Eurosport will show Roland Garros in the following territories: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Vatican.

Eurosport will show Roland Garros exclusively in the following territories: Armenia, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine.

*Except France, where four matches a day will be shown on linear.

Key dates:

Sunday 20 May – Qualifying tournament starts

Sunday 27 May – Main tournament starts

Saturday 9 June – Ladies singles final

Sunday 10 June – Men’s singles final

ENDS.