Big changes to Rogers Cup television broadcasts, starting in 2016
The synergy is obvious, with Rogers the title sponsor of the Rogers Cup, broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.
So it's not much of a surprise that the association will continue until 2020, as announced by Tennis Canada Tuesday.
What will change in a major way is where fans get to see it.
On the English-language side, Sportsnet currently broadcasts during the week, juggling the simultaneous men's event (in Montreal this year) and the women's tournament (in Toronto this year).
On the weekend, for the semi-finals and finals, a whole new crew comes in to broadcast the final rounds on CBC.
As of 2016, CBC is out; the entire tournament will be on the various Sportsnet channels.
That's a good thing, for continuity and consistency's sake. And at least fans will always know where to find it; having the men's and women's events the same week already creates a mad scramble to find out who's on where, and when.
Rogers has stepped in recent years, adding resources to coverage of Canadian tennis as the rise of the new generation – Milos Raonic, Genie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil – has increased interest in the game. The coverage of Davis Cup and Fed Cup wasn't there before. And it has all come a long, long way from the 1990s, when Tennis Canada had to buy the air time on (then) TSN and CBC, and sell the ads themselves.
On the French-language side, there will be even more significant changes.
RDS (the French version of TSN) has had the weekday matches, with Radio-Canada coming in on the weekend (and, since the beginning of the five-year deal that expires with the 2015 event, some of the Friday quarter-final matches).
But as of next year, TVA Sports will have all the French-language broadcast rights on a sub-license from Sportsnet.
The new sports network already does some tennis – much of it women's tennis, nearly all of it from a Montreal studio (and much of it on tape delay) with the commentators watching on TV. It also broadcasts a few smaller local events such as the Granby Challenger and the big junior event in Repentigny, just before the US Open. So this will represent a far more comprehensive undertaking.
Most Quebec viewers much prefer the RDS coverage (also broadcast from a Montreal studio), with the familiar team of Yvan Ponton and Hélène Pelletier. The TVA coverage this far has featured Paul Rivard and a rotating cast of analysts who are Tennis Canada employees, including former pro Valérie Tétreault and Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau.
Just as it was when TVA Sports took over much of the Montreal Canadiens coverage from the familiar (and quality) confines of RDS this season, the reaction so far from Québécois tennis fans hasn't been too positive.
As for the English-language coverage, the loss of CBC could mean the loss of some quality import guest commentators such as Tracy Austin, Jimmy Arias and Justin Gimelstob – all of whom played many years on the professional Tours and offer excellent insight.
RDS will still have coverage of the four Grand Slams (as will TSN), and also the ATP Tour's Masters 1000 series.
