Pro Stringer Issue 5 - 2017 PS5-2017 - web | Page 16

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Industry News
US Open Series launches next week
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The 14th season of the US Open Series, the fi ve-week North American
summer tennis season that links seven WTA and ATP World Tour summer hard court tournaments
to the US Open, launches next week with the men’s BB&T Atlanta Open. Since its inception in
2004, the US Open Series has increased television viewership with a cohesive schedule, while
also increasing attendance and generating new corporate partnerships for its tournaments. In ad-
dition, the Series will continue to engage its local tournament communities with a variety of out-
reach initiatives, including grass-roots clinics and activities involving the USTA’s new youth tennis
brand - Net Generation.
Announcing ATP Tennis Radio
The ATP and ATP Media, the broadcast arm of the ATP World Tour, today jointly announce the
launch of their own digital radio channel, ATP Tennis Radio - a live, free-to-air audio platform for
tennis fans to enjoy worldwide. The bespoke, 24/7 digital radio off ering is hosted by Gigi Salmon,
joined by a team of some of the most globally acclaimed tennis commentators and experts.
Having successfully soft-launched at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters earlier this year, ATP Tennis
Radio will feature live coverage and bespoke radio commentary from the upcoming Coupe Rog-
ers in Montreal. It will also broadcast all the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, the Next
Gen ATP Finals and the Nitto ATP Finals, as well as the singles fi nals from the ATP World Tour 500
tournaments (including the upcoming German Tennis Championships and the Citi Open in Wash-
ington D.C.).
Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; ATP Tennis Radio is easily accessible through TuneIn
Radio’s website, mobile and car apps, ATPWorldTour.com and individual tournament websites as
well as 200 connected devices such as Sonos, Amazon Echo and Google Home. ATP Tennis Ra-
dio’s digital availability on an array of devices means it is available to listeners wherever they may
be - on the move via a mobile phone, in the car or at home.
ATP Tennis Radio provides listeners with an all-encompassing audio experience that includes on-
site reporting, player interviews, special features, highlights and regular news bulletins. A weekly
Monday podcast featuring exclusive interviews, features and the best of the week’s action is avail-
able to stream or download from the iTunes store, Apple podcast app and the TuneIn Radio web-
site and mobile apps (available on IOS and Android devices).
With ATP Media’s television coverage of the ATP World Tour being consumed by 195 territories
worldwide, ATP Tennis Radio enables the ATP World Tour to become even more accessible than
ever before.
As the reach of digital radio is reportedly increasing globally by 16% year on year and with the US
experiencing 170 million online audio listeners every week, ATP Media’s newest digital off ering is
expected to signifi cantly build on the 1 billion annual global audience the ATP World Tour currently
receives.
Stuart Watts, ATP Media Chief Operating Offi cer, commented: “The launch of ATP Tennis Radio is
another major step in making the ATP World Tour the most innovative sports broadcast off ering in
the world. With live radio making up 74% of all audio consumption now is the perfect time to intro-
duce this new digital audio off ering to our broadcast operation, ensuring it is available on the latest
and most popular mobile and connected devices. Not only will ATP Tennis Radio make the ATP
World Tour even more accessible for our current audiences, but it will allow us to promote the ATP
World Tour through a completely new broadcast medium and further broaden its appeal across
new, younger audiences