Direct TV Offering US Open Tennis Coverage

Direct TV continues its expanded sports coverage, this time presenting extensive and expanded tennis coverage of the US Open. This year’s US Open, which is covered by USA Network and CBS Sports, will provide Direct TV subscribers multiple viewing options, including the interactive features only available through the satellite provider. This will allow viewers the ability to track and watch their favorite players as the play their way through the US Open field.

This year’s US Open coverage will be similar to the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments covered earlier this year by DirecTV. Viewers will have a matches on now, matches on later, and an Interactive DirectTV US Open Mix on channel 701. Coverage will expand to 8 days this year, starting on August 25^th and running through September 1^st. During the first five days, DirecTV will use the feed provided by the USA Network, with the final three days through Labor day will offer coverage from CBS. The US Open Mix channel will show up to six live matches at a time on one screen, with the ability to move to the full screen view of any match via their remote control.

So are the “mix” presentations of sporting events such as NFL Football, the Masters Golf tournament, and Wimbledon tennis paying off for DirecTV?

According to Direct TV, interactive viewers spend a lot more time watching sporting event programming in the interactive format than non-interactive viewers. DIRECTV’s recent data on the Wimbledon tennis tournament showed that average daily viewing was about 68 percent higher when measuring viewers who used the interactive applications available through Direct TV. When measuring the total viewing across multiple days, the average time viewing the interactive programming jumped nearly 155 percent.

What this indicates for Direct TV and potentially any sporting organization, is that the audience becomes an extremely captive group for this type of “mix” sports programming. Over the past few years, this has separated DirecTV from DISH Network, Comcast, Time Warner, and the rest of the field in the pay television market. Direct TV seems to have his a hot button with sports fans across America, whether it be in their coverage of NFL football, NASCAR racing, or even tennis tournaments.