Women's Tennis Global TV and Digital Audiences Leap 22.5%* to Cement Place as World's Most Popular Women's Sport

Women's Tennis Global TV and Digital Audiences Leap 22.5%* to Cement Place as World's Most Popular Women's Sport

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, February 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --




- Most-watched tournament of the year, BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore
presented by SC Global, attracted 26.9 million viewers
- Viewership projected to rise year-on-year as women's tennis draws new
audiences and will offer greater media exposure from 2017 following recent half
billion US dollar Perform deal to produce 2,000 televised matches


The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) today announced new global TV and digital
audience figures. The end-of-season report by SMG Insight, reported a staggering
year-on-year leap in 2014 viewership, up 22.5% from 2013, for the dedicated broadcast of
22 WTA premier tournaments, emphasizing the ever-growing excitement around women's tennis.



(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150219/731209 )




The most-watched tournament of the year was BNP Paribas WTA Finals presented by SC
Global Singapore, attracting 26.9 million viewers across seven days of tennis. Day 5 of
the tournament, which saw both semifinals played, was the most-watched day of the
tournament, where the Top 8 singles and Top 8 doubles teams compete for a $6.5 million
prize fund, increasing to $7 million in 2015.



The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, freshly-crowned Premier Mandatory Tournament of
the Year, voted by WTA players, provided the season's most-watched day of broadcast in
2014. 4.6 million fans accessed the semifinals from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The
event also generated the largest growth in audience, a rise of 95.4%, almost doubling from
11.76 million viewers in 2013 to 22.98 million in 2014.



The 2015 BNP Paribas Open (March 9-22) will prove even more popular with the return of
19-time Grand Slam winner and World No.1 Serena Williams to Indian Wells following a
14-year hiatus.



The Miami Open presented by Itau (March 25-April 5), delivered the largest online
digital audience of the year; 9% of the season's total online digital viewers watched
coverage of the tournament.



Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman & CEO said: "We knew 2014 was going to be good, but it
was beyond expectations. Fans want to get close to the athletes and follow them when they
want, where they want, season-long, as they play tournaments around the world. By
continuing to put an inspiring and competitive product on court, day in and day out, we
aim to provide a premier, compelling global sport entertainment experience for fans to
enjoy. Our goal is to deepen the connection between fans and players by creating greater
access to our content, distributing it on TV and digital channels, across mobile, and
engage with fans on social media. What was so exciting in 2014 was to see how much fans
enjoyed watching and engaging with our game."


Top 5 tournaments in terms of largest cumulative TV and digital audiences in 2014:




1) BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global: 26,928,804
2) Miami Open presented by Itau: 23,065,116
3) BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): 22,975,675
4) Rogers Cup (Toronto): 20,271,499
5) Mutua Madrid Open: 18,659,536




Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150219/731209


Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150219/731209
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Women's Tennis Association (WTA)

CONTACT: Heather Bowler, WTA, +447885966355, hbowler@wtatennis.com


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