Tennis Channel is lining up to play on multiple distribution courts in 2024 as it looks to serve its hard-core viewers wherever and whenever they want to see live tennis and pickleball action, network president Ken Solomon said. 

The Sinclair-owned service is planning to launch a direct-to-consumer offering this year to complement its lineup of the Tennis Channel linear service, its Pickleballtv and T2 FAST Channels and its Tennis Channel Plus SVOD service. 

“The mission is to bring the sport to life fully and let everyone who might potentially be a fan find out if they want to be,” he said. “It used to be very hard to do because only a fraction of the sport was on television.”

Also Read: Sinclair Putting Tennis Channel’s T2 On NextGen Broadcast Channels

Click below to hear more of the interview with Ken Solomon on the latest episode of the “TV Sportsplay” podcast.

Timed with the start of the US Open, Tennis Channel said its TV Everywhere app and standalone, digital offering, Tennis Channel Plus, are now available on the Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick and Fire tablets.

That expands on Tennis Channel’s streaming reach on Web browsers, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones, Roku players and Roku TVs, and the Apple TV.

Tennis Channel Plus runs $79.99 per year, or $11.99 per month, and delivers OTT access to more than 650 live events. MVPDs with rights for Tennis Channel’s TVE app include AT&T U-verse/DirecTV, Cox Communications, Dish Network, Verizon FiOS, Armstrong, Frontier Communications, RCN, and Vyve Broadband, among others.

Among its offerings during the US Open tourney, Tennis Channel is producing a three-hour morning show, Tennis Channel Live, and an eight-hour evening encore program called US Open Tonight. Tennis Channel said it will provide more than 250 hours of coverage during the event. Tennis Channel Plus is also providing several archived matches from the tournament. For Serena Williams, who is poised to achieve a "Calendar Slam,” Tennis Channel Plus is giving viewers on-demand access to semifinal and championship wins at this year's Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon competitions.

“Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablets is helping us bring Tennis Channel's unsurpassed tennis programming to customers through a variety of platforms, and continues our mission to give as much tennis to people as possible, on as many devices as possible," Patrick Wilson, senior vice president of distribution, Tennis Channel, said in a statement. “When you combine Tennis Channel's linear feed with the live coverage and archived matches carried on Tennis Channel Plus, Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablet users have the ultimate tennis viewing experience, whether at home or on the go."

"We're thrilled to offer Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus to Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick and Fire tablet customers," added Steve Rabuchin, vice president, Amazon Appstore. "Now our customers can have a front row seat for all the action at many of the biggest tournaments of the year - even those without a cable subscription."

It was the 2014 Australian Open that ushered in some changes at the top of the men’s and women’s tennis world.

When Ana Ivanovic upset Serena Williams in the round of 16, 2014 began an uneven year for the world No. 1, who also suffered early exits at the French Open and Wimbledon, before she regained her form and captured the U.S. Open. In between, former Slam champions Maria Sharapova  (French) and Petra Kvitova (Wimbledon) added majors, while Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard burst onto the scene.

Ivanovic’s victory in Melbourne Park opened the door for Li Na to take home the title. With the Chinese player retiring from the sport, a new woman will be crowned Aussie queen.

Stan Wawrinka beat three-time defending champion Novak Djovokic in the quarterfinals, returning the favor for a marathon loss against the Serb Down Under in 2013. The long-time No. 2 Swiss player then surprised Rafael Nadal to win the championship.

Bookending the year of upsets, Martin Cilic, who will miss the Happy Slam with ani njury, beat the rising Japanese player Kei Nishikora  in the final of the U.S. Open. Wawrinka and Cilic thus joined 2009 U.S. Open king, Juan Martin Del Potro, who also had to withdraw on the eve of the tourney with his lingering left wrist problem, as the only men to interrupt the decade-long Grand Slam domination of the "Big 4": Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray.

This year, world No. 1 Djoker and No. 4 Wawrinka could meet in a semfinal rubber match, while a recovering-from-multiple injuries Nadal might see old foe Roger Federer in the bottom half.

How happy would executives at the worldwide leader be if that form held at the Happy Slam. Starting on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., ESPN 2 and ESPN will combine to present more than 100 live hours on television, while ESPN3 will serve up to 800 more digitally, as fans will be able to choose from action on up to 13 courts.  ESPN’s 31st consecutive Australian Open will culminate with the women’s and men’s championships live on ESPN at 3 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, and Sunday, Feb. 1, with an encore presentation Super Bowl morning at 9 a.m.

As part of its Grand Slam alliance with ESPN, Tennis Channel is in the game Down Under for an eighth consecutive year. Tennis Channel will have 11 consecutive days and 40 hours of live coverage. Adding encore replays, highlights, a special preview and the new daily preview show Live at the Australian Open, the network will devote close to 200 hours over the fortnight.

Under their alliance, ESPN produces the Australian Open for both networks, with each utilizing its own commentators and cross-promoting their combined television offerings. Conversely, Tennis handles production when the networks play as a doubles team at Roland Garros.

Unlike many Grand Slams, the 2015 Australian features several intriguing opening-round battles. Nishikora will battle former top 10 player Nicolas Almagro, while Nadal meets the veteran Mikhail Youzny.

Distaff interest will center on the former two-time champion Victoria Azarenka’s encounter with Sloane Stephens, a rematch of their controversial and contentious 2013 semifinal that followed the American's elimination of her idol Williams. By the by, Azarenka, Stephens former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, Williams' 2014 French and Wimbledon conquerors Garbine Muguruz and Alize Cornet, plus Jelena Jankovic and Dominica Hantuchova are all in Serena’s part of the draw.

Williams, should she survive her perilous path, could meet friend Caroline Wozniacki -- seeded eighth but suffering from a wrist injury -- in the quarters. A Williams' title would be her 19th singles Slam, surpassing the 18 trophies also held by Chris Evert and Martina Navritilova. Fourth-seeded Kvitova is slated to meet No. 6 Aga Radwanska in the other quarter in the top half of the draw.

The bottom half features the possible confrontation between Halep and Ivanovic, this year’s third and fifth seeds. The last quarter could showcase the telegenic twosome of No. 2 Sharapova and  Bouchard, the comely Canadian, who succumbed to Na in last year’s semis.

On the men’s side, if the seeds hold up, Djokovic would meet No.8  Milos Raonic, the hard-serving Canadian, and Wawrinka would engage his U.S. Open vanquisher, No. 5 Nishikori.

In the bottom half, No. 3 Nadal’s path would take him into No. 7 Tomas Berdych, while the second-seeded Federer might match with No. 6 Murray, who lost to the Swiss in last year’s quarters and the 2010 final and to Djokovic in the 2011 and 2013 championship matches.

Shoule Nole or Fed win they would set the Open era record with five men's Down Under diadems.

ESPN2 tosses the first ball into TV play on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. (ET) and will present daily, marathon, overnight telecasts from Melbourne, primarily starting at 9 p.m. through the women’s semifinals. At the money end of the tourney, coverage switches to ESPN (see schedule below). WatchESPN, now available to some 75 million homes, will stream all of the action on the two networks to authenticated viewers.

The worldwide leader is bringing its veteran tennis team Down Under: Australians Cliff Drysdale and Darren Cahill; the McEnroe brothers, Patrick and John, and three named Chris: Fowler, Evert and McKendry. Additionally, former players and coaches Pam Shriver, Mary Jo Fernandez, Brad Gilbert and Jason Goodall are scheduled to appear, as will essayist Tom Rinaldi.

As it does with the other majors, Tennis Channel will introduce a review/preview show with this year’s Aussie tourney.

Hosted by Emmy Award winner Brett Haber, Hall of Famers Jim Courier and Navratilova, and Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim  Live at the Australian Open will air most nights from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. immediately preceding the start of the day’s play Down Under. 

The network’s on-air team also includes Bill Macatte, Justin Gimelstob and Lindsey Davenport.

Tennis' schedule calls for 11 consecutive days spanning 40 hours of live coverage at this year’s Australian Open (see schedule). With encore replays, highlights, a special preview and the new Live at the Australian Open, the network plans to present some 200 hours linear hours.

Hybrid digital service, Tennis Channel Plus, combining TVE accessibility and bonus match coverage, will home in on one court during the tournament's second week, streaming the action to its subscriber base.

ESPN AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015 (all time ET)

Tennis Channel’s Live Australian Open Coverage (all times ET)

Date                                                    Time                           Event                                                 

Sunday, Jan. 18                                   6 p.m.-7 p.m.              Pre-Tournament Welcome

Monday, Jan. 19                                 6 p.m.-9 p.m.              FirstRound

Tuesday, Jan. 20                                 6 p.m.-9 p.m.              SecondRound

Wednesday, Jan. 21                            6p.m.-9 p.m.              Second Round

Thursday, Jan. 22                               6 p.m.-11 p.m.              ThirdRound

Friday, Jan. 23                                    6 p.m.-9 p.m.              ThirdRound

Saturday, Jan. 24                                6 p.m.-9 p.m.              Round of 16

Sunday, Jan. 25                                   6 p.m.-9 p.m.              Round of 16

Monday, Jan. 26                                 6 p.m.-9 p.m.              Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Jan. 27                                 6 p.m.-9 p.m.              Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals

Wednesday, Jan. 28                            6p.m.-9:30 p.m.         TBA

Thursday, Jan. 29                               10 p.m.-3:30 a.m.       Mixed Doubles Semifinal, Women’s Doubles Final

Saturday, Jan. 31                                5:30 a.m.-8 a.m.         Men’sDoubles Final

Sunday, Feb. 1                                    12 a.m.-2 a.m.            Mixed Doubles Final

Continuing to bolster its digital offerings, Tennis Channel is introducing a subscription service on opening day of the 2014 French Open.

Tennis Channel Plus will give subscribers access to 300 live matches from 40 tournaments around the globe, including a multi-court mosaic from Paris encompassing some 70 matches over an eight-day span. Opening up a new revenue stream for Tennis Channel, the service also includes an expansive on-demand menu of historic matches and network original programming.

Available for $59.99 annually or $9.99 for a one-day pass, Tennis Channel Plus will be housed within the network’s Tennis Channel Everywhere app. This hybrid model -- MLB and the NBA proffer digital out-of-market pay packages, while WWE has launched a digital subscription network trading on a monthly charge – will give Tennis Channel Everywhere affiliates a share of the proceeds when certain customer thresholds are reached. Tennis Channel didn’t disclose those numbers or attendant revenue splits.

Adam Ware, senior vice president, head of digital media, Tennis Channel, said Tennis Channel Plus is a complementary service to the linear channel, and enables the independent network to more fully exploit its rights, while better accommodating the game’s most fervid fans.

Given the international nature of the tennis calendar, in which various tournaments unfold simultaneously from different time zones, the linear service can’t present all of the matches. “Most sports and tennis fans want the live experience,” said Ware. “Tennis Channel Plus gives them a chance to see many more matches than we can present on the network.”

Ware said the product is unique. “Tennis Channel Plus does two things no one else is doing. It offers a host of additional live matches and has an extensive on-demand menu,” he explained. “Subscribers can select what they want to see, or watch a curated schedule. Either way, it’s an enhanced experience for hard-core fans.

Its additional French Open presentations aside, Tennis Channel Plus will air exclusive Davis and Fed Cup action as tennis international team competitions play out concurrently. There will also be early-round action from ATP 250 and WTA International events, most of it live; other matches will appear on a delayed basis to protect contractual agreements with linear affiliates.

Tennis Channel Plus subscribers can also summon thousands of hours of on-demand matches, both recent and classic: Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, Chris Evert against Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras versus Andre Agassi. Archived episodes of current series – Tour Guide and Tennis Channel Academy – plus vintage installments of earlier shows such as Center Court with Chris Myers will be available. So, too will the network's perennial short-form components: "Bag Check" and "Court Report."

The first serve for Tennis Channel Plus comes just a year after the network entered the app world, as it made live-streaming of its matches from the French Open, of which it is the primary U.S. cable rights-holder, available for free.

“There were 125,000 downloads of the app through which tennis fans could live-stream our matches,” said Adam Ware, senior vice president, head of digital media, Tennis Channel. “So, we knew there was an appetite.”

The independent network, which currently counts 35 million subscribers, 50 million during its expanded freeview period during the French on DirecTV and Dish, moved into the TVE arena by last summer’s U.S. Open, when it launched Tennis Channel Everywhere to Verizon FiOS and National Cable Television Cooperative subscribers.

Dish and DirecTV subscribers were subsequently added to the Tennis Channel Everywhere court, and the service debuted for Cox customers last week, in time for this year’s French. Another TVE launch with a major distributor is expected shortly.

Ware noted that marketing for Tennis Channel Plus, which will be seen on the network’s air and website, is also taking place at the grass roots level. “There will be a huge push at tennis clubs and with the USTA,” he said.

The United States Tennis Association holds a minority stake in Tennis Channel.