Getting ready to step on the courts at the USTA National Tennis Center tomorrow for its inaugural coverage of the U.S. Open matches, rights-holder ESPN has netted deals with an array of sponsors.
The sports programmer has scored deals with BMW, DirecTV, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Lexus and MGD 64. Meanwhile, American Airlines and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are supporting ESPN.com's digital coverage of the Grand Slam event in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Among the key sponsor elements:
* Primetime at the US Open segments will be presented by IBM, featuring stats and scoring features and ESPN Pulse during all live match hours;
* BMW will present SportsCenter reports and Open segments on ESPNEWS;
*JPMorgan Chase is behind the "Chase Review," the electronic reviewing mechanism for close line calls;
*Lexus is sponsoring the "Match Summary";
*MGD 64 will underwrite "Light on their Feet," a feature highlighting players who display great speed and quickness on court; and
*DirecTV will back ESPN2's aerial coverage of the two-week event in Queens.
All told, ESPN2 will present almost 100 hours in high-definition, starting Monday, Aug. 31, as well as US Open update shows each weekday on ESPNEWS. There will also be more than 300 hours on ESPN360.com, with the broadband service presenting multi-court offering and coverage across ESPN's platforms in the U.S. and around the world.
For those looking for a taste of Opens past, ESPN Classic is featuring a 12-hour marathon of memorable matches, beginning at noon on Sunday, Aug. 30.
