The 2024 edition of tennis’ annual French Open (Roland-Garros) grand slam major has achieved record viewership on Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)-owned broadcast platforms.
WBD holds exclusive European rights to the competition (outside of France itself) and its pan-European channel Eurosport notched a 48% year-on-year increase in viewership across the content on its linear channels alone.
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This included record figures in the UK, Germany, Poland, and Italy, the latter two had players represented in the women’s singles final (Iga Świątek and Jasmine Paolini respectively), while Germany’s Alexander Zverev also competed in the men’s singles final.
Coinciding with the launch of WBD’s Max OTT streaming service (which includes Eurosport) in several European markets, unique streaming viewership of Roland Garros grew by 29%, with the number of minutes viewed rising by 47%.
Streaming viewership was highest in the tournament’s men’s final, which WBD stated drew an “eight-figure” peak audience that was 69% greater than the 2023 final.
Women’s final viewership also grew by 21% year-on-year to the highest figure for a Roland Garros women’s final on Eurosport.
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By GlobalDataThis all contributed to the highest viewership Eurosport has seen from the tournament since the network was founded in 1989.
Beyond linear TV and OTT routes, WBD also utilized free digital channels to drive fan engagement, with video content made available on the network’s local language websites drawing “millions” of visitors.
In addition to the pan-European rights, WBD has recently secured the rights to the competition in the US in a lucrative 10-year tie-up.
From 2025, the tournament will air in the US on WBD’s linear TNT, TBS, and truTV networks, Max streaming service, and its Bleacher Report digital sports hub.
WBD will replace Comcast-owned US national network NBC, its Peacock OTT platform, and the Tennis Channel.
The media giant also recently retained exclusive rights to Wimbledon in 11 European markets until 2027.
