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ABC may dump Hopman Cup

The ABC contends that tennis already has a lot of backing and may let it go to support other sporting codes.

hopmABC managing director Mark Scott has told a Senate hearing in Canberra yesterday that it was considering dumping its telecast of the Hopman Cup so it could better cover women’s football, basketball or events such as the Tiwi Islands Games.

Scott said professional tennis was well financed and might not warrant the support the ABC gave other codes or regional events.

“It’s different when we weigh it up compared to our decision to support the women’s football league or women’s basketball, or our coverage of events such as lawn bowls or the Paralympics or other sports like that,” Mr Scott said.

“Of course [tennis] is a highly professional code, a highly professional game and one that’s got a lot of money and support around it.”

Hopman Cup general manager Andrew Firman admitted the loss of ABC coverage would hurt the event financially and could drive away sponsors.

“It would be a big blow, obviously,” Mr Firman said. “Television coverage for a sporting event is a fairly significant component. So effectively we would need to seek some sort of television coverage elsewhere.”

The ABC’s contract for broadcasting the Hopman Cup expired with the tournament last month.

Source: smh.com.au

8 Responses

  1. I really hope ABC keeps this. Their coverage is so much better than Seven’s, because they have no ads and so they show all these graphics from Hawkeye and the commentators can give a little insight into the match.

  2. Disappointing because it’s an event that has been a staple for ABC for years, and is a big blow to the tournament. Yeah, it’s something ONE can pick up if their smart.

  3. This would be a huge blow i would think to the tournament. This is one of the tennis tournaments i enjoy watching over summer because of the format. I would love to hope ABC continues to show it becasue i dont see this being shown on FOX Sports if ABC decides not to.

    It would be good to see it on Seven. I mean it is summer afterall however in saying this that would mean Seven would be covering 5 Tournaments of Tennis over summer with the Brisbane International, Sydney International, Kooyong and The Aussie Open. But i dont think they would. I just hope one of the 5 FTA networks will show it.

  4. There is no way Channel Seven, which broadcast the Australian Open and most of its warm-up tournaments (Sydney International, Brisbane International and Kooyong Classic), will pick up the Hopman Cup for the second time. The two-hour time difference between Perth and the east coast is a major factor, resources is the another. The ABC should have extended its Hopman Cup coverage by grabbing the rights to night matches back from Fox Sports; the day session should continue on ABC1 and the night session on ABC2 or ABC3.

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