By David Gold

Rafa_Nadal_French_OpenJune 12 - MP & Silva has been awarded the European broadcast distribution rights to the French Open for the next five years, replacing the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).


MP & Silva signed a contract with the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT) which will see them take a territory-by-territory approach to distributing broadcast rights for the event, similar to the successful strategy used for other high level events including Wimbledon and the European Football Championships.

"Roland Garros is one of the most important international sporting events in the world and we are extremely honoured to be given this opportunity to work closely with the FFT," said MP & Silva chief executive Andrea Radrizzani.

"We believe that this is a historical moment for Roland Garros.

"Now is the perfect time to engage more fully with the key markets of Europe and to examine new opportunities.

"At the same time, our strategy envisages working with some of the federation's long-term incumbent partners, so we are offering continuity, as well as change.

"We believe that together, we will significantly enhance the positioning and value of Roland Garros."

Michel Grach, the FFT's media and sponsorship director, added: "We are committed to constant innovation and evolution to ensure the best quality coverage for tennis fans across Europe.

"We believe that our partnership with MP & Silva will allow us a more flexible commercial approach in selecting the most appropriate media partners in each market and this will enable us to make sure that tennis fans across Europe can get the widest, the most in-depth and the highest quality coverage of such an exciting event."

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