ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and Perform, a leading digital sports content group, announced today the appointment of John Learing as Managing Director and Bruno Rocha as Executive Vice President of new broadcast production and distribution partnership WTA Media, launched April 2015.
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The creation of WTA Media is the first step between the two organizations who agreed to a half billion-dollar live media deal in December 2014, the largest in women's sports history.
A major strategic move for the WTA, this sees all WTA tournament rights being aggregated, centralized and delivered under one media rights owner. From 2017, all main draw singles matches (over 2,000) plus doubles semifinals and finals will be broadcast.
WTA Media will increase news content by 40 percent, and deliver magazine shows and off-court content, supporting the WTA's strategy to deliver premium, compelling content across TV, digital, mobile and social platforms.
Learing brings over 20 years of experience in sports and entertainment production. He previously held positions at ESPN, the PGA Tour and, currently, the WTA. Bruno Rocha, Perform's current Senior Vice President of Distribution and Client Services in North America, oversees content distribution. Based in New York, Bruno has been with Perform for four years, having previously worked for the NBA.
WTA Chairman & CEO, Stacey Allaster, said, "From 2017, for the first time ever, fans around the globe will be able to access 2,000 main draw singles matches and consistently follow their national heroes and favorite players all season, on and off court. This is game-changing for our sport and very exciting for our fans."
Perform's CEO, Simon Denyer, said, "Following a decision to keep all WTA Media sales in-house, we are pleased to announce the appointment of John and Bruno. Conversations have already started with major broadcast groups in key regions and, with the support of our staff and offices around the world, we look forward to delivering this great content to the WTA's global fan base in conjunction with a whole host of existing and new partners."
