Will the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, don the Parisian crown for an eighth time? Or will Novak Djokovic -- if the seeds hold he would meet Rafa in the semifinals -- lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires to complete the career Grand Slam?
On the ladies' side of the court, fans and telecasters hope Serena Williams will stick around longer than last year – she suffered her only first-round loss at a major to France's Virginie Razzano – and perhaps meet defending champion Maria Sharapova in the final.
However the balls on the terre battue bounce, tennis fans can check out almost 150 hours of live French Open action on Tennis Channel, ESPN and NBC over the next two weeks, plus many more on digital platforms. The tournament begins on May 26 and concludes with the men’s final on June 9.
Now in its seventh year at Roland Garros, Tennis Channel will present some 70 live match hours, 65 encore hours and 114 hours of replay/interview show French Open Tonight, 37.5 of which will be first-run.
Tennis, which will increase its subscriber base from 36 million to over 50 million via a freeview that will expand its presence on DirecTV and Dish Network during the tourney, begins its live coverage on May 26 at 10 a.m.(ET) and concludes with the first men’s semifinal on June 7 at 7 a.m.
The network's daily schedule typically will offer live matches from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. From 3:30 p.m.-7 p.m. Tennis will showcase the day's best action via match replays, regardless of whether the competition originally aired live on its air, NBC or ESPN2 (see schedules below).
French Open Tonight, hosted by Bill Macatee, will run from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. and then again twice throughout the late night and early morning. From 4 a.m.-5 a.m., Tennis will run daily highlights provided by the event's governing French Tennis Federation, before ESPN2 initiates a new day of match coverage at 5 a.m.
Working with Tennis through their media alliance that also involves the Australian Open, ESPN2’s schedule of more than 50 hours begins on opening day and continues weekdays through Thursday, June 6, culminating with the women’s semifinals. The network’s schedule starts at 5 a.m. each day through Friday, May 31, and again on Monday, June 3. The network will air live quarterfinal action Tuesday, June 4, at 1 p.m. and Wednesday, June 5, at 8 a.m. ESPN2 will air the women’s semifinals live Thursday, June 6, at 9 a.m.
For its part, NBC, under the first year of a new agreement with the French Tennis Federation that extends through 2024, will present 27 hours from the 2013 French Open, the most-ever by a U.S. broadcast network with this major. NBC’s coverage begins Sunday at noon and concludes with the women’s final on June 8 at 9 a.m. and the men’s championship the following day. NBC’s coverage includes the first Monday of play, May 27, for the first time.
NBC Sports Live Extra -- the NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets -- will live stream from Paris. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.
Coverage on NBC Sports Live Extra includes the men’s and women’s finals, and live streaming coverage, across the country, of the second women’s semifinal on June 6 and second men’s semifinals on June 7.
Tennis Channel's Web site, www.tennischannel.com, will stream action on up to five courts simultaneously from 5 a.m. through the end of the day's play, with more than 300 hours overall. New for 2013, the network has launched a free mobile app - Tennis Channel Everywhere - that is available to all users of Apple or Android digital platforms. In addition to French Open matches, the app will include daily updates from Tennis Channel's online video page with highlights, Court Report news and player Bag Check clips.
Broadband service ESPN3 will serve up 330 hours of French fare with a multi-screen offering of up to seven courts, as well as ESPN2’s coverage. ESPN3 will begin each day early in the morning with the first ball in the air and continue to the last shot of the day, with encores accessible via replay.
The WatchESPN App -- available to Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity TV, Midcontinent Communications, Cablevision, Cox, Charter or AT&T U-verse video subscribers -- will provide access to for ESPN2’s live coverage online at WatchESPN.com and through the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets, in addition to ESPN3’s multiscreen offering.
ESPN Mobile TV will have 46 hours of live coverage, simulcasting ESPN2’s live programming, highlighted by the women’s semifinals on June 7.
Top DBS provider DirecTV will present the French Open showing ESPN2 or Tennis Channel’s live coverage, along with play from five other courts, available with commentary. Other features include interactive data, the tournament draw, up-to-date scores, and daily order of play.
French Open TV schedule all airing at ET and live, unless otherwise noted.
-Sunday, May 26: 5:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. – First round: ESPN2
-Sunday, May 26: 10:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. – First round: Tennis Channel
-Sunday, May 26: 12:00 p .m. -3:00 p.m. – First round: NBC
-Monday, May 27: 5:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – First round: ESPN2
-Monday, May 27: 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. – First round: Tennis Channel
-Monday, May 27: 12:00 p.m. -3:00 p.m. – First round: NBC
-Tuesday, May 28: 5:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – First round: ESPN2
-Tuesday, May 28: 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. – First round: Tennis Channel
-Wednesday, May 29: 5:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – Second round: ESPN2
-Wednesday, May 29: 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. – Second round: Tennis Channel
-Thursday, May 30: 5:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – Second round: ESPN2
-Thursday, May 30: 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. – Second round: Tennis Channel
-Friday, May 31: 5:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – Third round: ESPN2
-Friday, May 31: 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. – Third round: Tennis Channel
-Saturday, June 1: 5:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. – Third round: Tennis Channel
-Saturday, June 1: 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. – Third round: NBC
-Sunday, June 2: 5:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. – Fourth round: Tennis Channel
-Sunday, June 2: 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. – Fourth round: NBC
-Monday, June 3: 5:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – Fourth round: ESPN2
-Monday, June 3: 10:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m. – Fourth round: Tennis Channel
-Tuesday, June 4: 8:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. – Quarterfinals: Tennis Channel
-Tuesday, June 4: 1:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.- Quarterfinals: ESPN2
-Wednesday, June 5: 8:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.- Quarterfinals: ESPN2
-Wednesday, June 5: 1:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. – Quarterfinals: Tennis Channel
-Thursday, June 6: 6:00 a.m. -9:00 a.m. – Mixed doubles final: Tennis Channel
-Thursday, June 6: 9:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. – Women’s semifinals: ESPN2
-Thursday, June 6: 11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. – Women’s semifinals: NBC
-Thursday, June 6: 2:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. – Women’s semifinals: Tennis Channel [Encore]
-Friday, June 7: 7:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. – Men’s semifinals: Tennis Channel
-Friday, June 7: 11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. – Men’s semifinals: NBC
-Friday, June 7: 5:00 p.m. -12:00 p.m. – Men’s semifinals: Tennis Channel [Encore]
-Saturday, June 8: 12:00 a.m. -7:00 a.m. – Men’s semifinals: Tennis Channel [Encore]
-Saturday, June 8: 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. – Women’s final: NBC
-Sunday, June 9: 9:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. – Men’s final: NBC
-Sunday, June 9: 2:00 p.m. -2:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s finals: Tennis Channel [Encore]
