Tennis Channel, in a shot reflective of its breadth of court coverage, is putting a new tagline in play.
Approaching its fifth year of presenting the French Open and with rights to the sport's three other majors, the network has long wielded the sobriquet, "Home of the Slams." Now, though, it wants to emphasize what it has going on for the remaining 44 weeks of the year by adopting the moniker, "Where Champions Live."
In addition to providing the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with rights to nearly every one of the top 100 events in tennis on a week-in, week-out basis, Tennis, which is currently engaged in a hearing with Comcast before an FCC Administrative Law Judge over a program-carriage complaint, also shows more championship men's and women's tennis matches each year than all other networks combined.
Along that baseline, Tennis has created a multi-tiered approach to unveil the new tagline, rolling it out through a series of promos, short-form pieces and ID spots in support of "Where Champions Live." Launching this week, the campaign will unfold throughout the summer with promotional elements that feature several men and women who have tasted their share of on-court success. Among them: Billie Jean King, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Lindsay Davenport, Novak Djokovic, Kim Clijsters, Andy Murray, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Querrey, Ana Ivanovic, Fernando Verdasco, Jelena Jankovic, John Isner and Na Li.
The network says the new tagline is also indicative of the Hall of Fame and major-championship caliber talent it has on its air: a roster that includes Martina Navratilova, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport.
"Tennis Channel's new tagline, ‘Where Champions Live,' characterizes both the year-round tournament finals we offer and the stars that consistently appear on our air," said Robyn Miller, senior vice president, marketing, Tennis Channel. "Our viewers expect to see Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters one night, and Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal the next. We cover these great champions during the Grand Slams too, but they don't play in just four events a year, and an overwhelming majority of their televised competition takes place on Tennis Channel."
Check out an ID with men's Grand Slam champion Federer here.
