One of the glaring changes in the coverage of the Australian Open in 2022 on the ESPN family of networks is the decrease in the number of hours on ESPN2 and the increase in hours on the ESPN+ platform that requires viewers to pay an additional $7 per month (more info here: https://plus.espn.com/) Most of the ESPN family’s coverage in the overnight hours are now only offered on the “Plus” platform until the late rounds.
It’s our observation that most non-fanatical American-based fans will normally watch some tennis until bed time normally around 11 pm. When they wake in the morning, fans hope that there is a late-night five-setter that they can catch while having their morning coffee. I’m sure TV ratings would reflect this. I would surmise that ESPN executives calculated that if fans are so fanatical that they would stay up all night to watch tennis, they would be willing to pay an extra $7 for ESPN+
If you are a tennis fan and not willing to invest in an ESPN+ subscription, your suggested “free” (or general cable TV) viewing schedule for the Australian Open can be slightly altered from past years, which will account for more sleep in general.
(Click here to read of the full ESPN coverage: https://tennisgrandstand.com/2022/01/18/how-to-watch-espns-australian-open-coverage-for-free-and-for-pay/ )
Here’s my recommended viewing menu for the first seven days of the event….Our recommendation is to sprinkle in some Australian Open Radio into your Aussie Open digestion, which you can do on your Amazon device by just saying “Alexa…Play Australian Open Radio.” We also highly recommend the daily 5 pm to 7 pm Eastern “Tennis Channel Live” Australian Open pre-game show.
Your daily first-week coverage can basically be….
7 am to 1 pm Tennis Channel taped coverage
2 pm to 5 pm ESPN2 taped coverage
5 pm to 7 pm Highlights and commentary on the Tennis Channel’s highly informative pre-game show
7 pm to 9 pm – How about listing to Australian Open Radio (Just ask your Amazon device “Alexa, play Australian Open Radio”)
9 pm to 11:30 PM ESPN2 LIVE COVERAGE
Middle Weekend Coverage
8 am to 11 am on ESPN2 on Saturday taped coverage (Starts at 9 am on Sunday)
11 am to 5 pm on Tennis Channel
5 to 7 pm Tennis Channel pre-game show
7 pm to 9 pm Australian Open Radio
9 pm to 1 am ESPN2 LIVE
