IMG, the talent agency owned by Endeavor, is nearing a 10-year deal worth $1 billion for betting streaming and data rights to the ATP World Tour. If the deal is completed, it would be the largest media rights deal in the history of tennis.
The deal is reportedly in the final stages of negotiation and covers the ATP World Masters 1000 series, the World Tour 500 series and some of the 250 series events. According to SportsBusiness Media, no other betting streaming or sports data company was invited to make an offer to the ATP, who negotiated exclusively with IMG for these rights.
Other companies that compete with IMG in distributing betting data to major sports organizations include Sportradar and Genius Sports. IMG’s decision to reportedly purchase the ATP World Tour’s betting streaming and data rights comes shortly after IMG’s parent company, Endeavor, announced it was planning to debut an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
In April, FanDuel signed a deal with Sportradar to stream live sports through the FanDuel app in New Jersey. While European betting apps have long offered live video streams of sports for users to watch betting in-app, FanDuel was the first U.S. sports betting operator to offer in-app live streaming.
With states continuing to legalize sports betting in the U.S. and online sports betting operators increasingly investing in live streaming, IMG is likely to be attracted to the growing U.S. gaming market.