PERFORM GROUP LTD ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the world's leading sport for women, and Perform, one of the world's leading digital sports content groups, jointly announced today the appointment of John Learing, as Managing Director, and Bruno Rocha, as Executive Vice President, of the newly-created broadcast production and distribution media partnership, WTA Media, launched 1 April 2015.
The creation of WTA Media is the first step in the developing partnership between the two organizations, since agreeing to a half billion dollar live media rights and production deal in December 2014, the largest in the history of women's sports.
This is a major strategic move for the WTA, which sees, for the first time, all WTA tournaments being aggregated, centralized and delivered, under one media rights owner. It also means that, 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 significant additional off-court content, supporting the WTA's strategy to deliver premium and compelling content across TV, digital, mobile and social platforms.
Distribution of the content to broadcasters, news providers and other digital outlets, will be handled directly by WTA Media, with support from Perform's 41 offices around the world.
One of the most respected broadcast executives in professional sports, Learing brings over 20 years of experience in the sports and entertainment production business, having previously held positions at ESPN, the PGA Tour and, currently, the WTA. During his 12-year tenure at the PGA Tour, Learing oversaw the PGA Tour brand and its presentation through broadcast and digital distribution as Creative Director. He was previously in charge of the broadcast and production team which helped double the PGA's broadcast reach into over 600 million homes.
Bruno Rocha, Perform's current Senior Vice President of Distribution and Client Services in North America, oversees the content distribution side of the business. Based in New York, Bruno has been with Perform for four years, having previously worked for the NBA. He will be re-locating to Perform's headquarters in London to take up the new role.
WTA Chairman & CEO, Stacey Allaster, said, "From 2017, for the first time ever, fans around the globe will be able to access 2000 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." Allaster added, "John has an amazing track record in developing quality broadcast and producing a compelling sports entertainment experience. Together with Bruno, they form an outstanding tandem to spearhead this new endeavor."
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."
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