Interview: Tennis Australia's push to capture "exploding" Asian market

Tennis Australia's growing interest in Asia, alongside a new, massive tennis following in Chinese and Japanese markets, has pushed it to open a Hong Kong-based office to serve the needs of broadcasters in the region.

A massive Asian population, soaring interest in tennis and Australian-friendly time zones have created the 'perfect storm' for Tennis Australia to tap into the expanding market, and Richard Heaselgrave, Commercial Director at Tennis Australia, told Xinhua on Monday that the Australian Open was going to experience rapid expansion over the next few years.

Heaselgrave said unprecedented growth in two huge markets in China and Japan has compelled Tennis Australia to explore additional ways to tap into the "explosion" of interest, with the new Hong Kong office to manage content and sponsorship in the region.

As the "Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific", he said it was important to stay ahead of the pack to capture and hold the interest of millions of new Asian tennis fans.

"It's absolutely vital (to keep up with growing markets)," Heaselgrave said.

"There's no surprise that a national champion like (Kei) Nishikori and Li Na helps you enormously."

"We're basically focusing on two core markets for Asian growth, China and Japan."

"Nishikori has led to an enormous explosion of viewing in Japan. He is arguably one of Japan's top 3 athletes from any sport."

He said Tennis Australia's newly-opened Hong Kong office would not only serve to be the hub for the company's Asian operations, but it will look over Pacific and Latin American commercial interests as well.

"Our greater China office will have a media rights group that will be responsible for getting to know all the broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region, develop relationships and create content for them," Heaselgrave said.

"It's completely specific, bespoke, and tailor-made for those markets."

He said the Asian viewership of the Australian Open grew by 47 percent last year - a number that Tennis Australia expects to nurture through its new, world-first "bespoke" operations.

"With the advent of new digital platforms, social media, and the greater desire of TV audiences around the world to watch what they want, when they want, it kind of kicks you into a different frame of mind," Heaselgrave explained.

"For us, we addressed this by setting up a host broadcast company internally."

"If we can control all the cameras of our own event and make sure every match is televised, we can now talk to broadcasters overseas about creating a TV show - from the Australian Open - that is relevant to them."

"It might sound obvious but it has never been done."

Previously, broadcasters were restricted in what matches they could show simply because there were not enough cameras on court to broadcast the outside courts in acceptable resolution and quality.

Traditionally, players from host nations tended to be favored as they draw the local interest to the bigger courts, but, as Heaselgrave explained, Australia's small population mean only a fraction of the TV audience care about watching Australian players.

"Our audience and revenue derived is mostly focused overseas, considering Australia is a country of only 23 million people," he told Xinhua.

"But if you use China as an example... since Li Na's retirement, it doesn't necessarily have a player who is going to be on Rod Laver Arena every match."

"But the Chinese networks are going to want to follow the Chinese players, and Peng Shuai might be playing on court 6 or 8. It sounds obvious to produce all of your tennis matches from every single court, but we're the first Grand Slam to ever do that."

Heaselgrave said the Hong Kong office would work closely with Chinese broadcasters and digital media partners to best create content for that market, among others in Asia and beyond.

"It's a personal approach to broadcasters now, and our first principle is to get to know our Chinese broadcasters and digital partners to understand exactly what they want," he said.

"By not knowing, you leave content on the table."

He said brand ambassadors, such as Nishikori and Li, were also pivotal in maintaining the interest in the tournament - and its affiliates such as the Shanghai Masters- throughout the year.

"In China, Li obviously helped, and we signed a long-term relationship with both her and Nishikori to be our brand ambassadors, because we want to work with those athletes around the year," he said.

"So by working with these brand ambassadors, they help to launch the Australian Open in Shanghai."

Heaselgrave added that China, alongside Japan, was Tennis Australia's biggest focus, not only for potential TV audiences, but for enticing tourists to come and visit the tournament as well.

"One of the areas we want to grow in China is visitation, so, incoming Chinese tourists coming to the Australian Open," he told Xinhua on Monday.

"It could be improved - we've never done anything about it."

"We bring over thousands on tour groups and personal travel, but we could do a lot better."

The Australian Open tennis tournament runs in Melbourne from Jan. 18 - 31. Endi