Professional Squash Association sign new five-year deal with Eurosport

Eurosport have announced a five-year agreement with PSA to have squash on their OTT platform ©Eurosport

Eurosport has announced a five-year agreement with the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to broadcast close to 500 hours of squash competition on their online on-demand channel Eurosport Player.

The deal will see Eurosport become the new home of SQUASHTV in Europe, as action on the PSA’s video channel will be shown on their over-the-top content (OTT) platform.

From January 1, all SQUASHTV tournaments are set to be shown live and exclusively in their entirety throughout Europe on the Eurosport Player, while selected highlights from major tournaments such as the British Open, U.S. Open, PSA World Series Finals and PSA World Championship will be broadcast via the network’s mainstream linear channels.

Eurosport claim the deal will help to transform squash’s visibility and profile throughout the continent, with the content set to reach new, as well as existing, fans.

“This deal with the PSA is a step forward in our ambition to be the leading sports destination and a sign of our willingness to invest in content specifically for Eurosport Player,” said Peter Hutton, Eurosport chief executive.

“Eurosport is committed to fuel fans’ passion everywhere by delivering the best sport’s experience all year round and Eurosport Player is the perfect platform to deliver on this commitment to squash fans across Europe.

“We’re thrilled to sign with the PSA who have impressed us with their professionalism and their vision to grow the sport."

Highlights from major tournaments such as the PSA World Championship will be shown on Eurosport's linear channels — Highlights from major tournaments such as the Professional Squash Association World Championship will be shown on Eurosport's linear channels following a new five-year deal ©squashpics

Existing SQUASHTV customers are set to receive complimentary access to Eurosport Player until the end of their current subscriptions, allowing them to watch a range of top class sporting action live and on-demand, on the network which will broadcast the Olympic Games in Europe from 2018.

It follows following an agreement signed in June between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Discovery Communications, the parent company of the pan-European television sports network, allowing them to cover two Olympic cycles.

Squash, which failed to be added to the Olympic programme for the third consecutive time after it was not recommended by Tokyo's Additional Events Programme Panel for the 2020 Games, will hope the increased coverage on the network will boost the sports fanbase further.

“Since taking responsibility for TV rights ‘in-house’ in January our global television reach has more than doubled as we have added major networks such as BeIn Sport, BT Sport, Super Sports, Ten Sports, Tennis Channel and more to our portfolio and Eurosport is the latest top class network to join this growing list,” said Alex Gough, PSA chief executive.

“The agreement will take our product and the exploits of our players into millions of new homes and expose the sport to an entirely new audience across Europe in what is a massive moment in the history of squash broadcasting.

“Eurosport's investment in the future of SQUASHTV in Europe, via the Eurosport Player, will help even further to increase the sport’s visibility and profile across the continent in what is a very exciting time for the sport.

“Our ambition is to make squash one of the most accessible sports in the world and we will continue to strive towards that ambition over the coming months and years.”