This same Peacock thing happened last year as well. It's ridiculous how hard it can be to watch tennis in the US. Luckily there are free alternatives available.
@@bigrobsydney yes in Germany those big matches are not free. So I found one spanish and one russian provider which show big sporting events for free!. It is not the fault of the tv stations who would like to show these matches, but the organizers of these events who sell the rights to the highest bidder!
Agreed! So annoyed that Djokovic's match wasn't on national TV. Bad for tennis. We already barely get to see great tennis on US networks. It's a shame.
Hate NBC Sports and how they handle GS tennis matches. It’s inexcusable they made the Djokovic match a pay only to watch on Peacock!!!! If this is the future of pro tennis watching in the US when we already pay a bundle per month for cable/ Satellite viewing….this will not help growth of tennis interest in US, but cause a lack of interest. I wish NBC never allowed again to show a GS match if you’re going to treat it like that!!!
you don't understand. It is not the fault of the tv stations, they would like to show them for free. You have to blame the organizers of these big events who sell the rights to the highest bidder! That means NBC really spents a hell of a lot of money for these rights. And of course they want that money back.
Don't even get me started on the nightmare that is U.S. broadcast of ATP/WTA tennis tournaments. If you wanna watch Masters, 500s, 250s - ya gotta get Tennis tv. If you wanna watch slams - good luck b/c it could be ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN + , it could be TC or Tennis Channel +, it could be NBC, it could be Peacock. It takes a an hour of research on how to watch a damn tennis match - and marketing departments are scratching their heads about why viewership is declining. It's cause it's a freakin' nightmare. Had to get that off my chest.
Absolutely 💯 on point. I want to support the broadcasting but it’s impossible to figure out how to watch these slams. I have had to resort to alternate streaming options…
Pickleball popularity is due to how easy it is. Many people like to take shortcuts, not willing to put in the work, tennis is a very technical and demanding sport, a life long sport.
@@stratguitarman7831 I hear "pickleball", I think "wiffle ball". Such a stupid game, sorry. Tennis demands a working body and working brain. It's physical and intellectual. And it's great fun! If people in wheelchairs can play it, anyone can!
Nadal asked that they move his match against Zverev from 7 pm to day time so he got more chance to win 🤮and ho lost . Novak plays till 3 am and wins . That is why Novak is goat .
Even if Iga had to play one more set, that would not make a big difference, the match would take maybe 30 more minutes. Number of sets is not a main problem problem is difference of tennis level between the players. Match with Osaka was 3+ hours and because of Potapova's poor poor performance yesterday's match was just 40 min ...
Unfortunately tennis has already been behind a paywall when it is on cable . Tennis channel and ESPN are pay services . When I sas a child , there was only HBO in cabel services and it had no advertising . Tennis used to be on regular tv in NY .
Re. paywall: 100% agree with you but I'm in Spain - Spain for chrissakes, mecca of clay tennis! - and they have most of Roland Garros only for subscribers. Growing up in the 80s and 90s watching all the big tournaments on public TV fueled my passion for tennis. Clearly, and sadly, those days are gone. It's a shame. Public TV here apparently would rather show women's handball matches - no disrespect to that - than pay for the rights to watch world-class tennis. Truly shameful.
Agree completely. I found a way round. I downloaded the eurosport app, paid 8 euros for a 1 month subscription. I then use a VPN to get the British commentary team and cast it from my mobile to smart TV. Works really really well, get all the matches (more than Movistar) and also cheaper.
@@IntuitiveTennis hard to say. I think there's still a healthy interest in the sport thanks to our man Carlitos Alcaraz and others, but I'd love to see viewership numbers for these events and see how they compare to the old days. BTW, thanks for your videos. Love the instructional ones and you takes on the MMTRs.
I agree 1000% with you Nick! This paywall nonsense is absolutely horrible! How do they expect to promote tennis, especially in the U.S. when it’s almost impossible to find these matches on regular TV! Growing up I was able to watch 3 of the 4 grand slams on regular tv (NBC for French Open and Wimbledon and CBS for U.S. Open, only Australian Open was on ESPN) and now everything is on ESPN and Tennis Channel and streaming platforms! Then these bozo commentators on TV (when we do get to see it on NBC once a year for the French Open) have the audacity to belly ache about less viewership and less American male players at the top of the game! NBC coverage starts at 11am in my time zone, almost 2 and a half hours after Sinner and Alcaraz begin playing! What a joke!
In the UK you can watch ATP with tennis tv, which is a bit pricey but ok I can pay. However WTA is only available on Sky which is over twice the price (as it's F1 and football too). Hence nobody watches WTA any longer.
if you have Sky Sports, whether the full package or part, you get Eurovision with the French Open and Discovery+ for no extra charge. Discovery+ has all the matches on demand so is perfect if you can’t watch the matches live on Eurosport or don’t want to cycle through your recordings later to find the match you want.
@@davidhale8034 and not just the normal Eurosport but Eurosport Plus, which costs a lot more. Thank god I have a recommended channel from eastern Europe where I can watch all on my PC for free.
I wrote an article back in 2013 advocating women play Best of Five set finals at Grand Slam level. At the time I spoke to an agent for my article who said some players are in favour and some will object. I think best of five semifinals and finals would work and after all this time should be tried.
Yeah Nik. They gotta make tennis more free and accessible to grow the sport. I watched so many matches on the broadcast networks when I was a kid. Even the youtube highlights are a measly 3 minutes. NBA, MLB, NFL are putting very nice edited highlights of the full games within 12-24 hours. Tennis needs to follow. I think AO did a decent job with their YT content.
I have peacock and the thing that sucks about it is that it only covers certain days, so at least if we are paying regardless of wether it’s tennis channel or peacock, they should both broadcast all days of the French open.
French open coverage in the US is trash. During the weekdays it's on Tennis Channel, which is a premium cable channel that (proportionally) very few Americans have. Then, on weekends, coverage switches between Tennis Channel, NBC, Peacock...so confusing and bad
In Europe, Eurosport airs AO, RG and Us open on its two chanels free of charge with all the major matches there.😊 Nole's match was an absolute classic. Lorenzo was great but it is just this best of five format that favors a tennis giant like Novak. Potapova didn't go past 30 in all of the games whether serving or receiving😮. CRAZY!
Is regular cable not a subscription service 😂? Where btw you have to pay extra for extra sports channel. I get it’s frustrating but there’s nothing new there.
@@vinny6_9 Well, some of us spent a loooooong time looking for streams (and I know how to use a VPN) and I couldn't find the match anywhere, ditto for the replay!
The NBC/Peacock coordination was bad enough for the Joker match, but at least they had an excuse because it ended up happening so much later than originally scheduled. It was even worse on Sunday when the Sinner match happened right when it was scheduled, and it started on NBC, but then they switched it to Peacock. Go ahead with your crappy tactics - you're just forcing me to learn how to bootleg the matches. And if this crap keeps happening, next year I may not renew TC+.
Peacock is like a tenth the price of having to buy the combo of cable+tennis channel, if anything The Tennis Channel matches are behind a much bigger paywall.
Tennis channel comes with most bundles though. Like Xfinity for example. If you cut the cord though then yeah, peacock by itself is cheaper, but now what do you do about ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, etc. I don’t think people realized how good the bundles actually are.
So why don't women play 5 setters? They complain of a wage gap but is super duper quiet about time and effort spent for same money for which men have to work longer and more in a grandslam...
The difference between the men's and women's Grand Slams is monumental. Men slug it out and finish like marathon runners. Pay deserved. Women most often barely break a sweat. Ridiculous and it makes a mockery of a woman's athletic potential.
As a woman I agree. And I know there are women out there in favor of 5 sets, or at least best of 4, with 4th having a tiebreak. So win 3 of 4. It’s too frustrating to see 2 set tennis in a grand slam for women. As strong athletes they absolutely can play longer.
There is serious lack of skill and competition in WTA tennis in comparison to the ATP. It’s max 5 high level players vs 50 minimum in the ATP circuit. And that is why no one watches WTA.
You should try Australia LOL it's even worse trying to watch tennis on Free TV you can pay for cable No Tennis Channel... And how do you justify equal pay.... 40 min vs 4 hrs Hmmmm
I have a couple of thoughts. Firstly, NBC just sucks. Peacock is NBC. I do like McEnroe but Mary Carillo may be the worst broadcaster in all of sports. As far as WTA tennis, we will definitely have to agree to disagree. The depth in women's tennis is terrible. Yes you can certainly cherry pick a Nadal Fed matchup at RG to make some kind of argument that Iga's win is fine, but that is just a terrible argument. We all have seen what Nadal had to do to accomplish what he did, and it was nothing like WTA tennis. The fan support for the ATP vs WTA at the FO is clear. As a stand alone entity, the WTA would be a whole different situation. Equal pay would be the least of their worries.
Equal pay for women and is not equal at all. When men have to potentially play 35 sets (assuming each match goes 5 sets) to win a final and the women, only 21 sets. If it's equal, women should have to play best of 5 sets as well. Otherwise men are technically getting paid less to win a major than the female counterpart.
Grandslam is a grandslam for a reason. For women , it seems like just another tournament (BEST OF THREE). They should also play best of five in grandslams
@@Mrmelody85 First, it's a best of three, which makes it less exciting. Speaking of quality, everything is worse, so why choose the worse option when you have a better one? And I don’t care that “they deserve”. Absolutely, it’s just less exiting and no-one can do anything about it. You can’t change the nature of it. Maybe for a female who plays tennis or for a parent of a girl it can be meaningful.
@villiam7941 A lot of people would disagree with you, I certainty do. "It's best of three which makes it less exciting". An odd comment given that all ATP matches outside 4 grandslams are also best of three. Anyway, I don't know why you're arguing with me, all I said was how much I enjoyed the Swiatek match, which was far more entertaining than a lot of mens matches I've seen this year.
Even if Iga’s match wasn’t so easy and 3 sets, she never has to play 5 sets and finish at 3am. The men deserve overtime if we are actually going to be fair… but who wants fairness when you can be lazy and keep complaining that men have it so easy… all the time and everywhere. The only way to resolve it is to have the women play 5 sets. If the ATP one day merges with WTA, this needs to be the very first condition…. Equal WORK for equal pay.
The Sinner match against the short-ish and creative Frenchman Corentin Moutet was wildy entertaining. Moutet nearly won the first set 6-0. Sinner was struggling against the unorthodox play of Moutet. I had the match on but was only casually watching at first, but at 4-0 I fixed myself onto the couch to watch. At 5-1 Moutet in the first set, NBC switched the match to Peacock so I did not get to watch the rest. Very disappointing.
you have to search a bit on the internet and you'll find providers who show these matches for free. Takes some time to find them and then you can only watch via your computer. There is a russian one where I can see any sport I like for free.
The ladies should absolutely play best of 5. Cannot make the argument for equal play on slams without this. Also, think of all the classic WTA 5 setter epics that could be happening right now.
A good idea theoretically but in reality no one wants to actually watch women play best of 5. Fatigue and unforced errors is what you’ll get after 3 sets
@@ginadennis1056 There are players that could potentially handle it, Swiatek, Sabalenka etc. Rest of field would be forced to up their fitness levels. Worth trying.
@@ginadennis1056 Then pro tennis ratings will be on the floor also big tournaments Slams etc) will be unable to accommodate the larger time demands. No this is not what's ailing tennis
Great video. NBC is making a joke of the Roland Garros. AT least show a complete match on NBC and say the other match will be exclusively on Peacock. Imagine a major Network switching to regular programming at 9PM even if the Superbowl still had 5 minutes on the clock. Could you imagine to finish the superbowl go toe Peacock. No, they push back the scheduled programming and everything runs late. At least ESPN usually does that right. With BO5 for women, I think it would be great. But the realitiy is that there is constant pressure to make tennis shorter not longer. Boomers like us that like the BO5 format are a dying breed.
NBC is horrible for the French open, it’s been this way for years, decades even. And even when you pay for peacock you still can’t watch you have to pay for the premium. It’s only the French open that has the worst tv contract. In order to watch the French open in the U.S. you have to pay for peacock premium, tennis channel, and some type of cable to be able to watch every match. All the other grand slams you just need an espn plus subscription for like $12 and you can watch everything. I wish NBC would let someone else get the contract because they fail the Americans every time with this tournament. I agree with you man. I have a tennis package added to my RUclips tv subscription so I’ve had more luck than in the past but still struggling to find matches, haven’t been able to watch everything. Not buying peacock though
Well, I'm here in Paris and I couldn't watch the match either because it was streamed on the ridiculous subscription service Amazon Prime Video. It was even more infuriating because the match that preceded Djokovic-Musetti went very, very long and all throughout that live coverage on "regular" TV network France TV, they kept saying the Djokovic-Musetti would be broadcast after it, regardless of when it finished. So when it did finally end, they switched to non-tennis programming and we were all out in the cold. Impossible to watch this now-historic match. Completely unacceptable! Impossible to even find the replay.
@@atheistcory4174 @mikanunx Thanks. They're subscription channels, too. I'm old enough to remember watching the French Open all day on regular old TV with commercial breaks. Which is still partially the case now, if you're quick enough to know when to switch the channel from France 2 to France 3 or to France 4. (Why does it have to be so complicated?) And why not just make ALL the matches available to everyone and just sell their stupid commercials like before?!? Like I said, those commentators were teasing Djokovic-Musetti all night, as if it would simply be broadcast after the current match, regardless of the start time. They should have mentioned it would NOT be broadcast on France TV.
The French Open was simulcast on NBC and Peacock over the weekend. The Djokovic match was supposed to be on both services, but due to the rain in Paris, other matches were moved to the show courts. This pushed the Djokovic match outside of the time period NBC had allowed for the French Open broadcast on their network. NBC had commitments to broadcast other programming, but they made the Djokovic match available on Peacock even though the match was outside of their original commitment to broadcast. The original intent was to broadcast the Djokovic match on both services but the rain messed the schedule up for the show courts. By the way, you can get a year of Peacock for $20. That’s just a couple cups of coffee. Love your channel, Nick, but don’t rant over $20, it makes you seem older than a Boomer! 😊. Also…aren’t Tennis Channel, Tennis TV, and ESPN behind a “paywall”?
The rain is only part of the story. The match before Djokovic-Musetti ran far longer than anyone expected. But that's still not an excuse to have pretended like it was going to air on regular TV when it was over only to switch to non-tennis programming the moment Djokovic-Musetti began.
I just read a comment that women should play 5 set matches, like the men! Apparently you have subscribers who don’t watch women’s tennis or know little about tennis matches! If women played 5 set tennis matches, it would literally take some of the matches over 6 hours to finish, because women hit longer rallies than men! You would think this is self explanatory to people who have been playing tennis for years, but apparently it’s not the case! Women have it way harder to travel and pay for expenses than men, okay you could make the point because women travel with 1000 suitcases and that’s just for their shoes alone, All kidding aside, most of the women tennis professionals have jobs just to pay for their travel, coaching, medical, and equipment expenses. I have been advocating for higher pay in women’s tennis since the early 90s and I have also been advocating for a retirement fund, medical expenses, travel expenses etc, for lower ranked players on both sides. If it wasn’t for these professional athletes busting their asses, we wouldn’t have high level tennis to watch and they deserve our respect! This isn’t baseball where a player’s guaranteed millions of dollars even if they don’t play! So please think about why women deserve more money to play in these grand slams, plus most of them are really nice people who help their communities and make a difference throughout the World!
I agree 1000% with you Nick! This paywall nonsense is absolutely horrible! How do they expect to promote tennis, especially in the U.S. when it’s almost impossible to find these matches on regular TV! Growing up I was able to watch 3 of the 4 grand slams on regular tv (NBC for French Open and Wimbledon and CBS for U.S. Open, only Australian Open was on ESPN) and now everything is on ESPN and Tennis Channel and streaming platforms! Then these bozo commentators on TV (when we do get to see it on NBC once a year for the French Open) have the audacity to belly ache about less viewership and less American male players at the top of the game! NBC coverage starts at 11am in my time zone, almost 2 and a half hours after Sinner and Alcaraz begin playing! What a joke!
I've always thought of best of 5 at grand slams to bee too much to watch, especially in the initiall rounds. I would love to see both men and women go on with a model, where you play minimum of 3 sets to win, but at 2-2 you go into a supertiebreak. It's already happening in doubles.
One reason the WTA doesn't have best-of-5 set matches: then Swiatek - Potapova 6-0 6-0 6-0 Maybe the solution is best-of-7, so it could be 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-1? That would still take only an hour and a half.
I AM the boomer gen, and I don’t pay for ANY TV, but I don’t have ANY problem to see ANY match in ANY sport in the internet for free, so…. And another thing about Iga and Potapova case - there was one more reason to beat her deadly - the Potapova’s Spartak Moscow T-shirt vs Ukrainian ribbon on Iga’s hat last year. Much more significant. That’s how we see it in Poland. All the best for you:)
@@davegordon6233 there was only so much grifting she could do... i find it hilarious that the "slava ukraini" aka svitolina doesn't even live in ukraine, but is the loudest mouth on tour... clowns.
Do you guys still have any popular sports events on free TV? In Germany, not just tennis, but also the much more popular soccer competitions are all behind very expensive paywalls. Nothing popular is free anymore.
I used to listen to The Tennis Podcast before it became unbearably Woke. Their last good episode was when Janko Tipsarevic outlined the injustice of equal pay. The presenters made an interesting proposal. They would reformat the slams with best of 3 up until the quarters on both the men's and women's side and best of 5 for the remainder of the tournament. It's a solid proposal because it allows more surprises on the men's draw and reduces the likelihood of chronic injuries. It would also solve the scheduling issues in the earlier rounds. What are your thoughts? "Equal work, equal pay" was always the feminist mantra.
I agree but because of pay equity, they have to find a way to pay for the women too. All kidding aside, I am for equal prize money for women but I also think they should play best of 5 too.
@@don9733 It was never about equality , they just wanted money . They clearly don't want to play bo5 , they don't generate the same revenue as men ( roughly 3 times less ) and if they were not playing the tournaments at the same time as the men do it would be 10 times less it least . They do not compete against men because they would get destroyed so in no way shape or form do they deserve equal pay . But just like feminism it was never about equality but equity and the only reason they accept equity is because they generate less money , if they generated more than the men they would be screaming more pay but since they don't this is the best they can realistically expect because feelings . Like Nadal said look at the fashion industry and the women dominate the market and of course make much more , but you don't ever see those shrieking feminists complain about that , when women earn more ( empowerment ) when men earn more ( patriarchy ) , so because everybody wants to please women and not make them upset and possibly get canceled they just give them the same pay so they would be quiet .
@@blabla-fw9ix blabla (you named yourself well)..."They clearly don't want to play bo5" - concrete examples please. If you can't provide maybe it's because feelings?
@@artemisianwell5122 lmao nice counter argument , the fact that they are not screaming about it like they were about the pay gap is more than proof enough . They wouldn't shut up about equal prize money but b05 they never ask for , they only say they would do it when asked so they don't look like hypocrites . A mental midget like yourself can't obviously comprehend common sense .
On the men’s side, RG is going to get really wild from this round on. Djoker, although a legend, will fall before the final. Who will the king-slayer be?
![State of Play | September 24, 2024 [ENGLISH]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fVs0suPHAX8/mqdefault.jpg)
They did it again. First set between Moutet and Sinner and they switch to gymnastics. I guess it’s on peacock 🤦♂️
It's on peacock.
Just get some subscription or find free stream online. As easy as it gets, so I see no probs if you really need it.
It was paywall only on peacock have a VPN couldn't get the match checked YT and no one then twitch and one guy was streaming it so I got lucky.
This same Peacock thing happened last year as well. It's ridiculous how hard it can be to watch tennis in the US. Luckily there are free alternatives available.
Ridiculous!
‘Behind a paywall’ is a three word description of America.
Best, most insightful, RUclips comment of the year!
@@huntsail3727 I'm sad to admit it. Thanks for your comment my friend.
gotta pay to play
@@vinny6_9 Umm, no. No you don't. There are places all around the world that provide sport on TV for free.
@@bigrobsydney yes in Germany those big matches are not free. So I found one spanish and one russian provider which show big sporting events for free!. It is not the fault of the tv stations who would like to
show these matches, but the organizers of these events who sell the rights to the highest bidder!
Agreed! So annoyed that Djokovic's match wasn't on national TV. Bad for tennis. We already barely get to see great tennis on US networks. It's a shame.
I couldn't find the Djokovic Musetti match and later I found out it was on Peacock. I was very disappointed and mad.
Join the club!
Hate NBC Sports and how they handle GS tennis matches. It’s inexcusable they made the Djokovic match a pay only to watch on Peacock!!!! If this is the future of pro tennis watching in the US when we already pay a bundle per month for cable/ Satellite viewing….this will not help growth of tennis interest in US, but cause a lack of interest.
I wish NBC never allowed again to show a GS match if you’re going to treat it like that!!!
you don't understand. It is not the fault of the tv stations, they would like to show them for free.
You have to blame the organizers of these big events who sell the rights to the highest bidder!
That means NBC really spents a hell of a lot of money for these rights. And of course they want
that money back.
Don't even get me started on the nightmare that is U.S. broadcast of ATP/WTA tennis tournaments. If you wanna watch Masters, 500s, 250s - ya gotta get Tennis tv. If you wanna watch slams - good luck b/c it could be ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN + , it could be TC or Tennis Channel +, it could be NBC, it could be Peacock. It takes a an hour of research on how to watch a damn tennis match - and marketing departments are scratching their heads about why viewership is declining. It's cause it's a freakin' nightmare. Had to get that off my chest.
Absolutely 💯 on point. I want to support the broadcasting but it’s impossible to figure out how to watch these slams. I have had to resort to alternate streaming options…
and people wonder why tennis is loosing viewership. Don't wonder. It's obvious.
OMG Thank you for expressing my thoughts exactly! It's a freaking nightmare. Why? $$$$$$$$$$$ and the grote$que de$ire to always want more.
100% agree!
Upset is one thing but putting it behind a paywall doesn’t help in the tennis vs pickleball popularity battle.
Pickleball popularity is due to how easy it is. Many people like to take shortcuts, not willing to put in the work, tennis is a very technical and demanding sport, a life long sport.
@@don9733 TO ME PICKLEBALL SUCKS!
Pickelball is awful on TV. Watching players dink and dunk the ball.
@@stratguitarman7831 I hear "pickleball", I think "wiffle ball". Such a stupid game, sorry. Tennis demands a working body and working brain. It's physical and intellectual. And it's great fun! If people in wheelchairs can play it, anyone can!
Nadal asked that they move his match against Zverev from 7 pm to day time so he got more chance to win 🤮and ho lost .
Novak plays till 3 am and wins . That is why Novak is goat .
Even if Iga had to play one more set, that would not make a big difference, the match would take maybe 30 more minutes. Number of sets is not a main problem problem is difference of tennis level between the players. Match with Osaka was 3+ hours and because of Potapova's poor poor performance yesterday's match was just 40 min ...
Unfortunately tennis has already been behind a paywall when it is on cable . Tennis channel and ESPN are pay services . When I sas a child , there was only HBO in cabel services and it had no advertising . Tennis used to be on regular tv in NY .
Re. paywall: 100% agree with you but I'm in Spain - Spain for chrissakes, mecca of clay tennis! - and they have most of Roland Garros only for subscribers. Growing up in the 80s and 90s watching all the big tournaments on public TV fueled my passion for tennis. Clearly, and sadly, those days are gone. It's a shame. Public TV here apparently would rather show women's handball matches - no disrespect to that - than pay for the rights to watch world-class tennis. Truly shameful.
Agree completely. I found a way round. I downloaded the eurosport app, paid 8 euros for a 1 month subscription. I then use a VPN to get the British commentary team and cast it from my mobile to smart TV. Works really really well, get all the matches (more than Movistar) and also cheaper.
That’s a shame. Is interest in tennis in Spain down?
@@IntuitiveTennis hard to say. I think there's still a healthy interest in the sport thanks to our man Carlitos Alcaraz and others, but I'd love to see viewership numbers for these events and see how they compare to the old days. BTW, thanks for your videos. Love the instructional ones and you takes on the MMTRs.
Thank you
I agree 1000% with you Nick! This paywall nonsense is absolutely horrible! How do they expect to promote tennis, especially in the U.S. when it’s almost impossible to find these matches on regular TV! Growing up I was able to watch 3 of the 4 grand slams on regular tv (NBC for French Open and Wimbledon and CBS for U.S. Open, only Australian Open was on ESPN) and now everything is on ESPN and Tennis Channel and streaming platforms! Then these bozo commentators on TV (when we do get to see it on NBC once a year for the French Open) have the audacity to belly ache about less viewership and less American male players at the top of the game! NBC coverage starts at 11am in my time zone, almost 2 and a half hours after Sinner and Alcaraz begin playing! What a joke!
In the UK you can watch ATP with tennis tv, which is a bit pricey but ok I can pay. However WTA is only available on Sky which is over twice the price (as it's F1 and football too). Hence nobody watches WTA any longer.
Except Sky doesn't even have French Open for either, so you'd need Eurosport as well. Madness.
@@davidhale8034 All the GS are on different platforms - French is Discovery+ who seem to be connected to Eurosport but not the same. It's a mess!
@@davidhale8034 if you have Sky Sports, even just F1 and Tennis not the full package, you get Eurosport with it for no extra charge.
if you have Sky Sports, whether the full package or part, you get Eurovision with the French Open and Discovery+ for no extra charge. Discovery+ has all the matches on demand so is perfect if you can’t watch the matches live on Eurosport or don’t want to cycle through your recordings later to find the match you want.
@@davidhale8034 and not just the normal Eurosport but Eurosport Plus, which costs a lot more.
Thank god I have a recommended channel from eastern Europe where I can watch all on my PC
for free.
We pay for pretty much all our tennis here in Nz....sigh 😢
I wrote an article back in 2013 advocating women play Best of Five set finals at Grand Slam level. At the time I spoke to an agent for my article who said some players are in favour and some will object. I think best of five semifinals and finals would work and after all this time should be tried.
💯
I also have said this for years! There should be equal pay for equal work for men and women when it comes to these grand slam tournaments!
Yeah Nik. They gotta make tennis more free and accessible to grow the sport. I watched so many matches on the broadcast networks when I was a kid. Even the youtube highlights are a measly 3 minutes. NBA, MLB, NFL are putting very nice edited highlights of the full games within 12-24 hours. Tennis needs to follow. I think AO did a decent job with their YT content.
Got so mad too last night, no match broadcast on Tennis Channel. Bravo Musetti
I have peacock and the thing that sucks about it is that it only covers certain days, so at least if we are paying regardless of wether it’s tennis channel or peacock, they should both broadcast all days of the French open.
Buy Tennis TV bro, but yeh pay wall for 1 tennis game 4th round is crazy, also Nole's 5th set Bagel was crazy
French open coverage in the US is trash. During the weekdays it's on Tennis Channel, which is a premium cable channel that (proportionally) very few Americans have. Then, on weekends, coverage switches between Tennis Channel, NBC, Peacock...so confusing and bad
Hey man, love your videos!
This may be a bit of a weird question, but why are there so many cuts in your videos?
In Europe, Eurosport airs AO, RG and Us open on its two chanels free of charge with all the major matches there.😊
Nole's match was an absolute classic. Lorenzo was great but it is just this best of five format that favors a tennis giant like Novak.
Potapova didn't go past 30 in all of the games whether serving or receiving😮. CRAZY!
I live in Sweden, and to watch RG via Eurosport includes a fee. Thus, it's not free.
In Poland Eurosport 1 and 2 are also behind the pay wall.
In Portugal, Eurosport (at least E1) is on the basic package of every cable tv operator and "almost everyone" has cable tv.
Wtf?
Also in italy and germany eurosport is behind a paywall
40 minutes vs 4 hours = same prize money
I'd love to see them try putting the Superbowl behind a paywall! It would probably sparking a new American Revolution.
This tournament would have been a lot more interesting if Osaka converted that match point...now it's just boring.. Who wants to see 6-0, 6-0 pfff
Yeah, so disappointed I can't watch the Nole's match. Didn't know why I can watch other RG matches.
Yeah the Djokovic match wasn't even on Tennis Channel Plus when it was going on live.
Can you talk about Nole’s overhead in another video?
Will do
Try being a Hurkacz fan. Good luck being able to see any of his early matches.
tennis tv is behind the paywall? Or is it included in most cable packages in the US?
not everyone has cable, and not everyone gets tennis TV with their cable
You have to pay extra for it on fios and optimum cable .
Not only did those bastards put the Sinner game on peacock, but now they switched it to Hurkacz/Dimitrov in the 2nd set
It sad that you have to pay for it. But you can stream it on a bunch of sports betting apps.
Is regular cable not a subscription service 😂? Where btw you have to pay extra for extra sports channel. I get it’s frustrating but there’s nothing new there.
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I always have a good old fashinoned stream. LOL
Amen to that!
exactly.... whoever cries here in the comments needs to get their internet cards revoked.
@@vinny6_9 Well, some of us spent a loooooong time looking for streams (and I know how to use a VPN) and I couldn't find the match anywhere, ditto for the replay!
@@SSerebraSSanabro just google free live tennis streams
The NBC/Peacock coordination was bad enough for the Joker match, but at least they had an excuse because it ended up happening so much later than originally scheduled. It was even worse on Sunday when the Sinner match happened right when it was scheduled, and it started on NBC, but then they switched it to Peacock. Go ahead with your crappy tactics - you're just forcing me to learn how to bootleg the matches. And if this crap keeps happening, next year I may not renew TC+.
Peacock is like a tenth the price of having to buy the combo of cable+tennis channel, if anything The Tennis Channel matches are behind a much bigger paywall.
Tennis channel comes with most bundles though. Like Xfinity for example. If you cut the cord though then yeah, peacock by itself is cheaper, but now what do you do about ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, etc. I don’t think people realized how good the bundles actually are.
Completely agreed that ladies grand slam should play 5 sets as well. Otherwise grand slams are making no difference to any lower levels tournaments!
Djokovic did it yet again vs Cerundolo 😆
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Dimi may provide a surprise on 2nd half ... 🤫
They're doing it with baseball and American football too. Amazon... Peacock... just ridiculous.
Not paying for peacock this time
Djokovic just forfaited the rest of the Roland Garros Grand Slam! He has a lesion on the meniscus of his right knee.
So why don't women play 5 setters? They complain of a wage gap but is super duper quiet about time and effort spent for same money for which men have to work longer and more in a grandslam...
The difference between the men's and women's Grand Slams is monumental. Men slug it out and finish like marathon runners. Pay deserved. Women most often barely break a sweat. Ridiculous and it makes a mockery of a woman's athletic potential.
@@hegyitahook dude…
As a woman I agree. And I know there are women out there in favor of 5 sets, or at least best of 4, with 4th having a tiebreak. So win 3 of 4. It’s too frustrating to see 2 set tennis in a grand slam for women. As strong athletes they absolutely can play longer.
@@hegyitaho Its the principal I'm referring to.
At least let them play finale in 5 s
I don't think Novak will lose to Rudd
He might not get to play him- Novak will be exhausted and the next round is not easy.
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There is serious lack of skill and competition in WTA tennis in comparison to the ATP. It’s max 5 high level players vs 50 minimum in the ATP circuit. And that is why no one watches WTA.
I never understood your deniro like accent
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Its good that we are talking about Paywall but terrible scheduling too. There should be a separate rant about terrible scheduling goofup
All tennis matches should be shorter not longer!
You should try Australia LOL it's even worse trying to watch tennis on Free TV you can pay for cable No Tennis Channel... And how do you justify equal pay.... 40 min vs 4 hrs Hmmmm
I have a couple of thoughts. Firstly, NBC just sucks. Peacock is NBC. I do like McEnroe but Mary Carillo may be the worst broadcaster in all of sports. As far as WTA tennis, we will definitely have to agree to disagree. The depth in women's tennis is terrible. Yes you can certainly cherry pick a Nadal Fed matchup at RG to make some kind of argument that Iga's win is fine, but that is just a terrible argument. We all have seen what Nadal had to do to accomplish what he did, and it was nothing like WTA tennis. The fan support for the ATP vs WTA at the FO is clear. As a stand alone entity, the WTA would be a whole different situation. Equal pay would be the least of their worries.
they don’t want to bring tennis to the masses..
Equal pay for women and is not equal at all. When men have to potentially play 35 sets (assuming each match goes 5 sets) to win a final and the women, only 21 sets. If it's equal, women should have to play best of 5 sets as well. Otherwise men are technically getting paid less to win a major than the female counterpart.
THIS IS YET ANOTHER REASON WHY TENNIS IS FADING TO PICKLEBALL!...(PAYWALL!)......ATP AND WTA are doing a very poor job of self promotion!
It's about time women played best of five at the slams as it's sexist that they don't!
Grandslam is a grandslam for a reason. For women , it seems like just another tournament (BEST OF THREE). They should also play best of five in grandslams
i was completely wrong... hope rafa comes back next year
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No word on the 4th best player in the world, Collins, dumped out in the 2nd round by a qualifier and Gauff making it to the quarters?.
And you still think women should get equal pay? . Ridiculous!!!!
Wta is boring. To me.
Oh, because you Americans don't have "Williams" now.
@@ArthurDiegoMcDermottUK I’m Ukrainian living in Sweden 😂
The Osaka Swiatek match was absolutely brilliant! A real nail biter and top quality tennis from both ladies. Had me on the edge of my seat!
@@Mrmelody85 First, it's a best of three, which makes it less exciting. Speaking of quality, everything is worse, so why choose the worse option when you have a better one? And I don’t care that “they deserve”. Absolutely, it’s just less exiting and no-one can do anything about it. You can’t change the nature of it. Maybe for a female who plays tennis or for a parent of a girl it can be meaningful.
@villiam7941 A lot of people would disagree with you, I certainty do. "It's best of three which makes it less exciting".
An odd comment given that all ATP matches outside 4 grandslams are also best of three. Anyway, I don't know why you're arguing with me, all I said was how much I enjoyed the Swiatek match, which was far more entertaining than a lot of mens matches I've seen this year.
Even if Iga’s match wasn’t so easy and 3 sets, she never has to play 5 sets and finish at 3am. The men deserve overtime if we are actually going to be fair… but who wants fairness when you can be lazy and keep complaining that men have it so easy… all the time and everywhere. The only way to resolve it is to have the women play 5 sets. If the ATP one day merges with WTA, this needs to be the very first condition…. Equal WORK for equal pay.
Pay wall? I'm good
Sometimes, women tennis is a joke🤡
The French Open is by far the most difficult major to try and watch its so frustrating
The Sinner match against the short-ish and creative Frenchman Corentin Moutet was wildy entertaining. Moutet nearly won the first set 6-0. Sinner was struggling against the unorthodox play of Moutet. I had the match on but was only casually watching at first, but at 4-0 I fixed myself onto the couch to watch.
At 5-1 Moutet in the first set, NBC switched the match to Peacock so I did not get to watch the rest. Very disappointing.
you have to search a bit on the internet and you'll find providers who show these matches for free. Takes some
time to find them and then you can only watch via your computer. There is a russian one where I can see any
sport I like for free.
The system is always against Novak, that's why it is the strongest of all time 😃
The ladies should absolutely play best of 5. Cannot make the argument for equal play on slams without this.
Also, think of all the classic WTA 5 setter epics that could be happening right now.
A good idea theoretically but in reality no one wants to actually watch women play best of 5. Fatigue and unforced errors is what you’ll get after 3 sets
@@ginadennis1056 There are players that could potentially handle it, Swiatek, Sabalenka etc. Rest of field would be forced to up their fitness levels. Worth trying.
Good luck with scheduling for the grand slams!
@@ginadennis1056 Then pro tennis ratings will be on the floor also big tournaments Slams etc) will be unable to accommodate the larger time demands. No this is not what's ailing tennis
100% agree!
Equal pay for equal work. In grand slams women should get 3/5 of the male winnings.
so this was Iga's and Potapova's first meeting since the juniors? thanks for the background info on their h2h.
Great video. NBC is making a joke of the Roland Garros. AT least show a complete match on NBC and say the other match will be exclusively on Peacock. Imagine a major Network switching to regular programming at 9PM even if the Superbowl still had 5 minutes on the clock. Could you imagine to finish the superbowl go toe Peacock. No, they push back the scheduled programming and everything runs late. At least ESPN usually does that right.
With BO5 for women, I think it would be great. But the realitiy is that there is constant pressure to make tennis shorter not longer. Boomers like us that like the BO5 format are a dying breed.
NBC is horrible for the French open, it’s been this way for years, decades even. And even when you pay for peacock you still can’t watch you have to pay for the premium. It’s only the French open that has the worst tv contract. In order to watch the French open in the U.S. you have to pay for peacock premium, tennis channel, and some type of cable to be able to watch every match. All the other grand slams you just need an espn plus subscription for like $12 and you can watch everything. I wish NBC would let someone else get the contract because they fail the Americans every time with this tournament. I agree with you man. I have a tennis package added to my RUclips tv subscription so I’ve had more luck than in the past but still struggling to find matches, haven’t been able to watch everything. Not buying peacock though
Well, I'm here in Paris and I couldn't watch the match either because it was streamed on the ridiculous subscription service Amazon Prime Video. It was even more infuriating because the match that preceded Djokovic-Musetti went very, very long and all throughout that live coverage on "regular" TV network France TV, they kept saying the Djokovic-Musetti would be broadcast after it, regardless of when it finished. So when it did finally end, they switched to non-tennis programming and we were all out in the cold. Impossible to watch this now-historic match. Completely unacceptable! Impossible to even find the replay.
It's not Amazon Prime anymore. It's on Eurosport/Max/ Discovery.
@@atheistcory4174 Yep, I watched it on Eurosport, who's been broadcasting all (or almost?) the games in the center courts
@@atheistcory4174
@mikanunx
Thanks. They're subscription channels, too. I'm old enough to remember watching the French Open all day on regular old TV with commercial breaks. Which is still partially the case now, if you're quick enough to know when to switch the channel from France 2 to France 3 or to France 4. (Why does it have to be so complicated?) And why not just make ALL the matches available to everyone and just sell their stupid commercials like before?!? Like I said, those commentators were teasing Djokovic-Musetti all night, as if it would simply be broadcast after the current match, regardless of the start time. They should have mentioned it would NOT be broadcast on France TV.
I remember in 2009 Federer Del Potro Semi was not covered live and the other semi-final was not shown at all. French open coverage is garbage.
Love your thoughts and analysis, always worth a listen. Keep it up.
Thanks, will do!
This isn’t the first year nbc has pulled this crap. Last year i had to watch sabalenka vs stephens through Peacok as well. Shame on nbc.
The French Open was simulcast on NBC and Peacock over the weekend. The Djokovic match was supposed to be on both services, but due to the rain in Paris, other matches were moved to the show courts. This pushed the Djokovic match outside of the time period NBC had allowed for the French Open broadcast on their network. NBC had commitments to broadcast other programming, but they made the Djokovic match available on Peacock even though the match was outside of their original commitment to broadcast. The original intent was to broadcast the Djokovic match on both services but the rain messed the schedule up for the show courts. By the way, you can get a year of Peacock for $20. That’s just a couple cups of coffee. Love your channel, Nick, but don’t rant over $20, it makes you seem older than a Boomer! 😊. Also…aren’t Tennis Channel, Tennis TV, and ESPN behind a “paywall”?
The rain is only part of the story. The match before Djokovic-Musetti ran far longer than anyone expected. But that's still not an excuse to have pretended like it was going to air on regular TV when it was over only to switch to non-tennis programming the moment Djokovic-Musetti began.
I find the live streams bro.... why pay!?
Where?
@@Sebastienleblanc7 internets
I already pay for Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus. I wasn't gonna give NBC a dime to watch sinner.
I just read a comment that women should play 5 set matches, like the men! Apparently you have subscribers who don’t watch women’s tennis or know little about tennis matches!
If women played 5 set tennis matches, it would literally take some of the matches over 6 hours to finish, because women hit longer rallies than men! You would think this is self explanatory to people who have been playing tennis for years, but apparently it’s not the case!
Women have it way harder to travel and pay for expenses than men, okay you could make the point because women travel with 1000 suitcases and that’s just for their shoes alone,
All kidding aside, most of the women tennis professionals have jobs just to pay for their travel, coaching, medical, and equipment expenses. I have been advocating for higher pay in women’s tennis since the early 90s and I have also been advocating for a retirement fund, medical expenses, travel expenses etc, for lower ranked players on both sides. If it wasn’t for these professional athletes busting their asses, we wouldn’t have high level tennis to watch and they deserve our respect! This isn’t baseball where a player’s guaranteed millions of dollars even if they don’t play! So please think about why women deserve more money to play in these grand slams, plus most of them are really nice people who help their communities and make a difference throughout the World!
Igi lost 4 times to Potapova No 7....
1:6, 4:6 Nations Challenge 2013
4:6, 0:6 Nations Challenge Finals 2013
6:2, 3:6, 6:7 (6-8) Orange Bowl 2014
6:4, 3:6, 0:6 CF Roland Garros 2016
I agree 1000% with you Nick! This paywall nonsense is absolutely horrible! How do they expect to promote tennis, especially in the U.S. when it’s almost impossible to find these matches on regular TV! Growing up I was able to watch 3 of the 4 grand slams on regular tv (NBC for French Open and Wimbledon and CBS for U.S. Open, only Australian Open was on ESPN) and now everything is on ESPN and Tennis Channel and streaming platforms! Then these bozo commentators on TV (when we do get to see it on NBC once a year for the French Open) have the audacity to belly ache about less viewership and less American male players at the top of the game! NBC coverage starts at 11am in my time zone, almost 2 and a half hours after Sinner and Alcaraz begin playing! What a joke!
I've always thought of best of 5 at grand slams to bee too much to watch, especially in the initiall rounds.
I would love to see both men and women go on with a model, where you play minimum of 3 sets to win, but at 2-2 you go into a supertiebreak.
It's already happening in doubles.
Just comment to support your view against the paywall. Just let the peacock bankrupt
Sinner's match will also be on peacock
Agree on everything except that McEnroe is a good/great commentator.
I realy think that there should be at least one tournament that women play bo5
One reason the WTA doesn't have best-of-5 set matches: then Swiatek - Potapova 6-0 6-0 6-0
Maybe the solution is best-of-7, so it could be 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-1? That would still take only an hour and a half.
I AM the boomer gen, and I don’t pay for ANY TV, but I don’t have ANY problem to see ANY match in ANY sport in the internet for free, so….
And another thing about Iga and Potapova case - there was one more reason to beat her deadly - the Potapova’s Spartak Moscow T-shirt vs Ukrainian ribbon on Iga’s hat last year. Much more significant. That’s how we see it in Poland. All the best for you:)
yeah, spartak>>>>iga's dumb pin
@@davegordon6233 there was only so much grifting she could do... i find it hilarious that the "slava ukraini" aka svitolina doesn't even live in ukraine, but is the loudest mouth on tour... clowns.
@@davegordon6233 As a Polish citizen, she voluntarily or not supports Ukraine for a total amount of over 100000000000 from Polish taxes.
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Do you guys still have any popular sports events on free TV? In Germany, not just tennis, but also the much more popular soccer competitions are all behind very expensive paywalls. Nothing popular is free anymore.
I'd just add that all tennis matches are behind a paywall... i don't have NBC access, only TennisTV.
already know this is a banger
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Equal pay?
I used to listen to The Tennis Podcast before it became unbearably Woke. Their last good episode was when Janko Tipsarevic outlined the injustice of equal pay. The presenters made an interesting proposal. They would reformat the slams with best of 3 up until the quarters on both the men's and women's side and best of 5 for the remainder of the tournament. It's a solid proposal because it allows more surprises on the men's draw and reduces the likelihood of chronic injuries. It would also solve the scheduling issues in the earlier rounds. What are your thoughts? "Equal work, equal pay" was always the feminist mantra.
I agree but because of pay equity, they have to find a way to pay for the women too. All kidding aside, I am for equal prize money for women but I also think they should play best of 5 too.
Yup, if they want equal pay then put in equal work, generate equal revenue, thats how life works. Otherwise its just charity handouts
@@don9733 It was never about equality , they just wanted money . They clearly don't want to play bo5 , they don't generate the same revenue as men ( roughly 3 times less ) and if they were not playing the tournaments at the same time as the men do it would be 10 times less it least . They do not compete against men because they would get destroyed so in no way shape or form do they deserve equal pay . But just like feminism it was never about equality but equity and the only reason they accept equity is because they generate less money , if they generated more than the men they would be screaming more pay but since they don't this is the best they can realistically expect because feelings .
Like Nadal said look at the fashion industry and the women dominate the market and of course make much more , but you don't ever see those shrieking feminists complain about that , when women earn more ( empowerment ) when men earn more ( patriarchy ) , so because everybody wants to please women and not make them upset and possibly get canceled they just give them the same pay so they would be quiet .
@@blabla-fw9ix blabla (you named yourself well)..."They clearly don't want to play bo5" - concrete examples please. If you can't provide maybe it's because feelings?
@@artemisianwell5122 lmao nice counter argument , the fact that they are not screaming about it like they were about the pay gap is more than proof enough .
They wouldn't shut up about equal prize money but b05 they never ask for , they only say they would do it when asked so they don't look like hypocrites .
A mental midget like yourself can't obviously comprehend common sense .
Round 1 Alcaraz beats JJ Wolf 6-1 6-2 6-1
Should he get less pay?
Swiatek vs Osaka match lasted longer in Round 2
On the men’s side, RG is going to get really wild from this round on.
Djoker, although a legend, will fall before the final. Who will the king-slayer be?