Tennis Channel is built for you if you follow tennis beyond the four Grand Slams. It carries a large part of the ATP and WTA calendar. This includes early rounds and outer-court matches that often do not appear on a traditional TV broadcast.
The current streaming service also includes the main Tennis Channel network. You no longer need a cable package to watch its 24-hour feed, studio programs, and many live matches.
Still, tournament rights differ, subscriptions bought through Amazon do not work in the Tennis Channel app, and the regular price is not necessarily the price you should pay.
Here are five things to know before subscribing.
1. The streaming subscription is more than the cable channel
The Tennis Channel app and the Tennis Channel cable network are not the same product.
The cable channel is a scheduled 24-hour feed. It carries selected live matches and studio coverage. It also has replays, interviews, and programs such as TC Live. Your TV provider must include the channel in your package before you authenticate the app with provider credentials.
The direct streaming subscription goes further. From November 2024, Tennis Channel combined its main network with live and on-demand coverage. This was previously sold as Tennis Channel Plus.
2. The standard price is $11.99 a month
This platform has two regular direct subscription options in the United States:
- Monthly: $11.99.
- Annual: $109.99.
Taxes could be added depending on where you live. The annual plan works out to about $9.17 each month. This saves $33.89 compared with paying monthly for a full year.
Before paying your annual premiums, check the home page for the current promotional rate. The provider is offering eligible new and returning customers their first year for $77.
Tennis Channel does not advertise a standard free trial on its current subscription page. It does, however, provide some free programming. The free section includes selected live matches, replays, classic marathons, event coverage, and the Second Serve studio show.
Try the free Tennis Channel streams first if you are unsure how often you will use the service. The free selection will not replace the paid subscription, but it could be enough for an occasional viewer.
3. You get extensive ATP and WTA coverage, but not every Grand Slam match
Tennis Channel has a coverage of more than 100 events and over 7,000 matches. It includes every ATP and WTA 1000-level tournament and many 500 and 250 events.
Do not assume that every event appearing on the calendar comes with every live match. Grand Slam rights are more complicated than regular ATP and WTA rights.
For example, the service does not carry live Wimbledon matches. It provides a nightly studio show and related coverage instead.
4. The app has useful tools for busy tournament weeks
The value of the paid service is not limited to its two scheduled channels. Its best features are designed for days when several matches overlap.
Multiview lets you watch up to four matches on one screen. You also receive outer-court streams, full-match replays, highlights, press conferences, player interviews, and Practice Pass coverage.
For shorter viewing, “Match in 15 Minutes” reduces selected matches to about 15 minutes of important points. It gives you more context than a short highlight clip without requiring you to watch a two- or three-hour replay.
5. Where you subscribe controls where you watch and cancel
A Tennis Channel subscription purchased through Prime Video Channels works inside Prime Video. It does not unlock the separate Tennis Channel app. Likewise, a direct Tennis Channel subscription cannot be used to watch the channel through Prime Video.
Amazon currently charges the same regular rates of $11.99 monthly or $109.99 annually. The main reason to use it is convenience if you already manage your streaming subscriptions through Amazon.
The billing company also controls cancellation.