PNB Paribas Open To Be Aired On KESQ-TV

ABC, ESPN2 and Tennis Channel will air parts of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, tournament organizers said today.

The tournament, the most-attended professional tennis event outside of the sport’s four major tournaments, is set for March 7-20 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“Moving to ABC and ESPN2, continuing our relationship with Tennis Channel and having ESPN3.com stream all produced world feed matches, will allow us to provide consistent match coverage and ensure that viewers around the country can follow all the action,” the tournament’s director Steve Simon said.

Both ESPN — which will air matches March 18 on ESPN2 — and ABC — which will broadcast the tournament’s final weekend — signed multiyear agreements with BNP Paribas Open, according to Jason Bernstein, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions.

ESPN3.com will stream live coverage of the matches from March 12 through the finals on March 20.

Tennis Channel, which signed a five-year agreement with the tournament, will provide coverage from March 12-17.

The 2010 Paribas Open was televised on Tennis Channel and Fox Sports Net.