Newsweek in £16m Tennis Masters deal

Newsweek, the weekly current affairs magazine owned by The Washington Post, has become the first headline global sponsor to sign for the new Tennis Masters Series, in a three-year deal worth $25m (£15.6m).

The magazine will take naming rights at the Indian Wells tennis event, which it has sponsored for a number of years as the Championship Cup.

But the contract extends beyond the US to give Newsweek secondary rights at the other eight global Masters events, helping the magazine to raise its profile around the world.

The Masters replaced the Super 9s tournament and is a partnership between sports marketing giant ISL Worldwide and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

The move coincides with ISL signing up virtual advertising specialist Orad Hi-Tech Systems for the Masters TV coverage. It will be the first time ISL has used virtual ads on a premium event.

ISL paid more than $1.2bn (£750m) to resell the global media rights for the Masters late last year (MW December 16 1999). So far the company has secured only three deals: sportswear company Fila, which signed as a technical sponsor; and Lanson Champagne and Waterford Crystal, which have supplier contracts.