WHY THIS MATTERS:Tennis Channel last year was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been volleying with Nielsen about the local ratings service for its large group of TV stations.
Craig Pearce, creator of the young-Shakespeare drama Will, has waited a long time for a premiere party tied to the show, which debuted on TNT Monday night. The project has been 10 years in the works, starting with HBO. He recalls delivering the pilot script to that network's executives, and says they loved it. Only problem was HBO had Game of Thrones in development, and Pearce says he was told that was enough high concept, period piece stuff for the network.