Tennis Channel and Verizon FiOS TV have reached a new agreement, and the carrier will start rolling out Tennis Channel’s 2012 Australian Open coverage immediately. The channel is now available on Verizon in the Texas, Florida, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York markets, and will be available in all other markets by Wednesday, Jan. 18.

From 2005 to September 2011, Verizon FiOS TV carried Tennis Channel through its affiliation with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC). When Tennis Channel and the NCTC entered into a new carriage agreement on Sept. 3, FiOS TV opted out and decided to negotiate directly with Tennis Channel for its own licensing arrangement.

The new, multi-year agreement will make Tennis Channel available to FiOS TV customers who subscribe to the FiOS TV Ultimate HD package, as well as the premium Sports Packages.