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MUMBAI: It doesn't get bigger than this! Chennai Open, India's
first ATP International Series Tennis tournament and one of the
only nine ATP events in whole of Asia will be reaching to a worldwide
audience in 2007. Chennai Open 2007 will be telecast through the
strong TV broadcast network of 7 top international TV channels reaching
more than one billion households across 140 countries worldwide.
Chennai Open 2007 will be held from Jan 1-7, 2007 at the Nungambakkam
Stadium, Chennai.
 In
a major development, the strong television network of Zee Sports,
Canal +: Spain, SNTV, Fox TV, Argentina, Trans World Sports, Viasat
- Scandinavia (Viasat Sport Sweden, Viasat Sport Denmark and Viasat
Sport Norway) and Bet & Win from Germany will telecast the high
voltage action every day live from the courts of Chennai Open, an
event that has changed the face of Indian tennis and continues to
set the standards for any international sports event staged in India.
Sports enthusiasts across the globe will get an opportunity to
watch the best field ever in the history of the tournament in action
comprising of World No 2, Rafael Nadal (Spain), World No. 8, David
Nalbandian (Argentina), World No 43, Carlos Moya (Spain), World
No 53, Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand), World No 37, Xavier Malisse
(Belgium), World No 40, Julien Benneteau, World No 52, Fabrice Santoro
amongst others.
Says Fernando Soler, Tournament Director, Chennai Open, "We
are thrilled with the growing popularity of the tournament across
all demographics of audience worldwide. With a humble beginning
in 1996, Chennai Open now, in its 12th year, has really come alive
for the sports fans across the length and breadth of the globe.
The presence of a strong line-up of players of the likes of Boris
Becker, Carlos Moya, Richard Krajicek, Rafael Nadal and India's
own Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi over the years indicates that
the Chennai Open has gained respect throughout the ATP tour. Continuing
with its legacy, Chennai Open 2007 promises to showcase world class
tennis for its fans across the world with its impressive roster
of international stars featuring as many as 18 players from Top
100."
Chennai Open, which has been awarded with prestigious awards like
ATP Award for excellence-1997 & 1999, ATP Award for best promoted
tournament (International group) -1998 and ATP's Player Services
Award of Excellence - 2006, in the past, has acquired the status
of a much sought-after tennis event for both players and fans alike
in the International tennis circuit. The tournament has branded
Chennai as a global sporting destination on the world map.
Mr. Balu Nayar, Managing Director, IMG India, "Chennai Open
has been a trend-setter for other major sporting events in the country.
The star-studded field, action packed matches and the successful
organization of the tournament, year after year, has been instrumental
in capturing the imagination of the sports enthusiasts, thus creating
an experience that takes them beyond the TV sets into the thick
of the action. With the objective of reaching out to wider audiences
this year, the strong TV broadcast plan for Chennai Open 2007, promises
audiences from over 140 countries worldwide of some quality high
voltage tennis in the coming days.
"Also, as a result of the increasing global reach of this
tournament, this year we are happy to provide enhanced visibility
to our sponsors, who have thrust their belief in the uniqueness
of the tournament and have provided us with their unfailing support
to take Chennai Open to new heights every year."
The matches of Chennai Open 2007 will be telecast on Zee Sports
in the Indian Sub Continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan). The telecast rights of the US$ 416,000
tournament were awarded to the premier broadcaster by IMG, who owns
and organizes Chennai Open.
IMG's television division, TWI, will be responsible for producing
the programming for Chennai Open. TWI is the world's largest independent
distributor and producer of televised sports. The international
reach to the tournament will be ensured through a TV broadcast plan
as mentioned below:
· Fox Sports: South America (excluding Brazil), Central
America and Mexico
· Canal+: Spain.
· Trans World Sports: The world's most popular sports magazine
show with a reach of 260 million households over 131 countries worldwide.
· SNTV: The world's only dedicated sports news TV agency,
with a reach of 850 million people worldwide
· Viasat - Scandinavia: Through its network of Viasat Sport
Sweden (Reach: 1440 000 households), Viasat Sport Denmark (Reach:
720 000 households and Viasat Sport Norway (Reach: 800 000 households,
Viasat will reach out to the Northern Europe region.
· Bet & Win from Germany will promote the tournament
on its network worldwide (ex India) on internet / broadband.
Also, on another note, with the global reach of the tournament
getting larger every year, as many as 27 brands have got associated
with Chennai Open 2007 thus reaping the benefit of creating top-of-mind
recall to a wider audience across the world.
The list of the sponsors for Chennai Open 2007 is:
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