Tennis enthusiasts are in for a treat. Organisers of the Aircel Chennai Open, which is India’s only ATP World Tour tennis event, has named Star Sports as the official broadcaster of the tournament for the next three editions until 2016.
The $450,000 Aircel Chennai Open is slated to take place at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai from December 30, 2013 to January 5, 2014. Top ranking players such as Stanislas Wawrinka, Mikhail Youzhny, Fabio Fognini, Benoit Paire, and top Indian talent Somdev Devvarman are to feature in the tournament.
Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sports Business, Star India, termed the acquisition of broadcast rights of the Aircel Chennai Open an important step in the broadcaster’s strategy of offering Indian and international sporting content.
Star’s sports business has grown rapidly to six channel properties: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports 4, Star Sports HD1, and Star Sports HD2.
Commenting on the association with Star Sports, Ashu Jindal, COO, IMG Reliance, said: “We see television as a vital platform to ignite passion for tennis in India and enhance the reach of the event. Our association with Star Sports would benefit the growth of the event in many new ways.’’'
IMG Reliance is an equal joint venture between Reliance Industries and IMG Worldwide, a sports marketing and management company.
The Aircel Chennai Open is owned by IMG and operated and organised by IMG Reliance, and is South Asia’s only ATP World Tour event.
The 19th edition of the event in India and 18th in Chennai is to be conducted under the aegis of the All India Tennis Association and is organised with the active collaboration of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.