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: