Australian Open to be telecasted on Sony Six channel

Mumbai: The Australian Open Tennis Championships, commencing on January 19 at Melbourne, is to be telecast by SONY SIX channel which has signed a five-year deal from this year till 2019 to show the calendar year's first Grand Slam tournament.

The Australian Open will be SONY SIX's first entry into broadcasting a Grand Slam event, having shown select ATP tournaments earlier, a media release from the channel's onwers MSM India, said today.

"Over the years, the Australian Open has established itself as one of the most watched tennis Grand Slams across the world. Going by the strong equity that the sport enjoys, we are committed to expand the distribution of the tournament further and thereby strengthen our position in the market," said NP Singh, CEO, MSM.

"The Australian Open is yet another offering that stands for our diverse sports programming DNA. The tournament is seen as a season opener which sets the context for all tennis competitions that follow during the rest of the calendar year. Needless to say, we are proud to have this prestigious event as part of our bouquet of international sports content," said Prasana Krishnan, EVP and Business Head of the channel.

Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said, "I am delighted that we are partnering with MSM in India for the Australian Open. MSM presented a compelling proposition and demonstrated a commitment to promote the event and the sport of tennis in India cementing our position as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific."