Media Release, February 20
MUMBAI

Ten Sports, the world's number one sports channel for south Asians, will continue to be the home of the US Open, the fourth and the grandest of all Grand Slam events.
The tournament, to be played at Flushing Meadows in New York from August 28 to September 10, will be available live and exclusive throughout the Indian sub-continent on Ten Sports, after the channel extended its agreement for exclusive broadcast of the US Open tennis event with a new multi-year deal.

Ten Sports, which also holds the rights of French Open, the second Grand Slam of the season, showed the US Open for the first time in 2005 and on the basis of terrific viewers’ response from across the sub-continent, has now locked up the rights for years to come.

Chris McDonald, CEO, Taj Television Limited, owners of Ten Sports, said: “We have had a fantastic association with the USTA and the US Open and are very excited to be able to strengthen it further still. Along with the French Open, we now exclusively broadcast two of the four Grand Slams, which firmly cements our position as the No 1 tennis channel in the sub-continent. Thanks to the terrific performance of Sania Mirza and other Indian players, there is a lot of interest in the game and we will provide the fans with the best possible action from start to finish.”

“We are very pleased that Ten Sports, through Total Sports Asia, will continue telecasting the US Open throughout the Indian Sub-continent,” said Pierce O'Neil, Chief Business Officer of the USTA. “With the emergence of Sania Mirza and the record ratings on Ten Sports last year along with the many new worldwide stars, we are confident the US Open Tennis Championships will continue to be extremely popular on Ten Sports.”

The 2005 US Open enjoyed one of its most memorable years ever. In front of an all-time record attendance at the USTA National Tennis Center, the incomparable Roger Federer successfully defended the men’s championship, withstanding the charge of legendary American Andre Agassi. On the women’s side, Kim Clijsters won the first grand slam title of her career, putting an end to inspirational veteran French star Mary Pierce in the final.

Only launched in April 2002, Ten Sports is watched by more viewers than any other sports channel in the Sub-continent. Ten Sports is available in over 48 million households via cable and satellite networks across the world. In just a short span of three years, Ten Sports has also become the world’s biggest producers of cricket. The channel broadcasts cricket from Sharjah, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco throughout the Indian sub-continent and Asia, as well as in Europe and the Middle East (except Pakistan cricket). Also, Ten Sports has broadcast cricket from India, the World Cup 2003 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 in certain territories.

For further information please contact:
Kevin Alphonso / Lavanya Iyer
Ten Sports
Tel: 022 56623101/6289
E-mail:kevina@tajtv.com/lavanyai@tajtv.com