Bengaluru Open 2023: Viacom18 Sports secures rights to telecast knockout rounds

ATP Challenger event will be broadcasted on a sports TV channel for the first time.

Viacom18 Sports will broadcast the ongoing Bengaluru Open 2023 from the quarter-finals onwards as the fifth edition of the prestigious ATP Challenger event can be viewed live on Sports18 and Jio Cinema on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Also, the thrilling tennis action from the tournament will be telecasted on Sports18 – 1 SD, Sports18 – 1 HD and JioCinema. The event kickstarted on February 19 and will go on till Sunday.

"I am extremely delighted to welcome Viacom18 Sports on board. This tournament has always been a favourite destination for the players as well as the fans from the city. However, the quality of tennis that is on display here is something that fans from other parts of the country have been missing out, all this while. The tournament is in its fifth year and we are keen to do something special and I am glad that we could ensure the broadcast of the tournament for the first time. And such exposure will help the tournament reach next level of popularity," said Sunil Yajaman, Tournament Director of DafaNews Bengaluru Open and Joint Secretary of KSLTA.

Also, organised by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) at the KSLTA Stadium in Bengaluru, the fifth edition of the tournament has been witnessing participation of some of the top tennis stars.

One of country's most popular tennis tournaments has earlier onboarded DafaNews as its title sponsor and also attracted more than 20 brands as their sponsor partners with big names like ONGC, Indian Oil, Canara Bank, JSW Steel, KSMC, ACT Fibernet, Embassy REIT, Prestige and Karnataka Tourism among others have been roped in to strengthen the stature of the prestigious tournament.

Defending champion Chun-Hsin Tseng is the top seed in the singles main draw while James Duckworth of Australia, who was ranked as high as 46, is seeded second. Sumit Nagal is the key attraction among the Indians in singles at Bengaluru Open 2023 while the two-time champion Ramkumar Ramanathan leads the country's strong presence in the doubles event which also consists of reigning Wimbledon champion Max Purcell.