Mumbai: Expanding its footprint in tennis, Sony Pictures Networks India has acquired the exclusive media rights to broadcast Davis Cup in India for two years between 2023 and 2024. Following the television and digital rights deal, the broadcaster will televise Davis Cup on its sports channels across the Indian subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and will also be available to live-stream on their premium OTT platform, SonyLIV.
As part of the deal, the broadcaster will telecast the Qualifiers & Finals of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, respectively. With a 110-year rich history, the Davis Cup, also known as the 'World Cup of Tennis', has witnessed participation from 135+ nations. Annually the tournament also witnesses the participation of 144+ players. Some of the most successful teams in the tournament's history are the USA with 32 titles and Australia with 28.
The Qualifiers of the 111th iteration of the prestigious cup will be played between men's tennis teams from 24 countries. The Qualifiers will include four singles and one doubles match in a home-and-away format. The qualifiers will then face 2022's finalists, Canada and Australia, along with the wild cards Italy and Spain, Sony Pictures Network informed in a release on Thursday.
Extensive tennis portfolio
"With the addition of the Davis Cup, we are happy to include another prestigious tournament to our extensive tennis portfolio that includes Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open. Our consistent efforts to grow the tennis viewership base in India has led to a considerable increase in reach for all three grand slams in our portfolio," said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer - Distribution and International Business and Head - Sports Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India.
