2000 US Open/ITTF Pro Tour to be televised in Midwest

USA Table Tennis announced today that Carl Buddig & Company and Electronic Knowledge Interchange (EKI) are bringing the 2000 US Open/ITTF Pro Tour telecast to the Chicago area. The telecast will feature the world’s best players in a shootout to determine Olympic Seeding at this year’s US Open that was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Table tennis fans from all over the country flocked to Florida to see the top 15 men and women in the world compete for over $65,000 in prize money.  The broadcast of this widely acclaimed tournament will run in the Chicago area at the same time that the highly publicized 2000 Chicago Ping Pong Festival will be putting tables in the streets, buildings, and museums of the windy city.

“We are pleased to be airing this broadcast on Fox Sports Net Chicago.  This is a tremendous opportunity to give residents in the City of Chicago who are participating in the Ping Pong Festival a chance to see the top table tennis athletes in the world,” says Ben Nisbet, Executive Director of USA Table Tennis.

Carl Buddig & Company and EKI are both sponsors of the 2000 Chicago Ping Pong Festival and are new to table tennis.  These two companies will run advertisements during the 2000 US Open/ITTF Pro Tour telecast on Fox Sports Net Chicago.    The 60-minute segment broadcasting highlights from the annual table tennis tournament will air on Friday, August 25, at 7:30 PM CST, and on Friday, September 1, at 2:30 AM CST.  This exposure will prove significant to both Carl Buddig & Company and EKI, as the Fox Sports Net Chicago reaches over 3.5 million homes throughout Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.

Carl Buddig & Company, a family owned and operated business for over 50 years which provides high quality thin sliced meats to consumers throughout the country, is enthusiastic about the broadcast. Tom Padula, Marketing Director at Carl Buddig & Company states, “The show and placement of the advertisement comes at a great time to showcase professional table tennis, during the Chicago Ping Pong Festival. We see this as a great opportunity to showcase our new commercial, which features Carl Buddig thin sliced meats and table tennis.”  For more information on Carl Buddig and their promotional items, click on www.buddig.com .

EKI, a Chicago-based Information Technology Consulting and Outsourcing Company that specializes in web technologies from IBM/Lotus, Oracle, Microsoft, and SUN provides the most comprehensive and cost effective business solutions to its clients, is pleased about the opportunity as well.  Robert Blackwell, the Director of EKI Consultants and USA Table Tennis member, is pleased that many Chicagoans will see high level table tennis.  “This is an opportunity for table tennis fans to appreciate the athleticism and precision of the world’s best athletes.”  For more information about EKI, visit their website, www.eki-consulting.com .

USA Table Tennis has an international television agreement with the ITTF, in which the 2000 US Open/ITTF Pro Tour is aired around the world.  In the United States, the 2000 US Open/ITTF Pro Tour has been placed with Fox Sports International.  For information on when this segment will be aired in your area, contact your local Fox Sports affiliate.