Singapore's Anytime to provide video-on-demand programming in India
Thursday, 26 October 2006, 19:30 IST
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Singapore: Singapore-based video-on-demand channel Anytime has secured a licensing deal to provide interactive entertainment via the Internet to television viewers in India, the company said on Thursday. The five-year agreement with broadband provider India On Line (IOL) will provide a variety of new and classic titles from Fox, Sony, Warner and Universal and reach four million broadband homes in Mumbai and Delhi by March. "This is an unprecedented deal for Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) in the region," Anytime chief executive officer Craig Zimbulis told The Business Times, adding the deal was worth tens of millions of US dollars. Anytime will be the sole source of Hollywood programming for IOL's IPTV offering, he noted. Unlike programmes on over-the-air or conventional cable television channels, which follow a fixed schedule, IPTV programmes can be viewed at the user's convenience. In addition to movies, he said Anytime will also provide an interactive games channel as part of the deal. "On-demand delivery of video content is set to boom in India, and this is a country that clearly has a huge appetite for next-generation services," Zimbulis was quoted as saying. Formed in February last year, Anytime specialises in providing video content to Internet service providers, IPTV firms and cable networks in the Asia-Pacific region. IOL said it would incorporate Indian films, music, news and sports channels. Anytime has struck similar arrangements with Buddy Broadband in Thailand, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan and Transact and RIA in Australia.
Source: IANS
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