BWI: UTV New Media Launches India’s First Exclusive Mobile Music Video Channel

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: UTV New Media Ltd
Monday, April 13, 2009 04:07 PM IST (10:37 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Information technology, Media & entertainment, Telecommunications
Release no: 19675
--------------------------------------------------
UTV New Media Launches India's First Exclusive Mobile Music Video Channel
Indian and International Content Available in Variety of Languages

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Monday, April 13, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- UTV New Media Ltd., the digital arm of UTV, today announced the launch of India's first exclusive music video channel on mobile TV.

Branded UTV@play, it will provide the Indian music lovers with India's first exclusive mobile channel where they can access their favorite videos and music with just the click of a button. It offers a vast catalogue of music videos not only from Bollywood but also from different languages. It even has an exceptional collection of international songs from popular artists like Bryan Adams, Akon, PussyCat Dolls, Metallica to name a few. With all this and more, UTV New Media Ltd., which pioneers in the mobile content segment, is all set to add scintillating stars to its flap.

UTV@Play is available on Idea, Vodafone, BSNL and MTNL. The users can access it in two ways. They can send a simple SMS. In response to the message, the WAP link is sent to the user, to download the app. They can also directly download the app from the operators' WAP portals.

-- IDEA - SMS "IDEATV to 55456" or WAP download (IDEA portal)

-- BSNL - SMS "MYTV to 55447"

-- MTNL (Delhi) - SMS "SUB to 53388"

-- Vodafone - SMS "VODAFONETV to 111" WAP download (Vodafone Live)

Research proves that music is the highest consumed content on the mobile. This area however remains unaddressed till now in the mobile TV space. While other players are merely offering a replica of programming on some other medium, UTV@Play has entered this area with content specially available to be consumed on Mobile and maximum compatibility to ensure that the need gap is filled.

The total mobile subscriber base in India, across all operators, is 36.5 crores, as on Feb 09. Of this huge number, the total active subscriber base is mere 1,00,000 across all channels & operators (as on 14th November, 2008). These are users who have compatible handsets and have subscribed to mobile TV. This shows that there is tremendous potential for Mobile TV in India, and with 3G coming into the Indian market, there is just no looking back. UTV New Media Ltd. will take the experience of music on the mobile, to another level.

In the time where there are players who provide mobile TV content from already existing satellite channels, here is UTV@Play which will have its own exclusive content for its subscribers. This mobile TV channel will showcase music videos in Hindi, English, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bhojpuri and Marathi languages in the first phase of its launch. This would expand to Malayalam, Bengali and Gujarati languages in the second phase. This facility is now available to the users at an affordable subscription of Rs. 10 per day or at Rs. 30 for the entire month.

"UTV New media is in constant endeavor for innovation and offers youth of the country with the best content in the digital space. We are extremely pleased to launch music video channel on UTV@play which is India's first full music video channel giving the subscriber an absolute TV viewing experience on the mobile handset. We are sure that the youth will accept with utmost zeal and enthusiasm." - T N Prabhu, CEO, UTV New Media Ltd

About UTV@Play

UTV@Play is UTV's Mobile and Internet brand. The Mobile TV channel is an extension of UTV@Play Indian music portal, which has a vast repertoire of popular yet rare songs from across the country. The catalogue boasts of hits in English, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Kannada and other regional languages, apart from the regular Bollywood fare and showcases songs from all genres: film, folk, classics, pop and devotional.



CONTACT DETAILS
Esha Kak, Asst. Manager - Corporate Communications & PR, UTV New Media Ltd, +91 98713 19399, esha.kak@utvnet.com
Jyotika Ahuja, Head - Corporate Communications & PR, UTV New Media Ltd, +91 96191 22379, jyotika.ahuja@utvnet.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, MARKETING, IT, MEDIA, TELECOMMUNICATIONS

If you wish to change your Business Wire India selection please click on this link http://www.businesswireindia.com/media/news.asp and use your personal username and password to login.

Submit your press release at http://www.businesswireindia.com