Bharti Airtel forays into entertainment business
By IANSTuesday, March 9, 2010
NEW DELHI - Leading telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Thursday announced the launch of its digital media business — its foray into entertainment — to deliver content to a range of users, including producers and media firms.
“There is a clear demand for secure digital distribution capability across multiple platforms. Airtel Digital Media Business will help establish India as an innovation hub for global content and format delivery,” said Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive of Airtel for India and South Asia.
The company will not produce any content, but market and cater to an array of users like animation, gaming firms, news channels, cinemas and banking institutions.
“Airtel’s digital media business is integrated with our global network of submarine cable systems, international points of presence (PoPs) and our content delivery network (CDN) services,” said Rajan Swaroop, executive director of enterprise services.
“It will now be able to deliver on a secure platform, high quality content across geographies,” said Swaroop.
According to a report by consulting and advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Indian media and entertainment industry is estimated to grow at 11 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from the current Rs.61,100 crore to Rs.92,900 crore by 2013.
