Reliance Communications has tied up with ESPN Star to provide live broadcast of International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup-2009 matches being held in June to subscribers' mobile handsets. The ESPN-Star deal is a combination of an upfront fixed payment and revenue-sharing model, said Sanjay Behl, Group Head, Branding and Marketing, RCom.
Through this initiative, Reliance mobile subscribers can see all the T20 matches live on their handsets along with the option of having scores and expert commentary as their caller tunes."We are yet to finalise the pricing strategy for these services. But it will be around Rs 10-15 a minute and clubbed with various schemes and promotional offers," Behl told. The deal is expected to boost RCom revenues by 15-20 per cent.
According to him, the usage of value-added services for RCom's CDMA customers is 50 per cent. "We expect a similar response from our GSM users post the deal," he added. Last year, Reliance Mobile signed a $103 million deal with the ICC for events up to 2015.The partnership includes 19 major events such as the World Cup for seniors, juniors and women, the Champions Trophy and other inter-continental events over eight years.
