Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced its entry into the media and entertainment sector by launching Airtel Digital Media Business that will help the company offer content delivery solutions for the sector. “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. This significant step takes Brand Airtel ahead from being just a telecom brand to a lifestyle enabler,” Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor.
“The 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. It will now be able to deliver on a secure platform, high quality content across geographies,” said Bharti Airtel Executive Director (Enterprise Services) Rajan Swaroop. Being both content and access agnostic, they would open up the market opportunity for the Indian media and entertainment industry that is estimated to grow from over Rs.60,000 crore today to over Rs.92,000 crore by 2013, he added. According to Mr. Swaroop, the move would pave the way for over 16,000 cinema screens across the country to potentially offer high quality international viewing experience for consumers. It would also benefit a range of users including producers, creative agencies, production and post production houses, animation, gaming firms and visual media firms.
