Reliance teams with Microsoft to deliver IPTV

BANGALORE, INDIA: Reliance Communications and Microsoft today announced a strategic partnership to deliver a highly connected, personalized TV experience to consumers in India through Reliance’s IPTV service, which will be powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) software platform. The announcement was made by Anil D Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications, and Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, at a press event today in Mumbai, India.   Reliance Communications shall have the exclusive deployment right for the platform in India.

Reliance’s IPTV service, powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, will allow Reliance to deliver entirely new, connected and personalized television experiences for Indian consumers, with several advanced features, such as video-on-demand (VOD), digital video recording (DVR), instant channel changing, and personal media sharing. IPTV subscribers will be able to watch popular standard definition (SD) content as well as high definition (HD) content - for the first time in India - at the click of a button from the comfort of their homes, and enjoy a connected entertainment experience that will soon allow them to watch their favorite shows on their TV or PC. The service will be launched by fiscal end (March 2008).

“As consumers today are becoming more sophisticated, they are demanding more compelling and personalized entertainment to suit their individual needs and preferences,” said Anil D Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications. “Until now, TV has been a broadcast, ‘one-size-fits-all’ experience. Backed by powerful Microsoft Mediaroom software, IPTV promises to offer our subscribers more choice, control, and convenience, and at the end of the day, a unique and more satisfying user experience. We’re excited to partner with Microsoft to unlock the potential of television and offer Indian subscribers the very best TV and connected entertainment experiences.”

“Reliance is about to change the way consumers experience television,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft. “TV is the only major digital device that has been left out of the networking revolution, and Microsoft and Reliance are now making the TV a first class citizen in the connected entertainment landscape.  By connecting the TV to an intelligent two-way network and adding powerful software, new connected and personalized experiences will become possible here in India.”

The IPTV service will also target an area of great degree of ambiguity as far as TV content and advertising goes, in India. There is, at present, no clear indication of how much of the content and advertising is really reaching the target audience and what the returns for the spends are. A two-way interactive medium can rectify this.

“In addition to the obvious benefit that will come to the consumers, this offering will also benefit the media industry at large”, adds Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India. “Whether it is the content providers, the platform owners or the advertisers, they will get better value for their money. This is critical for the long term growth and sustenance of the television industry.”

“Reliance Communications is well poised to leverage its next-gen optical fiber network to unleash the ‘Connected Digital Home’ phenomena”, said Prakash Bajpai, President of Home and Enterprise Business at RCOM. “This revolutionary new IPTV will give viewers complete control on Home entertainment as well as Internet-enabled information and communication services on an ‘always ON’ basis.”