Tata Sky Launches Actve Sports on ESPN STAR Sports

An interactive sports programming for the first time for Indian audiences

Mumbai, India – August 30, 2006: Tata Sky, the satellite television from TATA and STAR, today launched Actve Sports service for cricket enthusiasts across the country.  The launch coincides with the England vs Pakistan one-day cricket series that will be telecast on ESPN STAR Sports, from August 30 to September 10, 2006. Actve Sports will revolutionise the way fans watch cricket on television. 

With Tata Sky’s Actve Sports, cricket fans will no longer need to wait for the broadcaster to provide match highlights, player statistics or ball trajectory. They can now access all these features at the press of a button, at any time during the match. Additionally, viewers can get commentary in multiple languages, expert analysis and a 3-dimensional graphical representation of the match on Tata Sky’s virtual stadium.

Mr. Vikram Kaushik, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Sky said, “Tata Sky will be a forerunner in providing customers with cutting edge technology and on-demand services. Actve Sports is a new milestone in Indian sports entertainment. It is a precursor to several new innovative services that we will be introducing shortly. For the first time in the history of television in India, enthusiasts will be able to enjoy interactive cricket through our Actve Sports service.”

Mr. R C Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd said, “India is a nation that thrives on cricket. We are absolutely delighted to partner with Tata Sky to bring the unique interactive experience of watching live cricket on Actve Sports to millions of cricket fans across the country.”

Tata Sky recently launched its satellite television service across the country. The service endeavours to become India’s largest entertainment platform by offering viewers a variety of programming choices and interactive features in DVD quality picture and CD quality sound. Tata Sky is already home to leading broadcasters in the country including STAR, Sony, Discovery, Disney, MTV, NDTV, ESPN STAR Sports, National Geographic, Eenadu, TV Today, Asianet and many more.

About Tata Sky

Tata Sky Ltd., an 80:20 JV between TATA and STAR is committed to offering viewers the best of pay television through its nationwide satellite television service. Tata Sky offers subscribers a wide array of programming choices coupled with a host of interactive services. For more information on Tata Sky visit http://www.tatasky.com

About ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters, ESPN Inc. and STAR. We are Asia’s complete sports provider reaching over 139 million households for ESPN and over 64 million households for STAR SPORTS. We have 13 networks - ESPN Asia, ESPN India, ESPN Taiwan, ESPN Philippines, MBC-ESPN (Korea), ESPN Singapore, ESPN Hong Kong, STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports S.E.A and STAR Sports Hong Kong. We bring the world’s premier live sports and leading regional events to viewers 24 hours a day. On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia, including the Asian X Games and the San Miguel Asian 9Ball Tour. On-line, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. This multilingual, online platform which is closely integrated with ESPN and STAR Sports on air networks, has established the sites as the number one on-line sports destination in their respective markets.