India

Indian satellite TV operator, Reliance Big TV, and Indiagames, a subsidiary of Indian media conglomerate, UTV, have signed a strategic agreement that will see a range of interactive TV games launching on Reliance Big TV's OpenTV-powered platform, under the brand "iGames." Most of the games will be provided by Indiagames' content partner, US-based multiplatform (online, mobile and interactive TV) casual games specialist, Oberon Media. "This initiative, and the DTH partnership with Oberon Media, marks our foray to the third screen of gaming, making us the first Indian triple-play games company with a strong presence across mobile, PC, and now DTH," Indiagames COO, Samir Bangara, said in a prepared statement.

IBM announced Tuesday that it has secured a 10-year, $83 million strategic outsourcing deal with Indian cable operator, Digicable. According to IBM, the deal will see it supporting the integration of Digicable's digital media content delivery and value-added services applications with its core business technologies and processes, thus enabling the operator to provide "superior and personalized service" to its subscribers.

VOD, IPTV and advanced advertising technology provider, SeaChange International, announced Tuesday that Indian ISP YOU Telecom is using its software and servers to power a VOD service that is part of a new digital cable service called YOU SCOD18. Dubbed YOU Multiplex, the new VOD service is currently available to YOU SCOD18 subscribers in Mumbai, and is slated to launch in Bangalore and Vizag later this year. It will eventually reach over 2 million viewers, SeaChange says.

VOD, IPTV and advanced advertising technology provider, SeaChange International, and SunTec, an India-based provider of billing solutions for the communications, media and entertainment industries, announced Monday that they are partnering to offer TV service providers globally automated provisioning of IPTV consumers and accounts in "near-real time," while supporting complex revenue-sharing business rules.

Indian satellite-TV provider, Dishtv, has partnered with "matrimonial service" provider, Shaadi.com, to launch an interactive TV application called Shaadi Active on its OpenTV-powered platform. According to the companies, the app--plans for which were first announced around a year ago--enables singles "and their parents/relatives" to search for eligible spouses from millions of profiles listed on Shaadi.com, narrowing their searches via such criteria as age, community, caste and profession.

Interactive TV and conditional access technology provider, NDS, announced last week that Indonesian pay-TV operator, PT. MNC Sky Vision (operates a premium service called Indovision and a more affordable service called Top TV), has selected an end-to-end NDS solution for its Indovision service, comprised of the company's MediaHighway middleware, its VideoGuard conditional access technology, and a customized EPG. The operator has also selected VideoGuard to secure its Top TV service, NDS says. PT.

Interactive TV and conditional access technology provider, NDS, said Wednesday that Indian digital cable operator, DEN, has launched an advanced, customized NDS EPG for its Digitelly service, based on NDS's MediaHighway middleware. According to NDS, the new EPG includes sophisticated navigation tools and allows frequent data changes in order to support promotions for new services.